Stephen Jaffe
Encyclopedia
Stephen Jaffe is an American
composer
of contemporary classical music
. He lives in Durham, North Carolina
, USA, and serves on the music faculty of Duke University
, where he holds the post of Mary and James H. Semans Professor of Music Composition; his colleagues there include composers Scott Lindroth
and Anthony Kelley. Jaffe graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania
in 1977; he received a master's degree
the following year from the same institution. During his time in Pennsylvania, he studied with George Crumb
, George Rochberg
, and Richard Wernick
.
Jaffe's music has been performed across the United States
, Europe
, and China
(including the Nottingham, Tanglewood
, and Oregon Bach Festival
s) by ensembles including the National Symphony Orchestra, the R.A.I. of Rome, the North Carolina Symphony
, the San Francisco Symphony
, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra
, the Miami String Quartet
, and the Ciompi Quartet
. He has received awards and commissions, and recordings of his works are available, including a three-volume retrospective of his work The Music of Stephen Jaffe from Bridge Records
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
of contemporary classical music
Contemporary classical music
Contemporary classical music can be understood as belonging to the period that started in the mid-1970s with the retreat of modernism. However, the term may also be employed in a broader sense to refer to all post-1945 modern musical forms.-Categorization:...
. He lives in Durham, North Carolina
Durham, North Carolina
Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...
, USA, and serves on the music faculty of Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
, where he holds the post of Mary and James H. Semans Professor of Music Composition; his colleagues there include composers Scott Lindroth
Scott Lindroth
Scott Lindroth is an American composer and teacher currently based near Durham, North Carolina.Lindroth joined the faculty of Duke University in 1990, where he is currently the Vice-Provost for the Arts and the Kevin D. Gorter Associate Professor of Music; his colleagues at Duke include composers...
and Anthony Kelley. Jaffe graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
in 1977; he received a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
the following year from the same institution. During his time in Pennsylvania, he studied with George Crumb
George Crumb
George Crumb is an American composer of contemporary classical music. He is noted as an explorer of unusual timbres, alternative forms of notation, and extended instrumental and vocal techniques. Examples include seagull effect for the cello , metallic vibrato for the piano George Crumb (born...
, George Rochberg
George Rochberg
George Rochberg was an American composer of contemporary classical music.-Life:Rochberg was born in Paterson, New Jersey. He attended the Mannes College of Music, where his teachers included George Szell and Hans Weisse, and the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Rosario Scalero and...
, and Richard Wernick
Richard Wernick
Richard Wernick in Boston, Massachusetts is a US composer. He is best known for his composition "Visions of Terror and Wonder," which won the 1977 Pulitzer Prize for Music.-Career:...
.
Jaffe's music has been performed across the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
(including the Nottingham, Tanglewood
Tanglewood
Tanglewood is an estate and music venue in Lenox and Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It is the home of the annual summer Tanglewood Music Festival and the Tanglewood Jazz Festival, and has been the Boston Symphony Orchestra's summer home since 1937. It was the venue of the Berkshire Festival.- History...
, and Oregon Bach Festival
Oregon Bach Festival
The Oregon Bach Festival is an annual celebration of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach and his musical legacy, held in Eugene, Oregon, United States, in late June and early July. The artistic director is German organist and conductor Helmuth Rilling and the Executive Director is John Evans,...
s) by ensembles including the National Symphony Orchestra, the R.A.I. of Rome, the North Carolina Symphony
North Carolina Symphony
The North Carolina Symphony is an American orchestra based in Raleigh, North Carolina, with sixty-nine full time musicians. The orchestra performs in Meymandi Concert Hall and performs occasionally with the Carolina Ballet and the The Opera Company of North Carolina. In 2007, the organization...
, the San Francisco Symphony
San Francisco Symphony
The San Francisco Symphony is an orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980, the orchestra has performed at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall. The San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus are part of the organization...
, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra
New Jersey Symphony Orchestra
The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra is a symphony orchestra located in the state of New Jersey, United States. Philip James founded the orchestra in 1922. The orchestra is headquartered in Newark, New Jersey. Neeme Järvi, the NJSO's music director from 2005 to 2009, is currently the orchestra's...
, the Miami String Quartet
Miami String Quartet
The Miami String Quartet is an American string quartet. The group was founded in 1988 at The New World School of the Arts by John de Lancie in Miami, Florida, and is now Quartet in Residence at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, where all four members serve as faculty members in the School of...
, and the Ciompi Quartet
Ciompi Quartet
The Ciompi Quartet is a string quartet at Duke University where they were founded in 1965 by Giorgio Ciompi. They have produced twelve recordings since 1991....
. He has received awards and commissions, and recordings of his works are available, including a three-volume retrospective of his work The Music of Stephen Jaffe from Bridge Records
Bridge Records, Inc.
Bridge Records, Inc. is an independent record label based in New Rochelle, New York that specializes in 20th century classical music. Its president is Becky Starobin...
.
