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| Composers |
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| HALFVARSON, STEN - (1915-2003) |
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Sten G. Halfvarson (1915-2003) was born in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Swedish immigrant parents. His fathers work as a mechanical engineer for Westinghouse Corporation brought the family to Chicago in 1929. Mr. Halfvarson attended Senn High School where his music education took root under the leadership of Noble Cain, a renowned composer-director who became his mentor.
As a high school baritone, Mr. Halfvarson was invited to sing in the Chicago A Cappella Choir directed by Cain. He sang with this choir from 1929 until 1936 in concerts, on radio and on tour. He attended North Park College for two years and completed his music degree at Northwestern University in 1939. He also earned a masters degree from Northwestern University in 1947. In the interim, he served his country in the United States Army Air Force as a B17 gunnery instructor from 1942-1945.
Mr. Halfvarson began his teaching career in Menominee, Michigan in 1937. He then taught at West Aurora High School from 1938 until 1979. At West, he developed the choral arts program into one of the most respected in the state, creating the A Cappella Choir and showcasing their talents in the community as well as in other district schools and venues.
He also was the author and creator of two legendary West High songs, "Roll-On" and the West High Alma Mater. These two pieces stand as striking testimony to his loyalty and dedication to the school he served with distinction for nearly forty years. In addition to serving on the faculty of summer music camps in nine universities throughout the United States, he was a board member of the Illinois Music Education Association. In 1960, he formed the Aurora Festival Chorus which continued to perform major choral works for fifteen years. Mr. Halfvarson also was the director of music at New England Congregational Church where he was a member for forty-two years. |
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| HALMA, OLDRICH - (1907-1985) |
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Oldrich Halma (1907-1985) born in Prerov, was fourth in the succession of the PSMU conductors. In 1939 he was taken to the choir to the section of the 1st bass. Later he became the second conductor and on November 11th (1972) he conducted his first concert as the choir master in Moravský Krumlov. He was well known by his choral arrangements of folk songs, especially those from Moravian - Slovakian border. They are very popular and sung by most of our amateur choirs. The top of his activity at the PSMU was concert at the Prague Spring Festival in 1975. For many years Halma also conducted an amateur symphony orchestra as well as choir Svatopluk in his home town Uherské Hradiat. |
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| HANDL, JACOB - (1550-1591) |
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Jacob Handl (Jakob Gallus), was a very gifted Slovenian musician born at Ribnica, 1550 and died at Prague, 1591. He was a resident in Austria, Moravia and Bohemia for all of his adult life. He most likely obtained his early formal education at the Cistercian monastery in Sticna. From early on, he went to the Benedictine Abbey in Melk, Austria and then on to Vienna where he was a singer in the imperial chapel of Maximilian II for a year. From 1575, he spent four years travelling in Austria, Moravia, Bohemia and Silesia, living in monasteries and taking the opportuntiy, as he put it, to understand the muse and meditate on the shepherds pipe. Among the places he visited were Breslau, Olomouc, Prague and the Premonstratensian monastery at Zabrdovice where he was employed as a teacher and possibly also as choirmaster.
In 1579 or early 1580, Handl was appointed choirmaster to the Bishop of Olomouc, Stanislaus Pavlovsky, whom he served for 5 years and who had a high regard for him. From 1586 until his untimely death in 1591, he lived as an active musician-composer in Prague as Kantor at St. Jan na Brzechu. The literary society here included many prominent citizens and one of its functions was to perform choral music. The chaplain-composer from the Imperial court of Rudolf II dedicated one of his compositions to Handl so highly was he thought of.
The only criticism of Handl's music during his lifetime seems to have been for the compliexity of his music. In his 3rd book of Opus Musicum, he felt obliged to defend the number of voices he used in his polychoral works (one work used 24 voices. Handl's polychoral music represents a summation of an era, a fascinating blend of the styles and techniques of the day. His Opus Musicum (four books) contains 445 motets for the whole liturgical year. Latin was the consistent language used. He also wrote 20 Masses and some secular works as well.
His music displays a distinct Netherlands influence, particularly that of Lassus. He exploited the possibilities of a cappella polychoral idioms as fully as any Venetian and he clearly had an ear for unusual choral sonorities while always avoiding dense, word-obscuring textures. He manages the rhythmic relationships between words and notes with great sensitivity. His music shows a preponderance of full triadic harmony and numerous chromatic progressions, many of which arise from the juxtaposition of chords whose roots lie a third apart. The association between text and melody is particularly sympathetic, and there is a good deal of word-painting.
