Dan Welcher (born March 2, 1948)Joshua Kosman, "Welcher, Dan (Edward)", ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell (London: Macmillan Publishers, 2001) Nicolas Slonimsky, Laura Kuhn, and Dennis McIntire, "Welcher Dan", ''Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians'', eighth edition, edited by Nicolas Slonimsky and Laura Kuhn (New York: Schirmer Books, 2001): 6:3891–3892.Bret Johnson, "Review: Kraft: ''Contextures II: The Final Beast''; ''Interplay''; ''Of Ceremonies, Pageants and Celebrations'' by Los Angeles Philharmonic, Andre Previn, Alabama Symphony, Paul Polivnick, Utah Symphony Orchestra, Christopher Wilkins and William Kraft; Kraft: Timpani Concerto; Piano Concerto; ''Veils and Variations'' for Horn and Orchestra by Thomas Akins, Mona Golabek, Alabama Symphony, Paul Polivnick, Jeff von der Schmidt, Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, Kent Nagano and William Kraft; Tower: ''Silver Ladders''; ''Island Prelude''; ''Music for Cello and Orchestra''; ''Sequoia'' by Peter Bowman, Lynn Harrell, St Louis Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin and Joan Tower; Tower: Fantasy (''... Those Harbor Lights''); ''Breakfast Rhythms I and II''; ''Wings''; Clarinet Concerto by Robert Spring, Eckhart Sellheim and Joan Tower; Welcher: ''Haleakala''; ''Prairie Light''; Clarinet Concerto by Richard Chamberlain, Bil Jackson, Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, Donald Johanos and Dan Welcher", ''Tempo'', New Series, No. 186 (September 1993): 45–46, citation on 46.Alán Saúl Saucedo Estrada, ''The Influence of Carlos Prieto on Contemporary Cello Music'' (Lanham, Maryland; Boulder, Colorado; New York; Toronto; Plymouth, UK: University Press of America, Inc., 2014): 103. 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 ...

, conductor, and music educator.

Biography

Welcher was born in

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

and earned degrees from the Eastman School of Music and the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music a ...

, studying

bassoon The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuosity ...

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

, and composition. He was principal bassooonist at the Louisville Orchestra and a professor of composition and music theory at

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

from 1972 to 1978. He additionally taught at the Aspen Music Festival and School from 1976 until 1990, and began teaching at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

in 1978. He founded the UT New Music Ensemble and served as the assistant conductor of the Austin Symphony Orchestra from 1980 until 1990. Welcher's compositions include concertos, symphonies, vocal literature, piano solos, and various kinds of

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

. He also wrote two operas, ''Della's Gift'', which premiered in Austin in 1987, and ''Holy Night'', which premiered in 2004. ''Della's Gift'' has been performed with several opera companies including the New York City Opera. His works have been performed by such ensembles as the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra,

Chicago Symphony Orchestra The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891, the ensemble has been based in the Symphony Center since 1904 and plays a summer season at the Ravinia F ...

, the Honolulu Symphony, the Boston Pops Orchestra, the Utah Symphony, the

Dallas Symphony Orchestra The Dallas Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Dallas, Texas. Its principal performing venue is the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in the Arts District, Dallas, Arts District of downtown Dallas. History The orchestra tr ...

, and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. His music is published by the Theodore Presser Company, among others. Recently completed works include ''Personal Ads: Eight Cabaret Songs'', which is a song cycle for piano, soprano and tenor, and the Fifth Symphony, premiered by the Austin Symphony Orchestra on May 1, 2009. Welcher's numerous accolades include awards and fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation,

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

, the

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...

, the MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, the American Music Center, and ASCAP. For several years, Welcher hosted a weekly radio series called Knowing the Score, aimed at introducing listeners to contemporary classical music. Welcher held the Lee Hage Jamail Regents Professorship in Composition at the University of Texas, teaching music composition, and served as director of the UT New Music Ensemble until his abrupt departure in 2019 following numerous allegations of sexual misconduct as reported in a September 26, 2019 article in VAN Magazine.

List of works

Orchestra

* ''Beyond Sight'' (for a tone poem after Plato for

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

; 1999) * ''Bridges'' (for five pieces for string orchestra; 1991) * ''Bright Wings: A Valediction'' (for large orchestra; 1996) * ''Castle Creek Fanfare/Overture'' (for large orchestra; 1989) * ''Concerto de Camera'' (for

and small orchestra; 1975) * Concerto for Clarinet (for

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

and orchestra; 1989) * Concerto for Flute (for

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

and orchestra; 1974) * Concerto for Piano (''Shiva's Drum'') (for

and orchestra; 1993) * Concerto for Timpani (for

timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion instrument, percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a Membranophone, membrane called a drumhead, ...

and orchestra; 2004) * Concerto for Violin (for

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

and orchestra; 1993) * ''Dervishes'' (for ritual dance scene for orchestra; 1976) * ''Haleakala: How Maui Snared the Sun'' (for

narrator Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the ...

and orchestra; 1991) * ''Jackpot: A Celebratory Overture'' (for large orchestra; 2005) * ''Prairie Light: Three Texas Water Colors of Georgia O'Keeffe'' (for orchestra; 1985) * ''Spumante'' (for festive overture for large orchestra; 1998) * Symphony No. 1 (for orchestra; 1992) * Symphony No. 2 ''Night Watchers'' (for large orchestra; 1994) * Symphony No. 5 (for large symphony orchestra; 2009) * ''The Visions of Merlin'' (for orchestra; 1980) * ''Venti di Mare (Sea Winds)'' (for fantasy-concerto for

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...

and small orchestra; 1999) * ''Zion'' (for orchestra; 1999)

Wind band

* ''Arches: An Impression for Concert Band'' (for

concert band A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind instrument, woodwind, brass ...