Awards and recognition
- Koussevitsky International Recording Award (KIRA) from the Musicians Club of New York (November 2006) – for Concerto for Violin and Orchestra
- Composer of the Year from the Classical Recording Society (November 2005)
- Aaron Copland Foundation for Music (2002) – for Concerto for Violin and Orchestra and Chamber Concerto ("Singing Figures")
- Howard Foundation Fellowship from Brown UniversityBrown UniversityBrown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
(1996) - American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters Lifetime Achievement Prize (May 1993)
- Best Newly Published Music Citation from the National Flute AssociationNational Flute AssociationThe National Flute Association , is the largest organization for flutists in the world. It is an association in the United States.It was founded by Mark Thomas.-External links:*...
(1991) – for Three Figures and a Ground - Kennedy Center Friedheim AwardKennedy Center Friedheim AwardThe Kennedy Center Friedheim Award was an annual award given for instrumental music composition by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.. It was established in 1978 and ended in 1995...
(May 1991) – for First Quartet, recorded by the Ciompi QuartetCiompi QuartetThe Ciompi Quartet is a string quartet at Duke University where they were founded in 1965 by Giorgio Ciompi. They have produced twelve recordings since 1991.... - Brandeis UniversityBrandeis UniversityBrandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...
Creative Arts Citation (May 1989) - Guggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim 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...
(May 1984) - Composer Fellowship from the National Endowment for the ArtsNational Endowment for the ArtsThe 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...
(1981) - Rome PrizeRome PrizeThe 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...
administered by the American Academy in RomeAmerican Academy in RomeThe 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...
(1980) - Joseph H. Bearns PrizeJoseph H. Bearns PrizeThe Joseph H. Bearns Prize in Music was established on February 3, 1921 by Lillia M. Bearns, in memory of her father. It was her desire to encourage talented young composers in the United States...
for Four Nocturnes (1976) - Student Composer Award from BMIBroadcast Music IncorporatedBroadcast Music, Inc. is one of three United States performing rights organizations, along with ASCAP and SESAC. It collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed...
(1975) – for the symphonySymphonyA symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...
Three Lives - Premier Medaille d’harmonie from the Conservatoire de Musique in Geneva (May 1972)
Major works
- Poetry of the Piedmont (2006) for orchestra – commissioned by North Carolina Symphony
- String Quartet No. 2 (Sylvan and Aeolian Figures) (2005) – written for the Miami String QuartetMiami String QuartetThe Miami String Quartet is an American string quartet. The group was founded in 1988 at The New World School of the Arts by John de Lancie in Miami, Florida, and is now Quartet in Residence at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, where all four members serve as faculty members in the School of...
, commissioned by the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society - Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra (2004) – premiered by the National Symphony Orchestra under Leonard SlatkinLeonard SlatkinLeonard Edward Slatkin is an American conductor and composer.-Early life and education:Slatkin was born in Los Angeles to a musical family that came from areas of the Russian Empire now in Ukraine. His father Felix Slatkin was the violinist, conductor and founder of the Hollywood String Quartet,...
, with soloist David Hardy - Designs (2002) for flute, guitar and percussion – premiered at the National Arts Center of Taiwan, 2002
- Homage to the Breath: Instrumental and Vocal Meditations for Mezzo-soprano and Ten Instruments (2001) – featuring a text by Thich Nhat Hanh, premiered at the Hirshhorn Museum of Art in Washington, DC
- Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (2000) – premiered by soloist Nicholas Kitchen with the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra
- Songs of Turning (1996) for chorus and orchestra
- Chamber Concerto ("Singing Figures") (1996) for solo oboeOboeThe oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
and chamber ensemble – recorded by Speculum MusicaeSpeculum MusicaeSpeculum Musicae is an American chamber ensemble dedicated to the performance of contemporary classical music. It was founded in New York City in 1971 and is particularly noted for its performances of the music of Elliott Carter... - The Reassurance (1995) – contribution to the AIDS Quilt Songbook
- First Quartet (1991) – commissioned and premiered by the Ciompi QuartetCiompi QuartetThe Ciompi Quartet is a string quartet at Duke University where they were founded in 1965 by Giorgio Ciompi. They have produced twelve recordings since 1991....
- Three Figures and a Ground (1989) for flute and piano
- Rhythm of the Running Plough (1985)
External links
- Jaffe's faculty page on Duke University's website
- Profile on Duke University's website
- Stephen Jaffe profile at Presser Online
- Stephen Jaffe profile at Bridge Records Management
- 2009 Concert series at The Walden SchoolThe Walden SchoolThe Walden School is a private summer music camp situated on the campus of the Dublin School, in Dublin, New Hampshire, USA. It is a five-week residential program which hosts approximately 45 students aged 10-18 and focuses on developing musicianship through composition, improvisation and choral...
with Jaffe as moderator and composer-in-residence - American Works for String Quartet: Copland/Ward/Jaffe Program notes at DRAM website