Handl organized much of his music in abstract formal patterns, demonstrating an unusually firm grasp of the principles of formal balance and contrast that were so conspicuously to inform 17th century music. Much of his music seems remarkably tonal. At the very least, it attests to his awareness of the implications of major-minor polarity.
"Pater Noster" by Jacob Handl is a masterpiece of polychoral music writing from the 16th century, a gem in the choral repertoire adapting very well to wind and string sonorities.
Pater Noster by Jacob Handl and edited by Joel Blahnik is available from API in the following editions: - Symphonic Band - AP-639
- Clarinet and Saxophone Ensemble - AP-267
- Saxophone Choir - AP-266
- Brass Choir - AP-370
- Trombone Choir - AP-368
- String Orchestra - AP-453
- SATB Double Choir - AP-1188
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| HARMON, JOHN - (b. 1935) |
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John C. Harmon is a 1957 cum laude composition major from the Lawrence Conservatory of Music in Appleton, Wisconsin. His distinguished career as a composer has encompassed many exciting styles. Few composers have explored as many musical directions with such passion as Mr. Harmon. The gift of his compositions covers a broad spectrum of performing media including songs, chamber music, jazz, orchestra, band, chorus, sacred music, solo piano and music for children. The titles and content of many of his compositions reflect Mr. Harmon's deep interest in environmental issues and Native American folklore. An easy-going and very spiritual man, John Harmon reveres all forms of life as sacred, an attitude which is evidenced in the beauty of his art form.
In addition to composition, John Harmon is active as a keyboard performer, teacher and poet. He initiated the Jazz Studies program at the Lawrence Conservatory and founded the critically acclaimed jazz nonet, Matrix, which toured and recorded extensively throughout the 1970s. Known as "Wisconsin's Gentle Poet of Jazz," he is highly regarded for his sensitive nature and is held in high regard by people of all ages who have experienced his keyboard stylings.
Residing in Winneconne, Wisconsin with his family, Mr. Harmon presently teaches at UW-Oshkosh, serves as a church choir director, maintains an engaging performance schedule, and enjoys the sport of golf and baseball. These activities enhance the substance of his compositional craft.
GRATEFUL HEART (8 choral anthems)
I AM THE GLAD EARTH (3:30) - AP-120 - Solo Vocal/Piano - $4.00
- AP-120 - SATB - $1.25
- AP-621 - Band - Set - $50.00 - Gr 3
IF I WAS A PRAYIN' MAN - SATB a cappella - AP-1021 - $ 2.00
IF YOU SHOULD ASK ME - Unison Children's Song/Piano - AP-185 - $3.50
LET IT BE YOU, O LORD - AP-105 - SATB/Piano or Organ - $2.00
- AP-1132 H - High Vocal Solo/Piano - $4.95
- AP-1132 L - Low Vocal Solo/Piano - $4.95
MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN PLANNED - CD Vocal Jazz - Singer-Janet Planet, Harmon-Jazz Pianist - AP-021 CD - $15.00
SIMPLE THINGS and CHILD OF LOVE - Two Christmas Songs for Children - AP-109 - Solo/Piano - $5.00
- AP-109 - Treble Oct/Piano - $1.25
SO LONGS MY SOUL FOR THEE, O GOD - AP-105 - SATB/Piano - $2.00
- AP-1120 H - High Vocal Solo/Piano - $4.95
- AP-1120 L - Low Vocal Solo/Piano - $4.95
SPIRIT EAGLE - SATB div/Piano - AP-166 - $2.50
TO SERVE BUT YOU, O LORD - AP-167 - SATB/Piano - $1.25
- AP-1119 H - High Vocal Solo/Piano - $4.95
- AP-1119 L - Low Vocal Solo/Piano - $4.95
YONDER STAR IS SHINING - Christmas Carol Suite (12:00) - AP-108 - 2-part Vocal/Piano/Flute/Cello - $3.00
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| HASLER, KAREL - (1879-1941) |
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Karel Hasler (31 October, 1879, Prague - 22 December 1941, Mauthausen) was a Czech songwriter, actor, lyricist, film and theatre director, composer, writer, dramatist, screenwriter and cabaretier. He was murdered in the Mauthausen concentration camp. Karel Hasler's artistic output consists mainly of songs. He created more than 300 compositions, many of which became popular "folk songs." With his engaged patriotic approach he helped to strengthen the national consciousness of Czech people during times of danger and oppression. Following his death in the concentration camp, his songs became a symbol of national resistance.
