Michael Torke (; born September 22, 1961) is an American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

who writes music influenced by

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and

minimalism In visual arts, music, and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in the post-war era in western art. The movement is often interpreted as a reaction to abstract expressionism and modernism; it anticipated contemporary post-mi ...

. Torke was born in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, where he attended Wilson Elementary School, graduated from Wauwatosa East High School, and studied at the

Eastman School of Music The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. Established in 1921 by celebrated industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman, it was the ...

with

Joseph Schwantner Joseph Clyde Schwantner (born March 22, 1943) is an American composer, educator and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters since 2002. He was awarded the 1970 Charles Ives Prize. Schwantner is prolific, with many works to his cred ...

and Christopher Rouse, and at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

Works

Sometimes described as a post-minimalist, his most characteristically postminimal piece is ''Four Proverbs'', in which the syllable for each pitch is fixed and variations in the melody produce streams of nonsense words. Other works in this style include ''Book of Proverbs'' and ''Song of Isaiah''. An early piece where he first used a certain post-minimalist style was '' Vanada'', made in 1984. His best-known work is probably ''

Javelin A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon. Today, the javelin is predominantly used for sporting purposes such as the javelin throw. The javelin is nearly always thrown by hand, unlike the sling ...

'', which he composed in 1994, commissioned by the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games in celebration of the

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) is an American orchestra based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The ASO's main concert venue is Atlanta Symphony Hall in the Woodruff Arts Center. History Though earlier organizations bearing the sam ...

's 50th anniversary season, in conjunction with the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

. Commissioned by

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

and

Michael Eisner Michael Dammann Eisner ( ; born March 7, 1942) is an American businessman and former chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Walt Disney Company from September 1984 to September 2005. Prior to Disney, Eisner was president of rival film ...

for the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the ''Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.'', and globally known as the ''New York Philharmonic Orchestra'' (NYPO) or the ''New Yo ...

's Millennium Celebration, he wrote ''Four Seasons,'' an

oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...

for chorus and orchestra celebrating various aspects of the months. He wrote a ballet in 2002, ''The Contract,'' with choreography by

James Kudelka James Kudelka, Order of Canada, OC (born September 10, 1955 at Newmarket, Ontario), is a Canadian choreographer, dancer, and director. He was the artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada from 1996 to 2005, now serving as the National Ball ...

. Torke was also commissioned to help Chicago celebrate the centennial of

Daniel Burnham Daniel Hudson Burnham (September 4, 1846 – June 1, 1912) was an American architect and urban designer. A proponent of the ''Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts'' movement, he may have been "the most successful power broker the American archi ...

's 1909 Plan of Chicago and produced a work entitled ''Plans'' that was performed at the

Grant Park Music Festival The Grant Park Music Festival (formerly the Grant Park Concerts) is a ten-week classical music concert series held annually in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It features the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra and Grant Park Chorus along with gues ...

in June 2009. A synesthete, he is the composer of numerous pieces that include colors in the titles (''Bright Blue Music'', ''Ecstatic Orange''), later made into the suite '' Color Music'' (1991). Other pieces include the opera ''The Directions'' (1986), ''Rust'' (1989), influenced by rap and disco, ''Telephone Book'' (1985, 1995), ''

Adjustable Wrench ''Adjustable Wrench'', sometimes also ''The Adjustable Wrench'', is a composition for mixed chamber ensemble by American composer Michael Torke. It was composed in 1987. Composition The composition was composed in 1987 and had its first perfo ...

'', and ''Ash'' (1989) and ''Mass'' (1990), which received criticism for an attempt at the style of

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

and

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include symphonie ...

. In 2003, he created his own record label, Ecstatic Records, on which he re-released a set of six 1990s CDs that were deleted by the now out-of-business

Argo Records Argo Records was a record label in Chicago that was established in 1955 in music, 1955 as a division of Chess Records. Originally the label was called Marterry, but bandleader Ralph Marterie objected, and within a couple of months the imprint w ...

, which was a subsidiary of

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

. His opera ''Pop'pea'', a

rock opera A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...

version of Monteverdi's ''

L'incoronazione di Poppea ''L'incoronazione di Poppea'' (Stattkus-Verzeichnis, SV 308, ''The Coronation of Poppaea'') is an Italian List of operas by Claudio Monteverdi, opera by Claudio Monteverdi. It was Monteverdi's last opera, with a libretto by Giovanni Francesco Buse ...

'', was commissioned by the

Théâtre du Châtelet The Théâtre du Châtelet () is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. One of two theatres (the other being the Théâtre de la Ville) built on the site of a ''châtelet'', a ...

in Paris and premiered there on May 29, 2012.

Awards

*Independent Music Awards 2012: ''Tahiti'' – Best Instrumental Album *Finalist Pulitzer Prize 2020: Sky—Concerto for Violin

References

External links

Michael Torke Official SiteNew York City Opera: Learning Center: Resources Center: Biographies: Michael TorkePublisher

Listening

Boosey & Hawkes: Michael Torke Sound Samples
{{DEFAULTSORT:Torke, Michael 1961 births Living people 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American classical composers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American classical composers American ballet composers American contemporary classical composers American opera composers Composers for carillon Eastman School of Music alumni American male opera composers Pupils of Christopher Rouse (composer)