Derek Bermel
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Derek Bermel (born 1967, in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
) 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 ...
,
clarinetist The clarinet is a single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches. The clarinet family is the largest woodw ...
and conductor whose music blends various facets of
world music "World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...
,
funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...
and
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 ...
with largely classical performing forces and musical vocabulary. He is the recipient of various awards including a
Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...
and the
American Academy in Rome The American Academy in Rome is a research and arts institution located on the Gianicolo in Rome, Italy. The academy is a member of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers. History 19th century In 1893, a group of American architect ...
's ''
Rome Prize The Rome Prize is awarded by the American Academy in Rome, in Rome, Italy. Approximately thirty scholars and artists are selected each year to receive a study fellowship at the academy. Recipients must be American citizens. Prizes have been aw ...
'' awarded to artists for a year-long residency in
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
.


Life

Bermel earned his B.A. 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 ...
and later studied at the
University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
,
Ann Arbor Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...
with
William Bolcom William Elden Bolcom (born May 26, 1938) is an American composer and pianist. He has received the Pulitzer Prize, the National Medal of Arts, a Grammy Award, the Detroit Music Award and was named 2007 Composer of the Year by Musical America. He ...
and William Albright. He also studied with Louis Andriessen in
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
and
Henri Dutilleux Henri Paul Julien Dutilleux (; 22 January 1916 – 22 May 2013) was a French composer of late 20th-century classical music. Among the leading French composers of his time, his work was rooted in the Impressionistic style of Debussy and R ...
at
Tanglewood Tanglewood is a music venue and Music festival, festival in the towns of Lenox, Massachusetts, Lenox and Stockbridge, Massachusetts, Stockbridge in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. It has been the summer home of the Boston Symphony ...
. Later, his interest in a wide range of musical cultures sent him to Jerusalem to study
ethnomusicology Ethnomusicology is the multidisciplinary study of music in its cultural context. The discipline investigates social, cognitive, biological, comparative, and other dimensions. Ethnomusicologists study music as a reflection of culture and investiga ...
with André Hajdu, Bulgaria to investigate Thracian folk style with Nikola Iliev, Brazil to learn caxixi with Julio Góes, and to Ghana to study Lobi xylophone with Ngmen Baaru. Bermel's output includes pieces for a variety of performing forces, including solo vocal songs, pieces for large and small chamber ensembles, and fourteen orchestral works. Though the ensembles he writes for are largely classical, his voice as a composer has been heavily influenced by both his travels and his education in Western art and popular music. His orchestral work ''A shout, a whisper, and a trace'' is a good example of this interplay, as it draws on Bermel's knowledge of the Thracian folk style and the work of fellow ethnomusicologist and classical composer
Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hunga ...
. Moreover, the piece engages directly with the experience of living in an unfamiliar culture, drawing on Bartók's letters home from New York during the last five years of his life. He first came into the national spotlight with works like ''Natural Selection,'' a series of animal portraits for baritone and ensemble, and ''Voices'', a concerto for clarinet and orchestra which he wrote for himself to perform. The piece was premiered by the American Composers Orchestra under the baton of the composer/conductor
Tan Dun Tan Dun (, ; born 18 August 1957) is a Chinese-born American composer and conductor. A leading figure of contemporary classical music, he draws from a variety of Western and Chinese influences, a pairing which has shaped much of his life and mu ...
and has since been performed by many other ensembles and conductors, including the
Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil) is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. The orchestra holds a regular concert season from October until June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from ...
under the baton of composer/conductor
John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...
. Other important works include his "Migration Series," a piece for jazz band and orchestra that draws on impressions of Jacob Lawrence's set of 60 paintings by the same name depicting the mass movement of African-Americans from the South to the North at the beginning of the 20th century, and "Soul Garden," a viola solo accompanied by string quintet that utilizes quarter-tones and slides to emulate the vocal effects of a gospel singer. "Soul Garden" in particular reflects what Richard Scheinen, jazz writer for the San Jose Mercury News, has called Bermel's preoccupation with "the human voice--or more generally, language and the yearning the communicate.". This artistic concern is equally evident in lighter pieces such as "Language Instruction," a humorous work for clarinet, viola, cello, and piano in which the clarinet plays the role of the voice on a language tape and the other three instruments students with various degrees of aptitude for the task at hand. Bermel is also an accomplished clarinetist and plays both classical repertoire and rock and funk, performing with groups such as his own ''TONK.'' He also sings and plays keyboards and caxixi in the rock band ''Peace by Piece''. He has premiered and performed numerous pieces with large orchestras, including his own concerto ''Voices'' and
John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...
''Gnarly Buttons'' with the composer at the podium. Besides his work as a composer and performer, Bermel is active as a teacher. He founded and served as director of the
New York Youth Symphony The New York Youth Symphony (NYYS), founded in 1963, is a music organization for the youth in New York City, widely reputed to be one of the best of its kind in the nation and world. Its programs include its flagship Orchestra, Chamber Music, J ...
's ''Making Score'' workshop for young composers. The workshop meets twice a month at the
ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...
to study orchestration and composition. The group and has heard from guest lecturers such as
Meredith Monk Meredith Jane Monk (born November 20, 1942) is an American composer, performer, director, vocalist, filmmaker, and choreographer. From the 1960s onwards, Monk has created multi-disciplinary works which combine music, theatre, and dance, recordi ...
,
Steve Reich Stephen Michael Reich ( ; born October 3, 1936) is an American composer best known as a pioneer of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, and canons. Reich descr ...
, and John Corigliano and had pieces read by ensembles such as the American Composers Orchestra. More recently, he has mentored both young composers and conductors at Carnegie Hall through the Weill Music Institute. Bermel also conducts masterclasses at universities and music festivals such as the University of Michigan, University of Chicago, Yale University, Peabody Conservatory, Bowdoin, Tanglewood, and Aspen. Bermel's music is published by Peer Music Classical in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and is distributed in
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
and
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
by Faber Music. Bermel began a three-year residency with the American Composers Orchestra in Fall of 2006 and currently serves on the ACO board. In 2009 Bermel began his three-year tenure as composer-in-residence with the
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) is an American chamber orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. LACO presents its Orchestral Series concerts at two venues, the Alex Theatre in Glendale and UCLA's Royce Hall. History James Arkatov, ...
as well as his position as artist-in-residence at the
Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry located in Princeton, New Jersey. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholars, including Albert Ein ...
in Princeton, New Jersey, where he currently lives and works. Bermel has collaborated with the novelist
Sandra Cisneros Sandra Cisneros (born December 20, 1954) is an American writer. She is best known for her first novel, ''The House on Mango Street'' (1984), and her subsequent short story collection, ''Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories'' (1991). Her wo ...
to adapt her work '' The House on Mango Street'', first in 2017 as an orchestral suite with monologues and choreography, and then as an opera with Cisneros as librettist. ''Mango Suite'' was commissioned for the Chautauqua Institution by Francis and Cindy Letro, in honor of Tom and Jane Becker, and had its world premier on July 22, 2017. The opera will have its official premier in July 2025 at the Glimmerglass Festival in upstate New York.