PISNICKA CESKA/OUR CZECH SONGS - edited by Anita Smisek - AP-110 - Vocal/Piano - $3.50 |
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| HAYS, BRYAN BEAUMONT - (b. 1920)
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Bryan Beaumont Hays, was born in 1920 on a farm near Clarksville, Tennessee. His Southern roots remain strong even after 31 years as a monk in Saint John's Abbey in Minnesota.
Father Bryan has combined his love of music with his gift for languages and teaching. After serving in the Pacific during World War II, he earned Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in composition from Chicago Musical College and a Master's in French from Laval University, Quebec. In 1957, he entered a Benedictine monastery in Collegeville, Minnesota.
Some of the happiest hours of his career were spent as a Colloquium and Symposium instructor in the English Department of Saint John's University from 1978 to 1990. He frequently offered his priestly service for weekend and summer assistance. In 1969 he was named composer in residence. Early in his career he won the Gershwin Memorial Award (1949), earned a summer scholarship to Tanglewood Music Center (1950) where he was a student of Aaron Copeland, and won two Guggenheim Awards (1952 and 1953). In 1998 he was co-winner of the National Art Song Contest. He has composed five operas, numerous art songs, choral music and music for chamber ensembles. Due to failing eyesight in 2004 he could no longer compose music, but worked with his publisher, Alliance Publications, on preparation of his scores for publication. |
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| HEUKESHOVEN, A. ERIC - (b. 1956) |
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A. Eric Heukeshoven (b. 1956) [pron. HOY-kes-ho-ven] is a first generation American son of a German immigrant father and Scandinavian mother. Heukeshoven holds a BA in Music Composition and Theory from the University of Minnesota-Minneapolis and an MS in Music Technology from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. His mentors include Dominick Argento, Paul Fetler, Frank Bencriscutto, Tom Root, Erik Stokes, Kevin Dobbe, and John Paulson.
As Assistant Professor of Music at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, Heukeshoven directs the Music Industry and Jazz Studies programs. His teaching duties include composition, arranging, low brass, organ, and jazz piano. He also serves as director of the SMU Brass Ensemble.
In fall of 2012, Heukeshoven's "Centennial Suite" will be presented as part of a yearlong celebration of the 100th anniversary of Saint Mary's University. The three-movement work for concert band and choir was commissioned by the school and is a collaborative project with Saint Mary's colleague Dr. Patrick M. O'Shea.
Recent commissions include "Just Believe" Heukeshoven's eighth commissioned work for the La Crosse (WI) Chamber Chorale's "Words to Music" program (AP-10303) and "The Chief" a collaboration with Winona (MN) poet laureate James Armstrong for the Duisigh Ensemble.
Other commissions include works for the Sheldon Theatre Brass Band (Red Wing, MN), Winona State University Summer Dixieland Jazz Workshop, and many diverse compositions ranging from the traditional to a duet for steam calliope and tuba!
"Preghiera Semplice" for SATB choir (AP-10278) was commissioned by the Saint Mary's University Chamber Singers. The work, based on an Italian translation of "The Prayer of St. Francis", received its premiere performances in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican and also at the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi during the ensembles 2011 international tour. The composition was also selected as one of three winners of the first annual Choral Competition at Morningside College.
Many of Heukeshoven's compositions are performed throughout the U.S. and in Europe and he is in demand as a jazz musician as well as a composer/arranger. He is a member of the American Composers Forum, American Guild of Organists, ASCAP, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. Heukeshoven lives in Winona, MN with his wife Janet and their two sons, Hans and Max.
Numerous choral and instrumental works by the composer's are currently in the Alliance Publications, Inc. catalog -http://www.apimusic.org
More information about the composer can also be found at: http://www.composersforum.org/members/directory/eric-heukeshoven |
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| HINES, SCOTT - (b. 1958) |
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Composers's own words: "My mother tells me I was a musician since the very beginning. Playing pots and pans in the kitchen, playing around on the piano making up melodies or at least tunes that a child could improvise. She played the piano when I was a child and I loved how the vibrations made my body vibrate as well. I literally had a physical connection to music.
