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Stefan Weisman (1970-     )

Stefan Weisman, composerStefan Weisman was born and raised in New Jersey, and now lives in Hell's Kitchen, New York City. His works include chamber, orchestral and choral pieces, as well as music for theater, video and dance. He is a recipient of a 2006 Bang on a Can “People’s Commission.” Among his other commissions are works for Sequitur, the Minimum Security Composers Collective, the Empire City Men's Chorus with the Cosmopolitan Symphony Orchestra, the Battell Chapel Choir, and the Oregon Bach Festival Composers’ Symposium, which commissioned a piece in honor of George Crumb on the occasion of his 75th birthday. Other groups who have performed his work include the Miró String Quartet, So Percussion, the Locrian Chamber Players, the New Millennium Ensemble, the Third Angle Ensemble, the Yesaroun' Duo, the Da Capo Chamber Players, Luna Nova, pianist Lisa Moore, flautist Patti Monson, mezzo-soprano Hai-Ting Chinn, male soprano Anthony Roth Costanzo, Newspeak, the NOW Ensemble, the Woodstock Chamber Orchestra, the Hudson Valley Philharmonic and the New Jersey Symphony. His orchestral work The Bird Happens was selected to be included in the American Composers Orchestra's 2005 Underwood New Music Readings, and was conducted by Steven Sloane. In March 2006 he participated in "Ear Department" a program at Merkin Hall hosted by composer Michael Gordon. Anthony Tommasini (New York Times) has called his music "personal, moody and skillfully wrought." He is a recipient of awards from Meet the Composer, SCI, ASCAP, and the American Music Center. His choral work Light, light, light, light, light was the first-prize winner in the Roger Wagner Center’s Choral Composition Competition. His piece From Frankenstein won the Chicago Ensemble’s 2005 Discover America Competition. A graduate of Bard College (Clair Leonard Scholar, Betsy Richards Memorial Scholar, BA `92) and Yale University (Bradley-Keeler Memorial Scholar, MM `97), he is currently a PhD candidate at Princeton University (Naumberg Fellowship, MFA `03). His composition instructors have included David Lang, Joan Tower, Daron Hagen, Martin Bresnick, Jacob Druckman, Steven Mackey, Barbara White and Paul Lansky.


COMPOSITIONS                                                            Weisman Links     ~ ~ ~     Works by Genre
Piano Trio, violin, cello and piano (1991)
flea circus, orchestra (1992)
Thistle, 2 violins, 2 cellos and string orchestra (1993)
Crabapple, orchestra (1993)
Rope, soprano and chamber orchestra (1994)
...and sometimes they come back, orchestra (1994)
The Book of Rejected Addresses, viola and piano (1995)
Trumpet, string quartet (1996)
Nervous People, trumpet and string quartet (1996)
The Fishtank Sonata, tape and snare drum (1997)
What the Water Gave Me, carillon (1998)
Stick-Shift Confessions, marimba (1999)
Light, light, light, light, light, chorus (1999)
Ha!, mezzo-soprano and string quartet (1999)
Greenland Y2K, incidental music for theater (1999) [in collaboration with Susanna Speier]
Two Shakespeare Songs, [voice and piano?] (2000)
Bleed: Redrum, Liquid Blues and The Green Machine, video art (2000) [in collaboration with Jillian Mcdonald]
Big Red, clarinet (2000)
David and Jonathan, male chorus and orchestra. (2001)
Calabi Yau (aka What the Fuck is String Theory?), incidental music for theater (2001) [in collaboration with Susanna Speier]
The Twins, 2 flutes and organ (2002)
Ode to Fiberoptic Cables and Light (4 minutes) (2002) [in collaboration with Linda Ganjian, video artist; Susanna Speier, writer]
From Frankenstein, mezzo-soprano, flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano (2002)
Coney’s Mind, music for dance (2002) [in collaboration with the Kristi Spessard Dance Company]
0123, "Index Card" music, saxophone (2002)
TOE (Theory of Everything), soprano saxophone (or clarinet) and vibraphone (2003)
Hammer Time, piano (2003)
Ad Lib, organ (2003)
Non-Fiction 2 (3 songs), high voice and piano (2004)
Non-Fiction 1 (3 songs), low voice and piano (2004)
Meetings, soprano, baritone, and bass with piano (2004)
Crash, string trio (2004)
The Bird Happened, orchestra (2004)
Skin Nails Hair, flute and percussion (2005)
Darkling, opera/theater piece, 4 voices and string quartet (2005) [with music also by Lee Hoiby]
Galesburg, Illinois (Where Are the Trees?), soprano, flute, clarinet, electric guitar, piano, contrabass; or soprano and piano (2006)
Everywhere Feathers, voice, cello and pre-recorded audio (2006; arr. for soprano and electric guitar, 2007)
Restless Legs, clarinet, piano, electric guitar, cello, percussion and double bass (2006)
I Would Prefer Not To, soprano, clarinet, violin, cello, synthesizer, electric guitar and vibraphone (2007)
Fuse Action, flute and clarinet (2007)
SuperSoft, cello and percussion (2007)
Close, guitar (2008)
4th Place, percussion quartet (2008)
Fade, one-act opera, 3 voices and chamber orchestra (2008)
Two/Her Music for dance, dance piece, voice, violin and piano (2009) [choreography by Deborah Lohse]


