Stephen Melillo

Stephen Leonard Melillo (born December 23, 1957 in Port Chester , New York) is an American composer.

Life

After school, Melillo began studying physics, but dropped out to study music at the Boston Conservatory of Music. After graduating, he continued his studies at Columbia University ( Master's degree ). He studied management with Jens Nygaard and Atilio Poto .

In the early 1980s, he taught 275 New York math and science teachers how to use music to build knowledge of math and science.

Apart from his works for wind and symphony orchestras, he has written several texts and study aids, composed for 28 TV productions, written 13 commercial soundtracks, three symphonies and children's books.

In addition to film and television, he has written for Nintendo , Sega and IBM (IBM Thinkpad demo, Super Battle Tank II) and soundtracks for the NY Nets, Yankees and Giants . The most important educational work is Function Chorales , a well thought-out principle for improving the mood and intonation in the orchestra. They can be played with four instruments, but also with the orchestral line-up of Gustav Mahler's 8th Symphony . Melillo has written more than 1000 works for different ensembles in different genres.

He has written several works (Stormquest), all of which last about 3–4 minutes and are to be classified with a lower degree of difficulty so that they can be played by youth orchestras. Many of Stephen Melillo's works are similar in a certain way, sometimes in terms of their structure, and often also in terms of the melodies used.

For the victims of the Baatan death march, he created the 54:12 minute work Kakehashi - That we might live (recorded on the double CD Writings on the Wall ), which consists of radio broadcasts, Morse clips and songs from the time of the Second World War and the Music by Stephen Melillo consists. This work is dedicated to the fallen American soldiers, but also to the survivors, bereaved and relatives.

The connection between music and mathematics plays an important role in his music, and the Fibonacci sequence can often be seen in his works (for example in Godspeed! ). Not only in terms of intervals, but also in terms of dynamics , tempo , structure, pauses and chord structure .

Melillo provided the score for the short film 12:01 PM , which was nominated for an Oscar in 1991 .

CDs with works for wind orchestra

• Stormworks: Chapter 0 - Walk on the Water (Royal Military Band The Hague)
• Stormworks: Chapter 1 - Without Warning (ad hoc orchestra "Stormworks", consisting of American military musicians)
• Stormworks: Chapter 1 Prime - A Wish to the World (Troy University Symphony Band)
• Stormworks: Chapter 2 - Wende (Rundfunkblasorchester Leipzig)
• Stormworks: Chapter 3 - Wait of the World (Marinierskapel of the Netherlands: Direction: Maurice Hamers)
• Stormworks: Chapters 5 & 8 - Writings on the Wall (Central Band of Japan Self Defense Force with the choirs of Shenandoah & Old Dominion Universities)
• Stormjourneys (Leipzig Radio Band and Orchestra di Fiati della Valtellina)
• Stormquest (Western Michigan University Studio Winds)