Early influences were more pop than "classical" Grew up with the Beatles, Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass, even Lawrence Welk. Thanks to grade school music teacher I was introduced to Beethoven, Copland. Began going to hometown library and investigating other composers including Bach, Brahms and Tchaikovsky. From Sophmore through Senior year in high school, I was the student assistant to the band director, who was also the junior high principal. He literally turned the junior high band over to me and I rehearsed them everyday, preparing them for concerts. It was invaluable experience. Also, helped with the high school band as well. During junior and senior years, I did three arrangements for the high school band Diamonds are Forever, music from The Sting and Barry White's You're The First, The Last, My Everything. Looking back, the thought of them makes me cringe, but again it was experience on which you can't put a price.
I had planned to go to school to become a band director, but life sometimes gets in the way. From 1976 to 2000 I worked on my bachelor's degree, double majoring in music education and theory/composition. I received my bachelor of music in 2000 at SIU Carbondale and my master's degree in 2002. I hope to complete my doctorate in August 2006.
A commission from the Chicago Chamber Orchestra turned into my master thesis. Shoah has received two performances. Along with the premeire, it was performed in Carbondale as part of the 100th anniversary celebration of the Souther Illinois Orchestra. TV and film actor, Ed Asner, participated as narrator in 2003
Thanks to a recommendation from a faculty member at the University of Memphis, the local troupe Ballet Memphis commissioned me for a three movement work to open their 2004 season. The debut performances were given on Historic Beal Street in W.C. Handy Park. It was a great honor to be a very small part of that street's rich history. It was later taken on tour by the the ballet company. The original performances were given on piano. It has since has been orchestrated, but has not been performed in that new form.
My dissertation was commissioned by Michael Norsworthy, a recent graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied with clarinetist Richard Stoltzman. The concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra is tentatively titled "The Circles are Completed." The piece deals with some of my early life experiences and is dedicated to the memory of my great-grandfather, Charles Amos Kingery, for whom I wrote my first student work. One of the circles being completed.
My major influences are Bartok, Schnittke, Stravinsky and Webern.
Other recent works include "Roland: The Journey Continues" (for wind ensemble and tape) performed in November 2005 at the Imagine2 Electro-acoustic Festival. The debut performance was given by the University of Memphis Wind Ensemble.
In 2005, I became a grandfather. My granddaughter, Lassira Leann Hines, was born to my son, David and his wife, Elizabeth." |
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| HOGAN, MARIE ANTOINETTE - (1896-1963) |
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KYRIE - SSA/Organ - AP-189 - $1.10 |
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| HOLTHAUS, MARCIA - (b. 1951) |
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GLORY IN THE CROSS/Lenten Ritual Songs - (Ash Wednesday Prayer, Glory in the Cross, Lord, We Kneel Before the Cross) - Guitar/Vocal - AP-1078 - $1.25
TENDER COMPASSION - (In the Tender Compassion, Whom Should I Fear? Advent Penitential Rite) - Guitar/Vocal - AP-1077 - $1.25 |
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| HOTTON, MARTIN - (b. 1946) |
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Martin Hotton, a graduate of the Royal College of Music, London (1968) has also done further study at Reading University, Berkshire. Martin Hotton has held a variety of music positions in both State and Private schools up to group 13. His music experiences include composing, choral direction, orchestral direction, classical percussion and organ performance. Martin composes mainly percussion and church music at his home in York, England, where he lives with his wife and dogs.
email: martinhotton@cwctv.net |
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| HRON, KAREL - (b. 1927) |
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Karel Hron is a Czech organist born in 1927 who studied organ at the State Conservatory of Music in Prague under Professor Bedrich Janacek from 1948-1951. He continued his studies under Professor Jiri Rheinberger at the Academy of Music, Prague, from which he graduated in 1955. While studying at the Academy, he started giving public recitals which were most favorably received.
For Czechoslovak Radio, he made a number of recordings featuring old and contemporary organ music by both Czech and leading world composers.
A hallmark of Karel Hron's professional life has been partnership with other prominent Czechoslovak and foreign vocal and instrumental soloists and ensembles with whom he has made tours to France, Austria, the German Democratic Republic, the German Federal Republic, Spain and Denmark. He took part in the Prague Spring Music Festival, the Krnten Festival in Ossiach, the Handel Festival in Halle, and gave concerts in Dresden, Vienna, Salzburg, Chrartres, Rouen, Paris, and Bourges among other places.
