Derek Bermel (1967- )
Described
by the Toronto Star as an "eclectic with wide open ears" ,
Grammy-nominated composer and clarinetist Derek Bermel has been widely
hailed for his creativity, theatricality, and virtuosity. Bermel's
works draw from a rich variety of musical genres, including classical,
jazz, pop, rock, blues, folk, and gospel. Hands-on experience with
music of cultures around the world has become part of the fabric and
force of his compositional language. Currently serving as
Artist-in-Residence at the Institute for Advanced Study,
Composer-in-Residence with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and
Creative Adviser to the American Composers Orchestra at Carnegie Hall,
Bermel has received commissions from the Pittsburgh, National, Saint
Louis, New Jersey, Albany, and Pacific Symphonies, Los Angeles and
Westchester Philharmonics, the New York Youth Symphony, Chamber Music
Society of Lincoln Center, WNYC Radio, eighth blackbird, the Guarneri
String Quartet, Music from China, De Ereprijs (Netherlands), Jazz
Xchange (U.K.), Figura (Denmark), violinist Midori, electric guitarist
Wiek Hijmans, cellist Fred Sherry, and pianists Christopher Taylor and
Andy Russo, among others. His many awards include the Alpert Award in
the Arts, the Rome Prize, Guggenheim and Fulbright Fellowships, the
Trailblazer Award from the American Music Center, the Academy Award
from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Paul Boylan Award
from the University of Michigan, the Quinto Maganini Award, the Harvey
Gaul Prize, the Lily Boulanger Award, the Brian Israel Prize,
commissions from the Koussevitzky and Fromm Foundations, Meet the
Composer, and the Cary Trust, and residencies at Yaddo, Tanglewood,
Aspen, Banff, Bellagio, Copland House, Sacatar, and Civitella
Ranieri. Bermel has collaborated with artists in a wide
variety of
genres, including playwright Will Eno, filmmaker Kevin Jerome Everson,
installation artist Shimon Attie, landscape architect Andy Cao,
choreographer Sheron Wray, performance artist Kim Jones, composer/sound
designer David Reid, poets Wendy S. Walters, Mark Halliday and Naomi
Shihab Nye, and Albert Bermel. As an educator, he founded the
groundbreaking Making Score program for young composers at the New York
Youth Symphony, and regularly leads masterclasses at universities,
conservatories, and concert venues worldwide. Bermel holds B.A. and
D.M.A. degrees from Yale University and the University of Michigan. His
main composition teachers were William Albright, Louis Andriessen,
William Bolcom, Henri Dutilleux, André Hajdu, and Michael Tenzer, and
he studied clarinet with Ben Armato and Keith Wilson. He also studied
ethnomusicology and orchestration in Jerusalem with André Hajdu, later
traveling to Bulgaria to study Thracian folk style with Nikola Iliev,
to Brazil to learn caxixi with Julio Góes, and to Ghana to study Lobi
xylophone with Ngmen Baaru. His music is published by Peermusic
(North/South America & Asia) and Faber Music (Europe &
Australia).COMPOSITIONS Bermel Links ~ ~ ~ Works by Genre ~ ~ ~ Bermel on Bermel
Mulatash Stomp, violin, cello and piano (1991)
Sonata Humana, clarinet and piano (1991)
Three Funk Studies, piano (1991)
String Quartet (1992)
Dodecaphunk, piano (1992)
Kpanlongo, male (or mixed) chorus (1993)
Pete Pete, chorus (1993)
Theme and Absurdities, clarinet (1993)
Two Songs from Nandom, organ (1993)
Three Songs on Poems by Wendy S. Walters (1993)
Dust Dances, orchestra (1994)
Wanderings, wind quintet (1994)
SchiZm, clarinet (or oboe) and piano (1994)
Hot Zone, large ensemble (1995)
Oct Up, double string quartet (1995)
Turning, piano (1995)
Continental Divide, large ensemble (1996)
Voices, clarinet and orchestra (1997)
Meditation, piano (1997)
See How She Moves, solo voice (1997)
Old Songs for a New Man (3 songs), baritone, tpt/flghn, trom, pf, perc, vln and db (1997) [text: Wendy S. Walters]
God's Trombones, 3 trombones and percussion (1998)
Cabaret Songs, soprano and piano (1998) [text: Wendy S. Walters] - same as 2007 work w/ensemble???
