O'DELL, ADAM D. (b. 1992)

 
Adam D. O’Dell (b.1992) is a composer, arranger, pianist, percussionist, and teacher based out of Dubuque, Iowa. O'Dell began his musical training at age 8 studying piano, and made his compositional debut as a freshman in high school. Winning his first major award while still in high school, he has become an increasingly recognized compositional voice in the music community both regionally and nationally, with premieres across 10 states, including performances in Kansas City, San Antonio, Des Moines, Minneapolis, Chicago, Philadelphia, Portsmouth, Lincoln, New York City, and Washington D.C., among others.
 
Since 2011, Adam has been enrolled as a Music Composition major at Clarke University in Dubuque, studying composition with Dr. Amy Dunker, and piano with Nancy Lease and Dr. Sharon Jensen, where he is also working as a student teacher for Theory Review, teaching private piano and percussion lessons, and accompanying the “Cantabile” women's chorus.
 
Adam has performed/presented works in workshops and masterclasses by renowned composers Mara Gibson, Chen Yi, James Mobberley, Christopher Young, and Michael Schelle, and performers Jeff Coffin, Gary Morris, Farah Alvin, and the Transcontinental Piano Duo. His compositions have been selected as the winning pieces of the Tri-State Wind Symphony Fanfare Composition Contest, the MakeMusic Inc. “Take Your Music Farther with Garritan” Composition Contest, and the Kansas City Orchestral Composition Competition.
 
His work in theatrical scoring has been featured at the Iowa and International Thespian Festivals, and the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, where he was awarded the Certificate of Merit for Original Score, and a nomination for the KCACTF National Award for Excellence in Sound Design. His sound design and original score for “I Am Not Batman” was featured at the Kennedy Center in April 2013, and his KCACTF award winning score for “The Glass Menagerie” was featured at the National Sound Design Expo. Adam wrote Music and Lyrics to “Marley: A Musical Tragedy,” alongside librettist/co-lyricist/director Joey Stamp which premiered in 2013 at the Cabrini Repertory Theatre in New York City.
 
His works have been performed by numerous educational, community, and professional ensembles, including the Tri-State Wind Symphony, the Clarke Collegiate and Cantabile Singers, the Clarke Jazz, Wind, and Brass ensembles, the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra, the Abbellimenti string quartet, the newEar Contemporary Chamber Ensemble, and the Philharmonia of Greater Kansas City. His pieces have also been featured at multiple Society of Composer's festivals, the Iowa Bandmaster's Association conference, and the PARMA Music Festival. Recent commissions include the Dubuque Symphony Youth Orchestra, the Dubuque County Fine Arts Society, and the Julien Chamber Choir. He has been selected as a composer for collaborative New Music projects with the University of Wisconsin-Platteville Saxophone Department, and the Arizona State University Clarinet Department.
 
O'Dell is a published academic writer, and has given numerous guest lectures, presentations, and masterclasses in composition across the United States. He is currently Composer-in-Residence with Stamp Brothers Productions in New York City, and is a licensed PARMA Recordings composer.
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