Roger Reynolds
Encyclopedia
Roger Reynolds is an American composer
born July 18, 1934 in Detroit, Michigan
. He is a professor at the University of California at San Diego. He received an undergraduate degree in engineering physics
from the University of Michigan
where he later studied composition with Ross Lee Finney
. Together with fellow Michigan classmates Robert Ashley
and Gordon Mumma
, Reynolds was a founding member of the ONCE Group. After receiving his PhD, he lived abroad for seven years, first in Europe then in Japan. In the late 1960s, he returned to the United States and settled in southern California where he has been based to this day.
Roger Reynolds's works most often include text and electronic elements; he is especially a pioneer in multichannel spatial explorations. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize
in 1989 for Whispers Out of Time, a composition for string orchestra.
He says, "I believe in as wide a range of musical involvements as is feasible given the reality of life." (Swed, 1993)
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...
born July 18, 1934 in Detroit, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. He is a professor at the University of California at San Diego. He received an undergraduate degree in engineering physics
Engineering physics
Engineering physics is the study of the combined disciplines of physics, engineering and mathematics in order to develop an understanding of the interrelationships of these three disciplines. Fundamental physics is combined with problem solving and engineering skills, which then has broad...
from the 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...
where he later studied composition 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...
. Together with fellow Michigan classmates Robert Ashley
Robert Ashley
Robert Ashley , is a contemporary American composer, best known for his operas and other theatrical works, many of which incorporate electronics and extended techniques. Along with Gordon Mumma, Ashley was also a major pioneer of audio synthesis.Ashley was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan...
and Gordon Mumma
Gordon Mumma
Gordon Mumma is an American composer. He cofounded Ann Arbor's Cooperative Studio for Electronic Music with Robert Ashley, was a musician with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company and was a member of the Sonic Arts Union with Ashley, Alvin Lucier, and David Behrman...
, Reynolds was a founding member of the ONCE Group. After receiving his PhD, he lived abroad for seven years, first in Europe then in Japan. In the late 1960s, he returned to the United States and settled in southern California where he has been based to this day.
Roger Reynolds's works most often include text and electronic elements; he is especially a pioneer in multichannel spatial explorations. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
in 1989 for Whispers Out of Time, a composition for string orchestra.
He says, "I believe in as wide a range of musical involvements as is feasible given the reality of life." (Swed, 1993)
Notable students
- Michael DaughertyMichael DaughertyMichael Kevin Daugherty is an American composer, pianist, and teacher. Influenced by popular culture, Romanticism, and Postmodernism, Daugherty is one of the most colorful and widely performed American concert music composers of his generation...
- Paul DresherPaul DresherPaul Joseph Dresher is an American composer. Dresher received his B.A. in music from the University of California, Berkeley and his M.A. in composition from the University of California, San Diego, where he studied with Robert Erickson, Roger Reynolds, Pauline Oliveros, and Bernard Rands.He also...
- Juan Campoverde
- Thanassis Rikakis
- David Felder
- Chaya CzernowinChaya CzernowinChaya Czernowin is an Israeli composer, and Walter Bigelow Rosen Professor of Music at Harvard University....
- Paul Koonce
- Joseph WatersJoseph WatersJoseph Waters is an American classical composer. He also mounts experimental electronic music festivals attempting to bridge the gap between contemporary popular genres and the avant-garde Western classical tradition.-Creative Projects:...
Discography
- Roger Reynolds: Electroacoustic Music (1993). New World Records 80431-2. Featuring The Ivanov Suite and Versions/Stages. Liner notes by Mark Swed. Texts by Tadashi SuzukiTadashi SuzukiTadashi Suzuki is a theatre director, writer and philosopher working out of Toga, Toyama, Japan. Suzuki is the founder and director of the Suzuki Company of Toga , organizer of Japan’s first international theatre festival , co-founder of the Saratoga International Theatre Institute in Saratoga...
and EuripidesEuripidesEuripides was one of the three great tragedians of classical Athens, the other two being Aeschylus and Sophocles. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to him but according to the Suda it was ninety-two at most...
. Back cover contains the note: "The playback levels of materials on this disc are critical to their proper representation. Some selections are to be heard at very assertive levels (particularly "Primitive Music" and "Ocean"). If the listening level is set for a full, but not too loud level for the opening cut, the remaining levels should follow as intended." - Coconino... a shattered landscape. Arditti QuartetArditti QuartetThe Arditti Quartet is a string quartet founded in 1974. The quartet is associated particularly with contemporary music.-Early history:The quartet was founded in 1974 by violinist Irvine Arditti together with John Senter, Levine Andrade and Lenox Mackenzie...
. Gramavision R2 79440. - Voicespace. Lovely Music VR 1801-2
- "Process and Passion". Mark Menzies, vlMark MenziesMark Andrew Menzies is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Fylde in Lancashire since 2010. He is Parliamentary Private Secretary to Charles Hendry MP, Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change and a former member of the Scottish Affairs Select...
; Hugh Livingston, vc Pogus P21032-2 (2 CDs) - "WATERSHED". Steven Schick, perc.Steven SchickSteven Schick is a percussionist from the USA, specializing in contemporary music. He teaches at UCSD and at the Manhattan School of Music. He is currently the Music Director and Conductor of the La Jolla Symphony Orchestra....
Mode Records DVD - "Epigram and Evolution", "Wedge", "Mosaic", "A Portrait of Vanzetti". Music from the ONCE Festival 1961-61 New World Records 80567-2 (5CDs)
- Roger Reynolds/The Paris Pieces. "Odyssey", "Summer Island", "Archipelago", Autumn Island", "Fantasy for Pianist", Neuma 450-91
External links
- Roger Reynolds
- Mode Artist Profile: Roger Reynolds
- Edition Peters: Roger Reynolds
- CDeMUSIC: Roger Reynolds
- Lovely Music Artist: Roger Reynolds
- The Modern Word: Roger Reynolds
- Library of Congress: Music, Theater & Dance: The Roger Reynolds Collection
- Roger Reynolds Interview by Bruce Duffie, December 12, 1989
Listening
- Art of the States: Roger Reynolds two works by the composer