WORKS BY GENRE                                                            Weisman Links     ~ top of page ~
Dramatic/Theater
Darkling, opera/theater piece, 4 voices and string quartet (2005) [with music also by Lee Hoiby]
Fade, one-act opera, 3 voices and chamber orchestra (2008)

Dance
Coney’s Mind, music for dance (2002) [in collaboration with the Kristi Spessard Dance Company]
Two/Her Music for dance, dance piece, voice, violin and piano (2009) [choreography by Deborah Lohse]

Orchestra
flea circus, orchestra (1992)
Crabapple, orchestra (1993)
...and sometimes they come back, orchestra (1994)
The Bird Happened, orchestra (2004)

Soloist(s) w/Orchestra
Thistle, 2 violins, 2 cellos and string orchestra (1993)

Chorus w/Orchestra
David and Jonathan, male chorus and orchestra. (2001)

Choral
Light, light, light, light, light, chorus (1999)

Chamber
Piano Trio, violin, cello and piano (1991)
The Book of Rejected Addresses, viola and piano (1995)
Trumpet, string quartet (1996)
Nervous People, trumpet and string quartet (1996)
The Twins, 2 flutes and organ (2002)
TOE (Theory of Everything), soprano saxophone (or clarinet) and vibraphone (2003)
Crash, string trio (2004)
Skin Nails Hair, flute and percussion (2005)
Restless Legs, clarinet, piano, electric guitar, cello, percussion and double bass (2006)
Fuse Action, flute and clarinet (2007)
SuperSoft, cello and percussion (2007)
4th Place, percussion quartet (2008)

Solo Instrument
The Fishtank Sonata, tape and snare drum (1997)
What the Water Gave Me, carillon (1998)
Stick-Shift Confessions, marimba (1999)
Big Red, clarinet (2000)
0123, "Index Card" music, saxophone (2002)
Close, guitar (2008)

Piano/Organ
Hammer Time, piano (2003)
Ad Lib, organ (2003)

Vocal
Rope, soprano and chamber orchestra (1994)
Ha!, mezzo-soprano and string quartet (1999)
Two Shakespeare Songs, [voice and piano?] (2000)
From Frankenstein, mezzo-soprano, flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano (2002)
Non-Fiction 2 (3 songs), high voice and piano (2004)
    - I Would Prefer Not To
    - Beauty Tips (for Girls) [text: Lorene Radenz]
    - Law of the Jungle 1 [text: based on a 01/09/02 story in The Daily Mirror]
Non-Fiction 1 (3 songs), low voice and piano (2004)
    - Vanshing Point [text: Sean Mills]
    - Urban Trees [text: Jon Stokes]
    - Twinkie [text: Hostess]
Meetings, soprano, baritone, and bass with piano (2004)
Galesburg, Illinois (Where Are the Trees?), soprano, flute, clarinet, electric guitar, piano, contrabass; or soprano and piano (2006)
Everywhere Feathers, voice, cello and pre-recorded audio (2006; arr. for soprano and electric guitar, 2007)
I Would Prefer Not To, soprano, clarinet, violin, cello, synthesizer, electric guitar and vibraphone (2007)

Incidental/Film
Greenland Y2K, incidental music for theater (1999) [in collaboration with Susanna Speier]
Calabi Yau (aka What the Fuck is String Theory?), incidental music for theater (2001) [in collaboration with Susanna Speier]

Electronic/Multimedia
The Fishtank Sonata, tape and snare drum (1997)
Bleed: Redrum, Liquid Blues and The Green Machine, video art (2000) [in collaboration with Jillian Mcdonald]
Ode to Fiberoptic Cables and Light (4 minutes) (2002) [in collaboration with Linda Ganjian, video artist; Susanna Speier, writer]
Everywhere Feathers, voice, cello and pre-recorded audio (2006; arr. for soprano and electric guitar, 2007)


WEISMAN  LINKS                                                            Works by Genre      ~ top of page ~
ad hoc Ballet at the Joyce SoHo (Dancing Perfectly Free)
Darkling (annakiraly.com)
Darkling (annarabinowitz.com)
Darkling (Opera America)
Darkling: A 21st Century Opera (Society of Composers, Inc)
Darkling by American Opera Projects (Opera Today)
Fade: An Opera in One Act (fadeopera.com)
Fade: State of the Art Versus Green (Karren LaLonde Alenier, The Dressing)
From Frankenstein: A Proposal for an Opera (101100.com)
A Holocaust Contemplation, Inspired by a Hardy Poem (Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times)
Origins: How does An Opera Come About (Karren Alenier, Scene4 Magazine)

Composer's website

Weisman @ All About Opera
Weisman @ American Composers Orchestra
Weisman @ American Music Center
Weisman @ American Opera Projects
Weisman @ City Center Opera Theater    also    here
Weisman @ The Department of Music at Princeton/Fade
Weisman @ Dilettante Music
Weisman @ Facebook
Weisman @ LinkedIn
Weisman @ MySpaceMusic
Weisman @ New Chamber Ballet
Weisman @ Random Access Music  
Weisman @ WNYC/New Sounds
Weisman @ Yesaroun'Duo

Streaming Audio
Weisman @ Composer's website
Weisman @ MySpaceMusic

Recordings
[none at the moment]

Weisman @ YouTube
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