Reviews consistently stress his sensitivity to sound colors, the purity of his playing style, his rhythmical accuracy and expressive performances. His repertoire includes masterpieces of baroque composers, mainly J. S. Bach, and romantic as well as contemporary Czech and foreign composers. He chooses his programs with remarkable inventiveness.
Among his recordings are "Les orgues historiques de Prague," Charlin-Paris; "Orgeln aus dem goldenen Prag," Schwann-Dusseldorf; and others for the Panton-Prague label.
Professor Hron has completed a lifetime of teaching at the State Conservatory of Music in Prague and of being the organist for Charles University. Since his academic teaching retirement, he continues an active professional life of music as a free-lance artist in cooperation with other artists.
Organ Works published by Alliance Publications, Inc. are:
CHORALE for Trumpet (Trombone) solo and Organ - AP-528
"Chorale" was written in 1994 based on the ancient chorale to the patron of the Czech Republic, St. Wenceslaus ("Svaty Vaclav," in Czech). He performed it in the original key of A minor with Professor of Trumpet, Josef Svejkovsky, playing a C-trumpet. For publication, it was lowered a whole step to accomodate many more performers of the Bb trumpet as well as the trombone.
CHORALE - Trumpet or Trombone solo/Organ - AP-528 $5.00
MARIAN SONGS FROM BOHEMIA - C instrument & Organ (C Tpt, Vl, Fl) - AP-542 / Viola - AP-498
TEMPUS ADVENTUS - Organ & Trumpet (SATB -1 title in collection) - AP-5046
HUDBA NA SVATE HORE U PRIBRAMI (Music from Holy Hill, Pribram, Czech Republic) - Trumpet, Choir and Organ music from this famous Pilgrimage site - Josef Svejkovsky, Tpt; Karel Hron, Organ - AP-007 CS Cassette Tape $10.0 |
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| HUELSMANN, THOMAS - (b. 1946) |
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Employment History
- Bass Trombonist - Minneapolis Trombone Choir
- Performer, Teacher, Arranger, Composer, Copyist and Conductor - Huelsmann Music Enterprises
- Director of Bands - Park High School
Education
- BA, Music, St. Thomas College, St. Paul, MN
- MA, Teaching, St. Thomas College, St. Paul, MN
Biography
Tom Huelsmann recently retired after thirty-four years of teaching music in the South Washington County Schools. From 1979 through 2001 he was Director of Bands at Park High in Cottage Grove, conducting the Concert, Symphony, Marching Bands and Jazz Ensembles. Tom also taught undergraduate and graduate brass methods classes at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul. He currently gives private instruction on trombone and all low brass instruments, and is a sought-after music adjudicator and clinician.
Formerly the Bass Trombonist of the St. Paul Civic Orchestra, Minneapolis Civic Orchestra, the Lake Como Pops Orchestra and The Blue Diamonds Jazz Band, he now performs with the Red Rock Swing Band and the Band of Praise as well as the Minneapolis Trombone Choir.
He is a member of the Minnesota Music Educators Association, International Association of Jazz Educators, National Band Association, Minnesota Education Association, and the International Trombone Association.
His band arrangement of Alan Hovhaness's Sharagan and Fugue has recently been published by API Music. |
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| HUGHES, BRIAN - (b. 1958) |
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Brian Hughes, conductor, completed course work as a Doctor of Musical Arts candidate in Orchestral Conducting at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he served as Graduate Conducting Associate from 2005-2206. Among his activities at Madison include serving as Graduate Assistant Conductor of the University Symphony and Chamber Orchestra, as well as a principal conductor of the Contemporary Chamber Ensemble. He also has served as a teaching assistant in the University Band program. During the 2005-06 academic year he led UW-Madison ensembles in three world premieres, including Jeffrey Kryka's American Pastorale, written for Hughes and the UW-Madison University Band. In recognition of his efforts, Hughes was the winner of both the 2005 and 2006 Richard and Agatha Church Conducting Prize, presented annually by the UW-Madison School of Music. His primary conducting teachers were Professors David Becker and James Smith.
Hughes holds degrees from Olivet College and the University of Northern Iowa and is an Associate Professor of Music at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa. In recognition of his community arts achievements he won the 2005 Elisha Darlin Award, presented by the Dubuque County Fine Arts Society. He was acknowledged for his work with the Tri-State Wind Symphony and his eight-year association with the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra, during which he led the Dubuque Youth Symphony and served six years as Assistant Conductor of the DSO. During that time he also served as Chair of Loras Colleges' Arts and Lecture Series, bringing a wide array of talent such as the St. Petersburg Ballet, jazz musicians Billy Taylor and Chucho Valdes, the Ahn Trio and the Martha Graham Dance Ensemble (among many others) to the Loras campus.