; 1984) * ''Castle Creek Overture'' (for band; 1989) * ''Circular Marches'' (for large wind ensemble; 1997) * ''Glacier'' (for large wind ensemble; 2003) * ''For The Mystic Harmony'' (for large wind ensemble; 2017) * ''Laboring songs'' (for large wind ensemble; 1997) * ''Minstrels of the Kells'' (for concert band; 2002) * ''Perpetual Song'' (for concert band; 2000) * ''Songs Without Words: Five Mood Pieces for Wind Ensemble'' (for wind ensemble; 2001) * ''Spumante'' (for wind ensemble; 1999) * Symphony No. 3 ''Shaker Life'' (for concert band; 1998) * Symphony No. 4 ''American Visionary'' (for large wind ensemble; 2005) * ''The Yellowstone Fires'' (for large wind ensemble; 1988) * ''Zion'' (for wind ensemble; 1994)

Chamber music

* ''A Rag for Rags'' (for brass sextet and

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

; also for piano; 1984) * ''All the Words to All the Songs'' (for flute and piano; 1996) * ''Another Rag for Rags'' (for violin and piano; 2001) * Brass Quintet (for brass quintet; 1982) * ''Chameleon Music'' (for ten percussionists; 1987) * ''Dante Dances'' (for clarinet and piano; 1995) * ''Elizabethan Variations'' (for four recorders; 1968) * ''Firewing: The Flame and the Moth'' (for oboe and percussion; 1968) * ''Florestan's Falcon'' (for flute and piano; 2002) * ''Harbor Music'' (String Quartet #2) (for string quartet; 1992) * ''Hauntings'' (for tuba ensemble; 1986) * ''Listen Up! A Guide to Melody, Harmony, Rhythm, Tonecolor and Counterpoint'' (for woodwind quintet; 1986) * ''Mill Songs (Four Metamorphoses after Schubert)'' (for oboe and bassoon; 1997) * Museon Polemos (War of the Muses) * ''Nocturne and Dance'' (for

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

and piano; 1966) * Partita (for horn, violin, and piano; 1980) * ''Phaedrus'' (for violin, clarinet, and piano; 1995) * Quintet (for clarinet and string quartet; 2001) * ''Reversible Jackets: Exercises in Conjugal Counterpoint'' (for flute and clarinet; 1987) * ''Spirit Realms (Three Meditations)'' (for flute (dbl. piccolo & alto flute) and percussion; 1996) * ''Stigma'' (for solo contrabass and piano; 1990) * String Quartet No. 1 (for

string quartet The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two Violin, violini ...

; 1988) * ''The Wind Won't Listen'' (for bassoon and string quartet; 2002) * Trio (for violin, violoncello, and piano; 1975) * ''Tsunami'' (for cello, percussion and piano; 1991) * ''White Mares of the Moon'' (for flute and

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or ...

; 1986) * Woodwind Quintet No. 1 (for woodwind quintet; 1967) * Woodwind Quintet No. 2 (for woodwind quintet; 1977) * ''You Can Fool...'' (for percussion quartet; 2009) * ''Zephyrus'' (for flute, violin,

viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

, and cello; 1990)

Keyboard

* ''Dance Variations'' (for solo piano; 1979) * ''Dreaming of Goldberg'' (for adult beginning piano; 1979) * ''High Tech Etudes'' (for solo piano; 1988) * ''Pachel's Bells'' (for solo piano; 1986) * ''Sonatina'' (for solo piano; 1972) * ''The Birth of Shiva'' (for solo piano; 1999)

Opera

* ''A Star Over Fifth Avenue'' (2003) * ''Della's Gift'' (for

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

in two acts; 1986) * ''Holy Night'' (for opera in three scenes and an epilogue; 2003) * ''The Yellow Wallpaper'' (seven scenes; 2010)

Vocal and choral

* ''Abeja Blanca'' (for

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

, english horn, and piano; 1979) * ''Canticle of the Sun'' (for mezzo-soprano, mixed chorus, and organ; 2000) * ''Evening Scenes: Three Poems of James Agee'' (for

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

and chamber ensemble; 1985) * ''Four More Personal Ads'' (for tenor and piano; 2009) * ''Four Personal Ads'' (for

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

and piano; 2007) * ''Go Slow, My Soul'' (for medium voice and piano; 2003) * ''How to Make Coq au Vin'' (for voice and piano; 2005) * ''JFK: The Voice of Peace'' (for 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 orchestra, chorus, and speakers; 1999) * ''Leaves of Grass'' (for

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

; 2004) * ''My Life Closed Twice'' (for medium voice and piano; 2004) * ''Remembrance in Black and White'' (for mezzo-soprano, flute, clarinet, violin, viola, cello, piano, and percussion; 2001) * ''The Bequest'' (for soprano and flute; 1976) * ''Tickets for a Prayer Wheel'' (for

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

and viola; 1997) * ''Vox femina: A Cycle of Poems by and about Women'' (for soprano, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and piano; 1984)

References

External links

Dan Welcher's page at Theodore Presser CompanyOfficial Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Welcher, Dan Living people American male conductors (music) Aspen Music Festival and School faculty Manhattan School of Music alumni Texas classical music American classical bassoonists American opera composers American male opera composers 20th-century American classical composers 20th-century American conductors (music) 21st-century American classical composers Musicians from Rochester, New York Pupils of Samuel Adler (composer) Eastman School of Music alumni University of Louisville faculty Classical musicians from New York (state) 21st-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians 1948 births