Philip Krumm
Encyclopedia
Philip Krumm is an American composer who was "a pioneer of modal
, repetitive pattern music". Krumm studied orchestration and composition with Raymond Moses in high school, with Frank Sturchio at Saint Mary's University
, with Ross Lee Finney
at University of Michigan
, and with Karlheinz Stockhausen
at University of California
at Davis.
In 1960, as a high school student, Krumm began producing an early concert series of major modern works by John Cage
, Richard Maxfield
, Philip Corner
, La Monte Young
, Terry Riley
, himself and others at McNay Art Institute, San Antonio. He recruited "Blue" Gene Tyranny
, also in high school at the time, to perform in this series. Krumm then moved to Ann Arbor, MI where he was a performer and composer in the ONCE Festival
in 1962–64. While touring with the ONCE Group
, he participated in a Carnegie Hall
performance with Yoko Ono
, George Brecht
, and Terry Jennings. In 1963 he met Jerry Hunt
while performing at Roger Shattuck
's 'Pataphysics Festival in Austin, Texas, and the two composers toured together and collaborated on several projects.
, 1964), Sampler (with Robert Wilson, 1964).
Publications: Music Without Notes (1962), Action Art: A Bibliography of Artists' Performance from Futurism
to Fluxus
and Beyond (1993).
Musical mode
In the theory of Western music since the ninth century, mode generally refers to a type of scale. This usage, still the most common in recent years, reflects a tradition dating to the middle ages, itself inspired by the theory of ancient Greek music.The word encompasses several additional...
, repetitive pattern music". Krumm studied orchestration and composition with Raymond Moses in high school, with Frank Sturchio at Saint Mary's University
St. Mary's University, Texas
St. Mary's University is a Catholic and Marianist liberal arts institution located on northwest of downtown San Antonio, Texas, United States. St. Mary’s is a nationally recognized master’s level school ranked among the top colleges in the west for best value and academic reputation by U.S. News...
, with Ross Lee Finney
Ross Lee Finney
Ross Lee Finney Junior was an American composer born in Wells, Minnesota who taught for many years at the University of Michigan. He studied with Nadia Boulanger, Edward Burlingame Hill, Alban Berg and Roger Sessions...
at University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, and with Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. Another critic calls him "one of the great visionaries of 20th-century music"...
at University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
at Davis.
In 1960, as a high school student, Krumm began producing an early concert series of major modern works by John Cage
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
, Richard Maxfield
Richard Maxfield
Richard Maxfield was a composer of instrumental, electro-acoustic, and electronic music.Born in Seattle, he most likely taught the first University-level course in electronic music in America at the New School for Social Research...
, Philip Corner
Philip Corner
Philip Corner is an American composer, action musician, trombone/alphornist, sometime vocalist, pianist-improvisor, theorist-educator, graphic score designer, and visual artist, collage&assembleur, calligrapher.-Biography:After The High School of Music & Art in New York City, Philip Corner...
, La Monte Young
La Monte Young
La Monte Thornton Young is an American avant-garde composer, musician, and artist.Young is generally recognized as the first minimalist composer. His works have been included among the most important and radical post-World War II avant-garde, experimental, and contemporary music. Young is...
, Terry Riley
Terry Riley
Terrence Mitchell Riley, is an American composer intrinsically associated with the minimalist school of Western classical music and was a pioneer of the movement...
, himself and others at McNay Art Institute, San Antonio. He recruited "Blue" Gene Tyranny
Gene Tyranny
Blue' Gene Tyranny is an avant-garde composer and pianist. He was born in San Antonio, Texas, the adopted son of Dorothy and Meyer Sheff. He studied piano with Meta Hertwig and Rodney Hoare, and composition with Otto Wick and Frank Hughes...