In 1999 and 2000, Hughes won multiple conducting prizes from the Czech Republic orchestras of Hradec Kralove and Marianske Lazne, presenting well-received concerts there in 2001, as well as a successful program during the "Beethoven Days" festival in Karlovy Vary (Karlsbad). In 2003 Hughes traveled to Romania as guest conductor of the Bucharest Philharmonic and in 2004 he visited Walbrzych, Poland, conducting the Filharmonia Sudecka in a program of American music and opera arias. In 2005 he appeared as Resident Conductor of the Maud Powell Music Institute and Music Festival, where he led the company in the world premiere of Aesop's Fables, a set of short operettas written solely for the Festival performance.
Hughes remains an active guest conductor throughout Iowa and the Midwest, having appeared with the Cedar Rapids Municipal Band, the Rockford (IL) All-City Orchestra, and numerous festival and clinic engagements. During 2006-07, his appearances as guest conductor are with the UW-Madison Wind Ensemble, the U.S.A.F. Heartland of America Band, the Quad-City Wind Ensemble, the Southeast Iowa Bandmasters Festival Band, and the Pskov (Russia) Symphony Orchestra. He resides in Dubuque, Iowa. |
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| HUMMEL, JOHANN NEPOMUK - (1778-1837) |
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Jan (Johann) Nepomuk Hummel, born in Bratislava (Pressburg) on November 14, 1778, was the son of Josef Hummel, Director of the Imperial School of Military Music and Conductor of the Theatre Orchestra. Josef selected the violin as Jan's first musical instrument, but this led to failure. The boy then chose the pianoforte.
Jan immediately displayed a most remarkable ability and at age 7 when his father moved to Vienna, Mozart was so impressed with the child's playing that he offered to give him music lessons. Hummel then lived with Mozart for 2 years and in spite of informal and irregular lessons, he made immense progress, and Mozart predicted a brilliant future for him.
At age 9, Hummel made his first appearance at a concert given by Mozart. So successful was this performance that his father decided to take the boy on a European tour a year later through Bohemia, Germany and Denmark which continued to progress through the British Isles and ended in London where the boy received instruction from Clementi. At age 10, he gave a concert at Oxford which included an original piano quartet. Hummel remained in London until the age of 14 and toured his way home to Vienna in 1793.
When he was 15 years of age, he devoted himself to study composition under the senior master Albrechtsberger and with the suggestion of Haydn sought dramatic compositional advice from Salieri. His performance tours took him into Russia.
At age 26, he accepted the revered post of Kappelmeister to Prince Esterhazy at Eisenstadt, formerly famed by Haydn. Hummel remained here until 1811. It was during this time that an unusual estrangement came between him and Beethoven. This circumstance remained throughout Beethoven's lifetime, and it was not until Beethoven's last days that the old misunderstanding faded away.
Hummel was dismissed from this post because of neglect of duties and then moved back to Vienna. His career then embraced a great deal of touring as a performer and also conductor through-out all of Europe and Russia. From 1819, he lived in Weimar where he was a close friend of Goethe and often performed at the poet's house.
In appearance, Hummel was a large man and rather ungainly. His face was that of a healthy business man with an abundance of common sense and savoir-faire. He married Elisabeth Rchl, an opera singer, in 1813.
Hummel was considered a brilliant virtuoso and wherever he appeared, he achieved very distinct success. He had the gift of improvisation, rivaling that of Beethoven, and was highly respected not so much for the performance of his own compositions, but rather for the interpretation of other composers. It is interesting to note that the symphonies of Beethoven became known to many people through the medium of Hummel's piano duet arrangements of his colleague.
It was this element of intrepretation that altered the system of musical ornamentation. Prior to Hummel, trill notes began upon the auxiliary note, a style attributed to C. P. E. Bach. Hummel's suggestion was to start the ornamentation upon the principle note and that has remained with us to this day.
It should also be noted that Czerny was a pupil of both Beethoven and Hummel and that the playing of Hummel was a "revelation to him," and that he, in turn, was a teacher of Liszt. Therefore, much indebtness to our modern piano school was born out of Hummel's activities. Not only pianists, but composers felt Hummel's influence which is clearly evident in the early works of Chopin and Schumann. He was considered in his time to be one of Europe's greatest composers and perhaps its greatest pianist.
