Michael Colgrass
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (April 2010) |
Michael Colgrass | |
---|---|
Born | Emmy Award (1982) | April 22, 1932
Website | www |
Michael Charles Colgrass (April 22, 1932 – July 2, 2019) was an American and Canadian musician, composer, and educator.[1] He was an associate composer of the Canadian Music Centre.
Early life and education
Colgrass was born in
Career
Colgrass spent eleven years supporting his composition activities as a free-lance percussionist in the city of New York, where his performance experiences included such varied groups as the
Colgrass received commissions from the
The Colgrass family decided to relocate to Toronto in 1970 primarily because of street crime, labor strikes, and civil chaos then rampant in the city of New York, an urban quality-of-life crisis that reached its peak under Mayor
Colgrass won the 1978
Among his later works is Crossworlds (2002) for flute, piano, and orchestra; this was commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra and premiered with soloists Marina Piccinini and Andreas Heafliger. In 2003 he conducted the premiere of his new chamber orchestra version of the Bach-Goldberg Variations with members of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Another twenty-first century premiere was Side by Side (2007) for harpsichord, altered piano (one player), and orchestra, commissioned collectively by the Esprit Orchestra, The Boston Modern Orchestra Project, and The Richmond Symphony featuring soloist Joanne Kong. The Canadian premiere took place on 13 May 2007 in Toronto under conductor Alex Pauk; the American premiere followed on 2 November 2007 in Boston under Gil Rose. Soon after followed Pan Trio, for steel drums, harp, and percussion (marimba/vibraphone), commissioned and premiered in Toronto on 21 May 2008 by Soundstreams Canada and featuring pans virtuoso Liam Teague. His work was also featured on the Mark Hetzler 2015 recording Blues, Ballads and Beyond.
Colgrass also devised a system of teaching music creativity to children; he taught this to middle- and high-school music teachers, who have in turn used his techniques to teach children to write and perform new music of their own creation. His articles on these activities appeared in the Music Educators Journal (September 2004) and Adultita, an Italian education magazine. He also wrote a number of works for children to perform.
Personal life and death
Colgrass lived in Toronto, Ontario, Canada for nearly five decades, while earning his living internationally as a composer.
Colgrass died on July 2, 2019, at the age of 87.[4] His widow, Ulla, is a journalist and editor who writes about music and the arts; and his son Neal is an editor, journalist, and screenwriter.[citation needed]
Notable students
Works
Books
As a prose author, Colgrass wrote My Lessons with Kumi, a fictionalized "teaching tale" outlining his techniques for performance and creativity; he also gave workshops throughout the world on the psychology and technique of performance. Colgrass also wrote, in collaboration with his wife and son, Adventures of an American Composer: An Autobiography, published in 2010.
- Colgrass, Michael (2000). My Lessons With Kumi: How I Learned to Perform with Confidence in Life and Work. Boulder, Colorado: Real People Press/Andreas NLP. ISBN 978-0-911226-40-9.
- Colgrass, Michael (2010). Colgrass, Neal and Ulla (ed.). Adventures of an American Composer: An Autobiography. Galesville, Maryland: Meredith Music. ISBN 978-1-57463-155-5.
Music
The following is a list of works by Colgrass.[5][6]
|
|
References
- ISBN 9781136790249.
- ^ Pulitzer-winning Toronto composer Michael Colgrass dies at 87
- ^ Pulitzer-winning Toronto composer Michael Colgrass dies at 87
- ^ Pulitzer-winning Toronto composer Michael Colgrass dies at 87
- ^ Michael Colgrass List of Works Retrieved April 26, 2013.
- ^ "Carl Fischer - Publisher of Fine Music". Archived from the original on September 29, 2013. Retrieved 2014-02-19. Retrieved April 26, 2013.
External links
Archives at | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
||||||
How to use archival material |
- Official website
- Michael Colgrass' page at Carl Fischer
- Works of Michael Colgrass at Carl Fischer, music publishers.
- Interview with Michael Colgrass, December 17, 1986