Coming Together, clarinet and cello (1999)
Nature Calls (3 songs), medium voice and piano (1999)
Soul Garden, solo viola and string quartet (2000)
Natural Selection, voice and ensemble (2000)
At the End of the World, high voice and piano (or orchestra?) (2000) [text: Nicole Krauss]
Three Rivers, large ensemble (2001)
The Sting, narrator and orchestra (2001-02)
Thracian Echoes, orchestra (2002)
The Ends, orchestra (2002)
Tag Rag, orchestra (2003)
Slides, orchestra (2003)
Catcalls, brass quintet (2003)
Language Instruction, clarinet, violin, cello and piano (2003)
Thracian Sketches, clarinet (2003)
Tied Shifts, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano and percussion (2004)
Kontraphunktus, piano (2004)
Funk Studies, piano (2004)
Fetch, piano (2004)
Ides March, band (2005)
In Tangle, large ensemble (2005)
A Child's War, children's chorus (2005)
Twin Trio, flute, clarinet and piano (2005)
Spicebush, documentary film score (2005)
Migration Series, orchestra (2006)
Elixir, orchestra (2006)
Turning Variations, piano and orchestra (2006)
Passing Through, string quartet (2007)
Cabaret Songs (5 songs), soprano, clarinet, dobro, guitar, double bass and percussion (2007) [text: Wendy S. Walters]
Rockaway, film score (2007)
The Good Life, soprano, baritone, chorus and orchestra (2008)
A Shout, A Whisper, and a Trace, orchestra (2009)
Swing Song, large ensemble (2009)
Canzonas Americanas, large ensemble (2010)
Battle for Brooklyn, documentary film score (2010)
Ritornello, electric guitar and orchestra (2011)
Mar de Setembro (September Sea), mezzo-soprano and chamber orchestra (2011) [text: Eugénio de Andrade]
WORKS BY GENRE Bermel Links ~ ~ ~ Bermel on Bermel ~ top of page ~
Orchestra
Dust Dances, orchestra (1994)
The Sting, narrator and orchestra (2001-02)
Thracian Echoes, orchestra (2002)
The Ends, orchestra (2002)
Tag Rag, orchestra (2003)
Slides, orchestra (2003)
Migration Series, orchestra (2006)
Elixir, orchestra (2006)
A Shout, A Whisper, and a Trace, orchestra (2009)
Band
Ides March, band (2005)
Soloist(s) w/Orchestra
Voices, clarinet and orchestra (1997)
The Sting, narrator and orchestra (2001-02)
Turning Variations, piano and orchestra (2006)
Ritornello, electric guitar and orchestra (2011)
Chorus w/Orchestra
The Good Life, soprano, baritone, chorus and orchestra (2008)
Choral
Kpanlongo, male (or mixed) chorus (1993)
Pete Pete, chorus (1993)
A Child's War, children's chorus (2005)
Large Ensemble
Hot Zone, large ensemble (1995)
Continental Divide, large ensemble (1996)
Three Rivers, large ensemble (2001)
In Tangle, large ensemble (2005)
Swing Song, large ensemble (2009)
Canzonas Americanas, large ensemble (2010)
Chamber
Mulatash Stomp, violin, cello and piano (1991)
String Quartet (1992)
Wanderings, wind quintet (1994)
Oct Up, double string quartet (1995)
God's Trombones, 3 trombones and percussion (1998)
Coming Together, clarinet and cello (1999)
Soul Garden, solo viola and string quartet (2000)
Catcalls, brass quintet (2003)
Language Instruction, clarinet, violin, cello and piano (2003)
Tied Shifts, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano and percussion (2004)
Twin Trio, flute, clarinet and piano (2005)
Passing Through, string quartet (2007)
Instrument and Piano
Sonata Humana, clarinet and piano (1991)
SchiZm, clarinet (or oboe) and piano (1994)
Solo Instrument
Theme and Absurdities, clarinet (1993)
Thracian Sketches, clarinet (2003)
Piano or Organ
Three Funk Studies, piano (1991)
Dodecaphunk, piano (1992)
Two Songs from Nandom, organ (1993)
Turning, piano (1995)
Meditation, piano (1997)
Kontraphunktus, piano (2004)
Funk Studies, piano (2004)
Fetch, piano (2004)
Vocal
Three Songs on Poems by Wendy S. Walters (1993)
- One Fly
- Airport Poem
- Ma's Kitchen
See How She Moves, solo voice (1997)
Old Songs for a New Man (3 songs), baritone, tpt/flghn, trom, pf, perc, vln and db (1997) [text: Wendy S. Walters]
- Old Ones
- Corner Song
- Got My Bag of Brown Shoes
Cabaret Songs, soprano and piano (1998) [text: Wendy S. Walters] - same as 2007 work w/ensemble???