Grove's Dictionary of Music lists over 175 compositions, stage works, church music, orchestral works, piano and orchestral works, chamber music, a host of solo instruments with piano, and a very impressive repertoire of piano solos. Clearly he is to be considered one of the world's most influential musicians.
In 1827, the Hummels and his student Ferdinand Hiller hastily made their way to Vienna to visit the dying Beethoven. Their meeting saw a final reconciliation. Hummel was a pall-bearer at the funeral, and at the memorial concert, following Beethoven's wishes, improvised on themes from the dead composer's works. During this stay Hummel met Schubert and delighted him with improvisations on Schubert's compositions. Schubert dedicated his three last piano sonatas to Hummel, presumably hoping he would perform them, but because they were not published until after the death of both men, the publisher changed the dedication to Schumann.
In the remaining three years of Hummel's life, illness reduced his activity to almost nothing. His death was regarded as the passing of an era and was appropiately marked in Vienna by a performance of Mozart's "Requiem."
"The Octet in Eb" is evident of the Vienese style of composition that was birthed out of Hummel's studies with Mozart, Haydn, Salieri, Clementi, Albrechtsberger and colleagues such as Beethoven, Hiller, and Czerny. It is a work reflecting the charm, energy and clarity of this very talented virtuoso.
FOUR-HAND FUN! - J. N. Hummel, edited by Anita Smisek - Piano Duets - beginners (March, Polka, Waltz, Mazurka) - AP-510 $5.00
OCTET IN Eb - Mvt 1 - transcribed by Kay T. Gainacopulus - Saxophone Choir - AP-203 $20.00 |
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| HURNIK, ILIA - (b. 1922)
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Ilja Hurnik (born 22 November, 1922 at Poruba) is a Czech composer, pedagogue, writer and playwright. Born into a teacher's family, Ilia began to compose in the age of 11. In 1938 after seizure of Czech-German borders by Hitler, the family moved to Prague. He entered the Prague Conservatory, then went on to the Prague Academy of Arts, where he studied with Ilona Stepánová-Kurzová, daughter of Vilém Kurz. Hurnik studied conservatory there (composition under V. Novak, piano under V. Kurz), later also Musical Academy. As musician, he was recognized interpreter of Debussy and Janacek's piano works. In his composition, he was influenced by traditional music of his native Silesia (on Czech-Polish border), also impressionism, neoclassicism and New Music. Step by step without big style changes, he developed a very specific musical language of his own. He is the author of several musical textbooks and a keen popularizer of classical music (8 LP set Art of Music Listening, 19911998). His sister married the well known composer Petr Eben, his son Lukas is also a recognized composer. His three nephews have a popular folk band of the Eben Brothers. |
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| HUSA, KAREL - (b. 1921)
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Karel Husa, winner of the 1993 Grawemeyer Award and the 1969 Pulitzer Prize for Music, is an internationally known composer and conductor. An American citizen since 1959, Husa was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, on August 7, 1921. After completing studies at the Prague Conservatory and, later, the Academy of Music, he went to Paris where he received diplomas from the Paris National Conservatory and the Ecole normale de musique. Among his teachers were Arthur Honegger, Nadia Boulanger, Jaroslav Ridky, and conductor Andre Cluytens. In 1954, Husa was appointed to the faculty of Cornell University where he was Kappa Alpha Professor until his retirement in 1992. He was elected Associate Member of the Royal Belgian Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1974 and has received honorary degrees of Doctor of Music from several institutions, including Coe College, the Cleveland Institute of Music, Ithaca College, and Baldwin Wallace College. Among numerous honors, Husa has received a fellowship from the Guggenheim Foundation; awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, UNESCO, and the National Endowment for the Arts; Koussevitzky Foundation commissions; the Czech Academy for the Arts and Sciences Prize; the Czech Medal of Merit, First Class, from President Vaclav Havel; and the Lili Boulanger award. Recordings of his music have been issued on CBS Masterworks, Vox, Everest, Louisville, CRI, Orion, Grenadilla, and Phoenix Records, among others. |
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| HYTREK, THEOPHANE - (1915-1992) |
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Theophane Hytrek was born on February 28, 1915, the daughter of Stanislaus and Mary Hytrek, named Albina, in the town of Stuart, Nebraska, in a music loving family. In her own words, she says, "I started music when I was eight years old. Music was our love at home. We had a little reed organ; later my parents bought our neighbor's piano. No one had to tell me to practice. My oldest brother learned the clarinet. A second brother and one of my sisters played the violin. Our home became the teenage center of the neighborhood, where our friends from the school orchestra would come together to make music."
