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Michael Colgrass (1932-     )

Michael Colgrass composerMichael Colgrass (b. 1932) began his musical career in Chicago where his first professional experiences were as a jazz drummer (1944-49). He graduated from the University of Illinois in 1954 with a degree in performance and composition and his studies included training with Darius Milhaud, Lukas Foss, Wallingford Riegger and Ben Weber. He served two years as timpanist in the Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra in Stuttgart, Germany and then spent eleven years supporting his composing as a free-lance percussionist in New York City where his wide-ranging performance venues included the New York Philharmonic, American Ballet Theater, Dizzie Gillespie, the Modern Jazz Quartet, the original West Side Story orchestra on Broadway, the Columbia Recording Orchestra’s Stravinsky Conducts Stravinsky series, and numerous ballet, opera and jazz ensembles. He began to compose on a full-time basis in 1967 and moved to Toronto in 1974. Much of his work reflects a life-long interest in jazz. His work Déja vu, written for the New York Philharmonic, received the 1978 Pulitzer Prize in music. A documentary film called Soundings: The Music of Michael Colgrass won an Emmy Award in 1982 from the National Association of Television Arts and Sciences. New York Times music critic Harold Schonberg has written "Mr. Colgrass is something of a maverick. He will use serial textures, but will mix them with jazz, or outright romanticism, or dissonance à la Ives. He also has evolved a distinct sort of miniature style that is extremely personal and poetic".
- The Canadian Encyclopedia

COMPOSITIONS                                                       Colgrass  Links     ~ ~ ~     Works by Genre    ~ ~ ~    Colgrass on Colgrass
Three Brothers, percussion nonette (l951)
Concertino for Timpani, timpani, brass and percussion (l953)
Percussion Music, percussion quartet (l953)
Chamber Music for Percussion Quintet (l954)
Inventions on a Motive, percussion quintet (l955)
Variations for Four Drums and Viola (l957)
Fantasy Variations, solo percussionist and 6 percussion (l961)
Rhapsody, clarinet, violin and piano (l962)
Wind Quintet (l962)
Light Spirit, flute, viola, guitar and 2 percussionists (l963)
Rhapsodic Fantasy, solo percussion and orchestra (l964)
As Quiet As, orchestra (l966)
Virgil's Dream, A Satiric Fantasy for Music Chamber Theater (l967)
The Earth's A Baked Apple, teen chorus and orchestra (1969)
New People, mezzo-soprano, viola and piano (l969)
Auras, harp and orchestra (l972)
Theater of the Universe, soloists, chorus and orchestra (l972)
Concertmasters, 3 solo violins and orchestra (l974)
Image of Man, chorus and orchestra (l974)
Letter From Mozart, orchestra (l976)
Best Wishes USA, soloists, chorus and orchestra (l976)
Wolf, cello (l976)
Deja vu, 4 solo percussionists and orchestra or wind ensemble or orchestra (l977) [winner of the Pulitzer Prize]
Something's Gonna Happen, a children's musical play (l978)
Delta, violin, clarinet, percussion and orchestra (l979)
Flashbacks A Musical Play for Five Brass, brass quintet (1979)
Night of the Raccoon, soprano, harp, alto flute, perc, piano (dbl. cel + elec pf) (l979)
Mystic With a Credit Card, trombone (1980)
Tales of Power, piano (l980)
Memento, 2 pianos, or 2 pianos and orchestra (l982)
Chaconne, viola and orchestra (l984)
Winds of Nagual, A Musical Fable on the Writings of Carlos Castaneda, wind ensemble (l985)
Mystery Flowers of Spring, soprano and piano (1985)
Strangers: Irreconcilable Variations for Clarinet, Viola and Piano (l986)
Folklines: A Counterpoint of Musics for String Quartet (1988)
The Schubert Birds, orchestra (l989)
Snow Walker, organ and orchestra (l990)
Arctic Dreams, wind ensemble (l991)
Arias, clarinet and orchestra (1992)
Wild Riot of the Shaman's Dreams, flute (l992)
A Flute in the Kingdom of Drums and Bells, flute (dbl.pic and afl) and percussion quartet (l994)
Te Tuma Te Papa, solo percussionist (l994)
Urban Requiem, sax quartet and wind ensemble (l995)
Hammer & Bow, violin and marimba (l997)
Old Churches, youth band (2000)
Dream Dancer, solo alto sax and wind ensemble(2001)
Ghosts of Pangea, orchestra (2002)
Crossworlds, flute, piano and orchestra(2002)
Apache Lullaby, youth band (2003)
The Beethoven Machine, youth band (2003)
Got to Make Noise, youth band (2003)
Bach-Goldberg Variations (Aria and 18 Variations) [arr. for chamber orchestra, 2003]
Bali, youth band (2005)
Raag Mala, band (2005)
Side by Side, harpsichord, altered piano and orchestra (2007)
Mysterious Village, youth band (2007)
Pan Trio, steel drums, harp and vibraphone/marimba (2008)