, also in high school at the time, to perform in this series. Krumm then moved to Ann Arbor, MI where he was a performer and composer in the ONCE Festival
ONCE Group
The ONCE Group was a collection of musicians, visual artists, architects, and film-makers who wished to create an environment in which artists could explore and share techniques and ideas in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The group was responsible for hosting the ONCE Festival of New Music in Ann...
in 1962–64. While touring with the ONCE Group
ONCE Group
The ONCE Group was a collection of musicians, visual artists, architects, and film-makers who wished to create an environment in which artists could explore and share techniques and ideas in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The group was responsible for hosting the ONCE Festival of New Music in Ann...
, he participated in a Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
performance with Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono
is a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...
, George Brecht
George Brecht
George Brecht , born George Ellis MacDiarmid, was an American conceptual artist and avant-garde composer as well as a professional chemist who worked as a consultant for companies including Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and Mobil Oil...
, and Terry Jennings. In 1963 he met Jerry Hunt
Jerry Hunt
Jerry Hunt was an American composer who created works using live electronics partly controlled by his ritualistic performance techniques, influenced by his interest in the occult. He committed suicide in response to terminal cancer...
while performing at Roger Shattuck
Roger Shattuck
Roger Whitney Shattuck was an American writer best known for his books on French literature, art, and music of the twentieth century.-Background and education:...
's 'Pataphysics Festival in Austin, Texas, and the two composers toured together and collaborated on several projects.
Compositions
- Paragenesis for two violins and piano (1959)
- Axis (1962)
- Mumma Mix (1962)
- Music for Clocks (1962)
- Formations (1962)
- Concerto for saxophone (1964)
- Sound Machine (1966)
- Farewell to LA (electronic theatre, 1975)
- Secret Pleasures (dance suite, 1988–89)
- No Time at All for electronic instruments (1989)
- Into the Pines for electronic instruments (1989)
- The Gabrieli Thing for electronic instruments (1989)
- Banshee Fantasia (commissioned by Bay Area Pianists for 100th anniversary of Henry CowellHenry CowellHenry Cowell was an American composer, music theorist, pianist, teacher, publisher, and impresario. His contribution to the world of music was summed up by Virgil Thomson, writing in the early 1950s:...
’s birth, 1997) - Film soundtrack: Angel of God (short film)
Discography
- Texas Music: Sound Machine (IRIDA RecordsIRIDA RecordsIRIDA Records was an American classical music record label focusing particularly on contemporary classical music. It was established by Jerry Hunt in 1979, and was based in Canton, Texas. The label released at least seven sound recordings featuring works by Hunt, James Fulkerson, Larry Austin,...
, 1966) - Concerto for Bass Clarinet (Opus One, 1996)
- Music from the Once Festival: Music for Clocks 1961-1966 (New World Records, 2003)
- Formations (Realized by "Blue" Gene TyrannyGene TyrannyBlue' Gene Tyranny is an avant-garde composer and pianist. He was born in San Antonio, Texas, the adopted son of Dorothy and Meyer Sheff. He studied piano with Meta Hertwig and Rodney Hoare, and composition with Otto Wick and Frank Hughes...
in 1968; Idea Records US, 2006)
Other works
Work in television: Music Hour (with Jerry HuntJerry Hunt
Jerry Hunt was an American composer who created works using live electronics partly controlled by his ritualistic performance techniques, influenced by his interest in the occult. He committed suicide in response to terminal cancer...
, 1964), Sampler (with Robert Wilson, 1964).
Publications: Music Without Notes (1962), Action Art: A Bibliography of Artists' Performance from Futurism
Futurism (art)
Futurism was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy in the early 20th century. It emphasized and glorified themes associated with contemporary concepts of the future, including speed, technology, youth and violence, and objects such as the car, the airplane and the industrial city...
to Fluxus
Fluxus
Fluxus—a name taken from a Latin word meaning "to flow"—is an international network of artists, composers and designers noted for blending different artistic media and disciplines in the 1960s. They have been active in Neo-Dada noise music and visual art as well as literature, urban planning,...
and Beyond (1993).