As a college student, Theophane showed increasing skill in the area of composition. While doing private study in advanced counterpoint at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music (Milwaukee), she diligently explored the world of harmony and musical analysis. She remembers: "Then one day I felt I had crossed the threshold, and that I was now on the inside of a composer's laboratory and no longer on the outside looking in."
After completing an advanced degree in organ from the conservatory in 1941, Hytrek, a member of the School Sisters of St. Francis, Milwaukee, taught music at Alverno College. During this time, she commuted once a week for four years to DePaul University in Chicago to study composition with Samuel Lieberson. In 1945, Theophane completed the FAGO examination and in 1948 earned her master's degree in composition from DePaul University. During the summer of 1946, she studied with Marcel Dupre while he was visiting-professor at the University of Chicago. She considered him a major influence in her musical life.
In 1953, Hytrek began studies for a doctorate at the Eastman School of Music, where she was a composition student of Bernard Rogers. Her "Prelude and Allegro for Oboe and Piano," in the style of Dello Joio, was awarded first place in 1960 by the National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors. She received her doctorate in 1957 with a major in composition.
She was the chairperson of the Alverno College music department from 1956-1968, remaining there as full professor until 1984. In 1989, she was awarded the title of professor emerita. During her tenure as department chairperson, majors in applied music, music education, and music therapy increased dramatically. During the 1960's, a course of study leading to a Certificate in Church Music was made available under Hytrek's leadership.
Professionally, Theophane was significantly active in the forefront of national organizations as a planner, board member, presenter, and performing musician, the formation of the National Catholic Music Educators Association (NCMEA) in 1942, the Church Music Association of America in 1966, the Composers Forum for Catholic Worship in 1970, and the annual Symposium for Church composers and Liturgists begun in 1981, she being the co-founder. She was an active member of the American Guild of Organists (AGO) for over 50 years serving as national registrar from 1971-1974 and councillor from 1975-1979. Since 1981, she was a member of the Guild's certification committee and helped establish the CAGO examination. Recitals, masterclasses, and workshops for the AGO and other professional organizations were a natural part of her life.
Special commissions invited significant compositions from Theophane, such as "Psalm 83 (84)," "Psalms," "Festival Fanfare," and "Postlude-Partita on the Old One-Hundredth." Liturgical renewal spawned many compositions such as Masses, motets, psalm settings, music for liturgical rites as well organ accompaniments for contemporary liturgical songs.
Theophane's compositions were performed at the First Annual Congress of Women Composers in 1981 in New York City and in 1984 at the American Composers Festival of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. Her achievements both in composition and church music were recognized by St. Joseph College in Resselaer, Indiana, when, in 1978, she was awarded an honorary doctor of sacred music degree. In 1983, Marquette University bestowed on her an honorary doctor of fine arts degree.
In 1990, Theophane was the first musician and woman to receive the Berakah Award from the North American Academy of Liturgy. The award proclaims:
"At the keyboard and in the choirloft, In the classroom, recital hall, and for the assembly Your teeming accoustical imagination Has sounded Kyrie and thanksgiving, Doxa and delight, pathos and power Through half a century and more. Your love insists that organ and all instruments conjoin, That the music of earth and heaven combine Whereby every living thing may praise the Lord."
To have known Sister Theophane Hytrek is to have experienced wholesome joyfulness, simplicity, gentleness, and generosity. She was humble in the truest sense, knowing her gifts so as to place them at the service of God and neighbor.
Her last recital took place at St. Joseph Convent Chapel on August 7, 1992, when she performed her organ work, "Rhapsody on TE DEUM." She died suddenly on August 13, 1992, while teaching on the faculty of the school for organists sponsored by the National Association of Pastoral Musicians held at Alverno College.
Publishers of her music are McLaughlin & Reilly, World Library Publications, Inc., G.I.A. Publications, Inc., Hope Publishing Company, ICEL, Augsburg, Associated Music Publisher, Inc., Fema Music Publications and Alliance Publications, Inc.
PSALM 83 (84) - SATB, Congregation and Organ - AP-143 $2.00 |
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