WORKS BY GENRE                                                            Colgrass  Links     ~ top of page ~
Dramatic/Theater
Virgil's Dream, A Satiric Fantasy for Music Chamber Theater (l967)
Something's Gonna Happen, a children's musical play (l978)

Orchestra
As Quiet As, orchestra (l966)
Letter From Mozart, orchestra (l976)
Deja vu, 4 solo percussionists and orchestra or wind ensemble or orchestra (l977) [winner of the Pulitzer Prize]
The Schubert Birds, orchestra (l989)
Ghosts of Pangea, orchestra (2002)
Bach-Goldberg Variations (Aria and 18 Variations) [arr. for chamber orchestra, 2003]

Band/Wind Ensemble
Deja vu, 4 solo percussionists and orchestra or wind ensemble or orchestra (l977) [winner of the Pulitzer Prize]
Winds of Nagual, A Musical Fable on the Writings of Carlos Castaneda, wind ensemble (l985)
Arctic Dreams, wind ensemble (l991)
Urban Requiem, sax quartet and wind ensemble (l995)
Old Churches, youth band (2000)
Dream Dancer, solo alto sax and wind ensemble(2001)
Apache Lullaby, youth band (2003)
The Beethoven Machine, youth band (2003)
Got to Make Noise, youth band (2003)
Bali, youth band (2005)
Raag Mala, band (2005)
Mysterious Village, youth band (2007)

Soloist(s) w/Orchestra
Rhapsodic Fantasy, solo percussion and orchestra (l964)
Auras, harp and orchestra (l972)
Concertmasters, 3 solo violins and orchestra (l974)
Deja vu, 4 solo percussionists and orchestra (l977)
Delta, violin, clarinet, percussion and orchestra (l979)
Memento, 2 pianos and orchestra (l982)
Chaconne, viola and orchestra (l984)
Snow Walker, organ and orchestra (l990)
Arias, clarinet and orchestra (1992)
Crossworlds, flute, piano and orchestra (2002)
Side by Side, harpsichord, altered piano and orchestra (2007)

Chorus w/Orchestra
The Earth's A Baked Apple, teen chorus and orchestra (1969)
Theater of the Universe, soloists, chorus and orchestra (l972)
Image of Man, chorus and orchestra (l974)
Best Wishes USA, soloists, chorus and orchestra (l976)

Chamber
Rhapsody, clarinet, violin and piano (l962)
Wind Quintet (l962)
Light Spirit, flute, viola, guitar and 2 percussionists (l963)
Flashbacks A Musical Play for Five Brass, brass quintet (1979)
Strangers: Irreconcilable Variations for Clarinet, Viola and Piano (l986)
Folklines: A Counterpoint of Musics for String Quartet (1988)
A Flute in the Kingdom of Drums and Bells, flute (dbl.pic and afl) and percussion quartet (l994)
Hammer & Bow, violin and marimba (l997)
Pan Trio, steel drums, harp and vibraphone/marimba (2008)

