Dan Which

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Dan Edward Welcher (born March 2, 1948 in Rochester, New York ) is an American bassoonist , composer , conductor and music teacher .

Life

Dan Welcher first received piano and bassoon lessons . He then studied composition with Warren Benson and Samuel Adler at the Eastman School of Music until 1969 , after which he switched to Ludmila Ulehla at the Manhattan School of Music , where he graduated with a Master of Music degree in 1972 .

From 1969 to 1972, Welcher was a bassoonist in the US Military Academy Band at West Point. He then played until 1978 as principal bassoonist in the Louisville Orchestra; he also taught music theory and composition at the University of Louisville . He then moved to the Butler School of Music at the University of Texas , where he also taught composition and founded the New Music Ensemble . Welcher also taught at the Aspen Music Festival and School from 1976 to 1990 , was visiting professor at the Eastman School of Music from 1985 to 1986, and was assistant conductor of the Austin Symphony Orchestra from 1980 to 1990. From 1990 to 1993 Welcher was the composer in residence of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra.

Which moderated the weekly radio show Knowing the Score on the classic channel KFMA-FM from 1999 to 2009 . The program From the Butler School , which presents recordings by students from the University of Texas, is also produced and hosted by Welcher.

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He wrote over 100 compositions in different genres, including three operas, seven concerts and five symphonies as well as numerous chamber music, solo and vocal works. His compositions have been performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra , the Chicago Symphony Orchestra , the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra , among others . Welcher's music is described as "rhythmically exuberant with a lyrical undertone"; it is usually strictly structured, with these structures being broken up by occasional jazz and rock elements. His compositions are published by the Theodore Presser Company.

Works for symphony orchestra (selection)

  • 1971 episodes
  • 1974 concert for flute
  • 1975 concert for chamber orchestra
  • 1976 Dervishes
  • 1980 The Visions of Merlin
  • 1985 Prairie Light
  • 1989 Castle Creek
  • 1989 concert for clarinet
  • 1991 Symphony No. 1
  • 1991 Haleakala: How Maui Snared the Sun , for narrator and orchestra
  • 1991 Bridges for strings
  • 1993 concert for violin
  • 1994 Concert for piano Shiva's drum
  • 1994 Symphony No. 2 Night Watchers
  • 1996 Bright Wings

Works for wind orchestra (selection)

  • 1970 Walls and Fences
  • 1985 Arches
  • 1985 Five Tactical Experiences
  • 1988 The Yellowstone Fires
  • 1994 Zion
  • 1997 Symphony No. 3 Shaker Life for wind orchestra
  • 1998 Circular Marches
  • 2010 upriver

Stage works

  • 1986 Della's Gift , opera in two acts, libretto by Paul Woodruff based on the short story “ The Gift of the Wise ” by O. Henry .
  • 2003 Holy Night , opera in three scenes, performed with Della's Gift as A Star over Fifth Avenue .

Awards

Welcher has received numerous prizes, awards and grants for his compositional work, including a Guggenheim Fellowship for Composition in 1997 and the Arts and Letters Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2012. Welcher has been awarded the Sousa / ABA / Ostwald twice Award of the American band Masters Association awarded: 1997 for Zion and 1998 for Circular Marches . He was also nominated seven times for the Pulitzer Prize for Music. He is also the holder of the Lee Hage Jamail Regents Professorship in Fine Arts . His radio show Knowing the Score won the ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award for a classic radio show.

Recordings (selection)

  • Barber, Welcher, Johnson (Louisville Orchestra, LS 763), Louisville Orchestra, Jorge Mester (conductor).
  • Bending the Light (1999, New World Records, 80559-2), The Core Ensemble.
  • Haleakala: How Maui Snared The Sun (2005, Naxos, 8.559287), Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, Richard Chamberlain (narrator), Bil Jackson (clarinet), Donald Jackson (conductor).
  • Places in the West (2015, Longhorn Music, LHM 2013003), University of Texas Wind Ensemble, Jerry F. Junkin (conductor).

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ From the Butler School. KMFA website, accessed January 1, 2018 .
  2. ↑ a b c Dan Welcher. Butler School of Music website, accessed January 1, 2018 .
  3. ↑ Joshua Kosman:  Welcher, Dan (Edward). In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
  4. ↑ Dan Welcher. Theodore Presser Company website, accessed January 1, 2018 .
  5. ↑ Dan Welcher. John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation website, accessed January 1, 2018 .
  6. ↑ ABA Awards. The American Bandmasters Association, accessed January 1, 2018 .
personal data
SURNAME Which one, Dan
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Which Dan Edward
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American composer, conductor and music educator
DATE OF BIRTH March 2, 1948
PLACE OF BIRTH Rochester (New York)