Lee Hyla
Encyclopedia
Lee Hyla is an American
classical music
composer
.
Lee Hyla was born in Niagara Falls, New York
, and grew up in Greencastle, Indiana
. He has written for numerous performers including the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
, the Kronos Quartet
(with Allen Ginsberg
), The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Speculum Musicae, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project
, the Lydian String Quartet, Triple Helix, Tim Smith, Tim Berne, Laura Frautschi, Rhonda Rider, Stephen Drury, Mia Chung, Judith Gordon
, Mary Nessinger, Boston Musica Viva
, and House Blend, the resident ensemble at the Kitchen.
/Reader's Digest Consortium commissions. He has also been the recipient of the Stoeger Prize from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, a Guggenheim Fellowship
, two National Endowment for the Arts
fellowships, the Goddard Lieberson
Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the St. Botolph Club Award, and the Rome Prize
.
, received its world premiere at New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall, in a concert headlined by pianist Judith Gordon. More recent projects include the At Suma Beach (based on the Noh play Matsukaze
) for mezzo-soprano
and seven instruments, which was commissioned by the Japan Society of New York, premiered there by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in June 2003, and performed again by the Society at Lincoln Center in May, 2004; Detour Ahead for solo double bass
, commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group and performed by Dennis Trembly at the first concert of the Green Umbrella Series in the newly built Disney Hall in November, 2003; Zurek for House Blend, the resident ensemble of the Kitchen in New York, which was premiered in May, 2004; and a setting of the poem Quarry by Paul Auster, which was premiered in the Works and Process series at the Guggenheim Museum in September, 2004.
New works in 2005 included Amore Scaduto for violin
and cello
, premiered in March by the Network for New Music and Phrenic New Ballet in Philadelphia; a piece based on Polish folk songs premiered by Boston Musica Viva in May; a saxophone quartet for the Prism Quartet premiered in New York in May; and a piece for full orchestra commissioned by the Tanglewood Music Center
and premiered there in August 2006.
Lee Hyla's compositions are published exclusively by Carl Fischer Music
.
, Gil Rose, conductor. In the fall of 2004, Hyla was the resident composer at the American Academy in Rome
, and in the winter and spring of 2005, he was a composition fellow at the Camargo Foundation in Cassis, France. Recordings of Hyla's works have been released on Nonesuch
, New World, Avant, Tzadik, CRI, Opus One, and Avant.
. Studies with Malcolm Peyton and David Lewin
. He has been on the faculty of the New England Conservatory and currently is the Harry N. and Ruth F. Wyatt Chair of Music Composition at Northwestern University
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
.
Lee Hyla was born in Niagara Falls, New York
Niagara Falls, New York
Niagara Falls is a city in Niagara County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 50,193, down from the 55,593 recorded in the 2000 census. It is across the Niagara River from Niagara Falls, Ontario , both named after the famed Niagara Falls which they...
, and grew up in Greencastle, Indiana
Greencastle, Indiana
Greencastle is a city in Greencastle Township, Putnam County, Indiana, United States, and the county seat of Putnam County. It was founded in 1821 by Scots-Irish American Ephraim Dukes on a land grant. He named the settlement for his hometown of Greencastle, Pennsylvania...
. He has written for numerous performers including the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra is a Grammy Award-winning classical music chamber orchestra based in New York City. It is known for its collaborative leadership style in which the musicians, not a conductor, interpret the score....
, the Kronos Quartet
Kronos Quartet
Kronos Quartet is a string quartet founded by violinist David Harrington in 1973 in Seattle, Washington. Since 1978, the quartet has been based in San Francisco, California. The longest-running combination of performers had Harrington and John Sherba on violin, Hank Dutt on viola, and Joan...
(with Allen Ginsberg
Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s. He vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression...
), The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Speculum Musicae, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project
Boston Modern Orchestra Project
The Boston Modern Orchestra Project is a full professional orchestra in Boston, Massachusetts, and is widely recognized as the premiere orchestra in the United States dedicated exclusively to commissioning, performing, and recording new music of the 20th and 21st centuries...
, the Lydian String Quartet, Triple Helix, Tim Smith, Tim Berne, Laura Frautschi, Rhonda Rider, Stephen Drury, Mia Chung, Judith Gordon
Judith Gordon
-Education:Judith Gordon studied at Oberlin Conservatory and at New England Conservatory where she studied with Patricia Zander.-New York debut:Judith Gordon gave her New York recital debut on May 27, 1990 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art as part of the museum’s Introductions series. Bernard...
, Mary Nessinger, Boston Musica Viva
Boston Musica Viva
Boston Musica Viva is a Boston, Massachusetts-based music ensemble founded by its Music Director, Richard Pittman, in 1969 and dedicated to contemporary music.-Composers and compositions:...
, and House Blend, the resident ensemble at the Kitchen.
Commissions and awards
Hyla has received commissions from the Koussevitzky, Fromm, Barlow, and Naumburg foundations, the Mary Flagler Carey Charitable Trust, Concert Artist's Guild, three commissions from Chamber Music America and two Meet the ComposerMeet the Composer
Meet the Composer is an American organization founded in 1974 by the composer John Duffy as a project of the New York State Council on the Arts. It seeks to assist composers in making a living through writing music by sponsoring commissioning, residency, education, and audience interaction...