Solo Instrument
Wolf, cello (l976)
Mystic With a Credit Card, trombone (1980)
Tales of Power, piano (l980)
Wild Riot of the Shaman's Dreams, flute (l992)
Te Tuma Te Papa, solo percussionist (l994)

Percussion
Three Brothers, percussion nonette (l951)
Concertino for Timpani, timpani, brass and percussion (l953)
Percussion Music, percussion quartet (l953)
Chamber Music for Percussion Quintet (l954)
Inventions on a Motive, percussion quintet (l955)
Variations for Four Drums and Viola (l957)
Fantasy Variations, solo percussionist and 6 percussion (l961)
Light Spirit, flute, viola, guitar and 2 percussionists (l963)
Rhapsodic Fantasy, solo percussion and orchestra (l964)
Deja vu, 4 solo percussionists and orchestra or wind ensemble (l977)
Delta, violin, clarinet, percussion and orchestra (l979)
A Flute in the Kingdom of Drums and Bells, flute (dbl.pic and afl) and percussion quartet (l994)
Te Tuma Te Papa, solo percussionist (l994)
Hammer & Bow, violin and marimba (l997)
Pan Trio, steel drums, harp and vibraphone/marimba (2008)

Piano
Memento, 2 pianos (l982)

Vocal
New People, mezzo-soprano, viola and piano (l969)
Night of the Raccoon, soprano, harp, alto flute, perc, piano (dbl. cel + elec pf) (l979)
Mystery Flowers of Spring, soprano and piano (1985)


COLGRASS  LINKS                                                            Works by Genre      ~ top of page ~
Composer Michael Colgrass is a Master of Reinvention (Leo Weekly)
Colgrass: The Schubert Birds (Robert Markow, NACmusicbox)
District 95 Picks Local Composer's Work for Concert (Bob Uphues, Riverside/Brookfield Landmark)
The early drum-melodic music of Michael Colgrass and the evolution of the Colgrass drum (DRC)
Letter to a young composer (Michael Colgrass, The New York Times)
Michael Colgrass: Snow Walker (Lee Hartman, Piece O'da day)
Pulitzer-Winning Composer Visits CU-Boulder (University of Colorado at Boulder)

Composer's website
Composer's website (2)
Michael Colgrass: Adventures of an American Composer (Composer's Blog)

Colgrass @ Wikipedia
Colgrass @ Answers.com
Colgrass @ Arts Alive/NAC musicbox TIMELINE    also    here    and    here
Colgrass @ BandQuest/American Composers Forum - Old Churches    also     here
Colgrass @ Bill Rhoads & Associates
Colgrass @ Boston Modern Orchestra Project
Colgrass @ The Canadian Encyclopedia
Colgrass @ Canadian Music Centre
Colgrass @ Carl Fischer    also     here
Colgrass @ composition:today
Colgrass @ Dr. Estrella's Incredibly Abridged Dictionary of Composers
Colgrass @ DSO Kids (Dallas Symphony Orchestra)
Colgrass @ European American Music
Colgrass @ Facebook
Colgrass @ InstantEncore
Colgrass @ Lori Kennedy's Webpage
Colgrass @ Meredith Music Publications
Colgrass @ Mode Records
Colgrass @ Mules Rasch
Colgrass @ Naxos
Colgrass @ The New York Times
Colgrass @ NLPU
Colgrass @ novalynx.ca
Colgrass @ Open Vault/WGBH  -  not currently available online
Colgrass @ Percussive Arts Society
Colgrass @ Société de musique contemporaine du Québec
Colgrass @ United States Marine Band
Colgrass @ Wind Repertory Project

Streaming Audio
Colgrass @ American Public Media/Composer's Datebook
Colgrass @ Arts Alive/NAC musicbox TIMELINE    also    here    and    here
Colgrass @ last.fm
Colgrass @ NACmusicbox
Colgrass @ Rhapsody

Recordings
Colgrass @ ArkivMusic
Colgrass @ ClassicsOnline

Video
Colgrass @ YouTube

 Colgrass on Colgrass: BandQuest (On Graphic Notation)
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