Nature Calls (3 songs), medium voice and piano (1999)
- Spider Love [text: Wendy S. Walters]
- Mushrooms [text: Sylvia Plath]
- Dog [text: Naomi Shihab Nye]
Natural Selection, voice and ensemble (2000)
- One Fly [text: Wendy S. Walters]
- Spider Love [text: Wendy S. Walters]
- Got My Bag of Brown Shoes [text: Wendy S. Walters]
- Dog [text: Naomi Shihab Nye ]
At the End of the World, high voice and piano (or orchestra?) (2000) [text: Nicole Krauss]
Cabaret Songs (5 songs), soprano, clarinet, dobro, guitar, double bass and percussion (2007) [text: Wendy S. Walters]
- See how she moves
- Black Hat
- Spider Love
- Dog
- Ma’s Kitchen
Mar de Setembro (September Sea), mezzo-soprano and chamber orchestra (2011) [text: Eugénio de Andrade]
Incidental/Film
Spicebush, documentary film score (2005)
Rockaway, film score (2007)
Battle for Brooklyn, documentary film score (2010)
Electronic
AWS MIXES
CA2
CA3
CA4
NS3
NS4
CA1
NS1
NS2
BERMEL LINKS Works by Genre ~ ~ ~ Bermel on Bermel ~ top of page ~
[under construction]
Committed to the New, Now in Smaller Forms (Steve Smith, The New York Times)
Derek Bermel Co-Scores the Award-Winning Battle for Brooklyn (ASCAP)
Derek Bermel Interview (David Bruce, CompositionToday.com)
Derek Bermel Shows Another Side (Mic Holwin, American Composers Orchestra)
In Performance: The Music of Derek Bermel (Chamber Musician Today)
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra Premieres Derek Bermel's "Mar de Setembro" (Mark Swed, The Los Angeles Times)
Making The I-Hop (Derek Bermel, NewMusicBox)
Sonic Explorer: Bermel Uses Bulgarian Sounds in Composition (Ronni Reich/The Star-Ledger/NJ.com)
Composer's website . . . contact Derek Bermel: here
Inspirations (composer's blog)
Bermel @ Wikipedia
Bermel @ Albany Symphony
Bermel @ American Composers Orchestra also here
Bermel @ American Music Center
Bermel @ Boston Modern Orchestra Project
Bermel @ Classical Archives
Bermel @ composition:today
Bermel @ Faber Music
Bermel @ Facebook
Bermel @ IMDb (Internet Movie Database)
Bermel @ Institute for Advanced Study
Bermel @ InstantEncore
Bermel @ LinkedIn
Bermel @ Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra
Bermel @ Los Angeles Philharmonic
Bermel @ Mizzou New Music Initiative News
Bermel @ Modern Classical
Bermel @ MusicWeb International
Bermel @ MySpaceMusic
Bermel @ Naxos
Bermel @ New World Records
Bermel @ The New York Times
Bermel @ NPR
Bermel @ Peabody
Bermel @ Peermusic
Bermel @ Primavera Festival
Bermel @ Serious Music Media
Bermel @ SocialSquawk
Bermel @ Van Cliburn Foundation
Publisher
Bermel @ Composer's website/publisher listings
Bermel @ Faber Music
Bermel @ Peermusic
Streaming Audio
Bermel @ Composer's website - check under individual work listings
Bermel @ Classical Archives
Bermel @ last.fm
Bermel @ MySpaceMusic
Bermel @ NPR
Bermel @ Rhapsody.com
Recordings
Bermel @ Composer's website
Bermel @ ArkivMusic
Bermel @ Boston Modern Orchestra Project
Bermel @ ClassicsOnline also here
Bermel @ Discogs
Video
Bermel @ YouTube
Bermel @ Google Video
Bermel @ Vimeo
~ top of page ~
Bermel on Bermel: Interview with Lianne Hansen/NPR (streaming audio)
Composers
Speak on the Web at Pytheas~ click on composer picture to listen ~
Bermel on Bermel: Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute Interview (VIDEO)
Bermel on Bermel: Institute for Advanced Study, w/David Osenberg/WWFM (streaming audio)
Composers
Speak on the Web at Pytheas~ click on composer picture to listen ~
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