/Reader's Digest Consortium commissions. He has also been the recipient of the Stoeger Prize from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, a Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
, two National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
fellowships, the Goddard Lieberson
Goddard Lieberson
Goddard Lieberson was the president of Columbia Records from 1956 to 1971, and from 1973 to 1975. He was also a composer, and studied with George Frederick McKay, at the University of Washington, Seattle....
Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the St. Botolph Club Award, and the Rome Prize
Rome Prize
The Rome Prize is an American award made annually by the American Academy in Rome, through a national competition, to 15 emerging artists and to 15 scholars The Rome Prize is an American award made annually by the American Academy in Rome, through a national competition, to 15 emerging artists...
.
Compositions and premieres
IN 2001, Wilson's Ivory-Bill, commissioned by FleetBoston Celebrity SeriesCelebrity Series of Boston
The Celebrity Series of Boston is a non-profit performing arts presenter established in Boston, Massachusetts by Boston impresario Aaron Richmond in 1938 as Aaron Richmond's Celebrity Series....
, received its world premiere at New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall, in a concert headlined by pianist Judith Gordon. More recent projects include the At Suma Beach (based on the Noh play Matsukaze
Matsukaze
' is a play of the third category by Kanami, revised by Zeami Motokiyo. One of the most highly-regarded of Noh plays, it is mentioned more than any other in Zeami's own writings, and is depicted numerous times in the visual arts.-Plot:...
) for mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
and seven instruments, which was commissioned by the Japan Society of New York, premiered there by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in June 2003, and performed again by the Society at Lincoln Center in May, 2004; Detour Ahead for solo double bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
, commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group and performed by Dennis Trembly at the first concert of the Green Umbrella Series in the newly built Disney Hall in November, 2003; Zurek for House Blend, the resident ensemble of the Kitchen in New York, which was premiered in May, 2004; and a setting of the poem Quarry by Paul Auster, which was premiered in the Works and Process series at the Guggenheim Museum in September, 2004.
New works in 2005 included Amore Scaduto for violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
and cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
, premiered in March by the Network for New Music and Phrenic New Ballet in Philadelphia; a piece based on Polish folk songs premiered by Boston Musica Viva in May; a saxophone quartet for the Prism Quartet premiered in New York in May; and a piece for full orchestra commissioned by the Tanglewood Music Center
Tanglewood Music Center
The Tanglewood Music Center is an annual summer music academy in Lenox, Massachusetts, United States, in which emerging professional musicians participate in performances, master classes and workshops designed to provide an intense training and networking experience...
and premiered there in August 2006.
Lee Hyla's compositions are published exclusively by Carl Fischer Music
Carl Fischer Music
Carl Fischer Music is a major publisher of sheet music based in New York City that has been in business since 1872. As one of the few remaining family-owned music publishers, it supplies educational materials to professional and beginning musicians of all ages, as well as new music works.Notable...
.
Recordings
The most recent recording of Hyla's music is Wilson's Ivory-Bill, a CD containing four chamber works by the composer. Another recent recording of his music is Trans, performed by the Boston Modern Orchestra ProjectBoston Modern Orchestra Project
The Boston Modern Orchestra Project is a full professional orchestra in Boston, Massachusetts, and is widely recognized as the premiere orchestra in the United States dedicated exclusively to commissioning, performing, and recording new music of the 20th and 21st centuries...
, Gil Rose, conductor. In the fall of 2004, Hyla was the resident composer at the American Academy in Rome
American Academy in Rome
The American Academy in Rome is a research and arts institution located on the Gianicolo in Rome.- History :In 1893, a group of American architects, painters and sculptors met regularly while planning the fine arts section of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition...
, and in the winter and spring of 2005, he was a composition fellow at the Camargo Foundation in Cassis, France. Recordings of Hyla's works have been released on Nonesuch
Nonesuch Records
Nonesuch Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Bros. Records.-Company history:Nonesuch was founded in 1964 by Jac Holzman to produce "fine records at the same price as a trade paperback", which would be half the price of a normal LP...
, New World, Avant, Tzadik, CRI, Opus One, and Avant.
Education and employment
Hyla holds a B.M. with honors from New England Conservatory and a M.A. from the State University of New York at Stony BrookState University of New York at Stony Brook
The State University of New York at Stony Brook, also known as Stony Brook University, is a public research university located in Stony Brook, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island, about east of Manhattan....
. Studies with Malcolm Peyton and David Lewin
David Lewin
David Lewin was an American music theorist, music critic and composer. Called "the most original and far-ranging theorist of his generation" , he did his most influential theoretical work on the development of transformational theory, which involves the application of mathematical group theory to...
. He has been on the faculty of the New England Conservatory and currently is the Harry N. and Ruth F. Wyatt Chair of Music Composition at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
.
External links
- Lee Hyla: contemporary Boston composer official website
- NEC Faculty: Lee Hyla
- Art of the States: Lee Hyla two works by the composer