Ward Swingle
Encyclopedia
Ward Swingle is an American vocalist and jazz musician.
Swingle was born in Mobile, Alabama
. He studied music, particularly jazz, from a very young age. He was playing in Mobile-area Big Band
s before finishing high school. After high school, Swingle graduated Summa Cum Laude from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music
. He then moved to France
, where he studied piano
with the celebrated Walter Gieseking
. In the 1960s he was a founding member of Les Double Six
of Paris, then took the scat singing
idea and applied it to the works of Bach
. This concept would be the foundation for The Swingle Singers
, a group Swingle founded and whose early recordings won five Grammy Award
s.
When the French group of Swingle Singers disbanded in 1973, Swingle moved to London
and formed an English group, expanding the repertoire to include classical and avant-garde works along with the scat and jazz vocal arrangements.
In 1984 Swingle returned to live in America. Though he remained musical advisor for his London-based group, he devoted most of his time to workshops, guest conducting and the dissemination of his printed arrangements through his publishing company, Swingle Music.
His pioneering ideas in new choral techniques have produced invitations to conduct The Stockholm and Netherlands Chamber Choirs, The Dale Warland
Singers, The Sydney Philharmonia Motet Choir, the BBC
Northern Singers and the MENC
National Honors Choir at Kennedy Center. Over the last ten years he has given a long series of workshops and seminars at universities in both Europe and North America.
In March 1994 Swingle and his wife moved back to France, where he continues his work in arranging, composing and guest conducting. He has recently written an autobiography
and treatise
entitled Swingle Singing, in which he defines 'Swingle Singing' techniques with illustrations from his arrangements and compositions.
On February 20, 2004, Swingle was named "Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres"
(Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters) by the French Minister of Culture and Information
.
Swingle was born in Mobile, Alabama
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
. He studied music, particularly jazz, from a very young age. He was playing in Mobile-area Big Band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
s before finishing high school. After high school, Swingle graduated Summa Cum Laude from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music
Cincinnati Conservatory of Music
The Cincinnati Conservatory of Music was a conservatory, part of a girls' finishing school, founded in 1867 in Cincinnati, Ohio. It merged with the College of Music of Cincinnati in 1955, forming the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, which is now part of the University of Cincinnati.The...
. He then moved to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, where he studied piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
with the celebrated Walter Gieseking
Walter Gieseking
Walter Wilhelm Gieseking was a French-born German pianist and composer.-Biography:Born in Lyon, France, the son of a German doctor and lepidopterist, Gieseking first started playing the piano at the age of four, but without formal instruction...
. In the 1960s he was a founding member of Les Double Six
Les Double Six
Les Double Six was a French vocal jazz group established in 1959 by Mimi Perrin. The group established an international reputation in the early 1960s. The name of the group was an allusion to the fact that the sextet used overdubbing techniques to achieve twelve-part singing...
of Paris, then took the scat singing
Scat singing
In vocal jazz, scat singing is vocal improvisation with wordless vocables, nonsense syllables or without words at all. Scat singing gives singers the ability to sing improvised melodies and rhythms, to create the equivalent of an instrumental solo using their voice.- Structure and syllable choice...
idea and applied it to the works of Bach
Bạch
Bạch is a Vietnamese surname. The name is transliterated as Bai in Chinese and Baek, in Korean.Bach is the anglicized variation of the surname Bạch.-Notable people with the surname Bạch:* Bạch Liêu...
. This concept would be the foundation for The Swingle Singers
The Swingle Singers
The Swingle Singers are a mostly a cappella vocal group formed in 1962 in Paris, France by Ward Swingle with Anne Germain, Jeanette Baucomont, Jean Cussac and others. Christiane Legrand, the sister of composer Michel Legrand, was the group's lead soprano through 1972. Until 2011 the group...
, a group Swingle founded and whose early recordings won five Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
s.
When the French group of Swingle Singers disbanded in 1973, Swingle moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and formed an English group, expanding the repertoire to include classical and avant-garde works along with the scat and jazz vocal arrangements.
In 1984 Swingle returned to live in America. Though he remained musical advisor for his London-based group, he devoted most of his time to workshops, guest conducting and the dissemination of his printed arrangements through his publishing company, Swingle Music.
His pioneering ideas in new choral techniques have produced invitations to conduct The Stockholm and Netherlands Chamber Choirs, The Dale Warland
Dale Warland
Dale Warland is an American conductor, composer, founder of the Grammy-nominated Dale Warland Singers, scholar, teacher, choral consultant, and renowned champion of contemporary choral composers.-Professional Biography :...
Singers, The Sydney Philharmonia Motet Choir, the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Northern Singers and the MENC
MENC: The National Association for Music Education
MENC: The National Association for Music Education is an organization of American music educators dedicated to advancing and preserving music education and as part of the core curriculum of schools in the United States...
National Honors Choir at Kennedy Center. Over the last ten years he has given a long series of workshops and seminars at universities in both Europe and North America.
In March 1994 Swingle and his wife moved back to France, where he continues his work in arranging, composing and guest conducting. He has recently written an autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
and treatise
Treatise
A treatise is a formal and systematic written discourse on some subject, generally longer and treating it in greater depth than an essay, and more concerned with investigating or exposing the principles of the subject.-Noteworthy treatises:...
entitled Swingle Singing, in which he defines 'Swingle Singing' techniques with illustrations from his arrangements and compositions.
On February 20, 2004, Swingle was named "Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres"
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
The Ordre des Arts et des Lettres is an Order of France, established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture, and confirmed as part of the Ordre national du Mérite by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963...
(Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters) by the French Minister of Culture and Information
Minister of Culture (France)
The Minister of Culture is, in the Government of France, the cabinet member in charge of national museums and monuments; promoting and protecting the arts in France and abroad; and managing the national archives and regional "maisons de culture"...
.
- See also, The Swingle Singers discographyThe Swingle Singers discographyThe Paris-based Swingle Singers recorded regularly for Philips in the 1960s and early 1970s and the successor London-based group continued to record, for Columbia / CBS, Virgin Classics and other record labels from 1974 to the present....
.
External links
- Ward Swingle Bio at www.wardswingle.com
- Ward Swingle Bio at www.singers.com
- Ward Swingle filmography at the Internet Movie DataBase (imdb.com)