Music


Chamber works

Large chamber ensemble: *''Canzonas Americanas'' (2010) *''Swing Song'' (2009) *''In Tangle'' (2005) *''Three Rivers'' (2001) *''Continental Divide'' (1996) *''Hot Zone'' (1995) Small chamber ensemble: *''Intonations'' (2016), string quartetSMALL CHAMBER ENSEMBLE - INTONATIONS (2016) PROGRAM NOT

/ref> *''Passing Through'' (2007), string quartet *''Twin Trio'' (2005), flute, clarinet, and piano *''Tied Shifts'' (2004), flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, and percussion *''Language Instruction'' (2003), clarinet, violin, cello, and piano *''Catcalls'' (2003), brass quintet *''Soul Garden'' (2000), viola + 2 violins, viola, 2 cellos *''Coming Together'' (1999), clarinet and cello *''God's Trombones'' (1998), 3 trombones and percussion *''Oct Up'' (1995), double string quartet *''Wanderings'' (1994), flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, and bassoon *''SchiZm'' (1994), clarinet/oboe and piano *''String Quartet'' (1992), string quartet *''Mulatash Stomp'' (1991), violin, clarinet, and piano *''Sonata Humana'' (1991), clarinet and piano


Orchestral works

*''Mango Suite'' (2017) *''A Shout, A Whisper, and a Trace'' (2009) *''Elixir'' (2006) *''Migration Series'' (2006) *''Slides'' (2003) *''Tag Rag'' (2003) *''The Ends'' (2002) *''Thracian Echoes'' (2002) *''Dust Dances'' (1994) With a solo instrument or voice: *''Mar de Setembro'' (2011), mezzo-soprano and chamber orchestra *''Ritornello'' (2011), electric guitar concerto *''The Good Life'' (2008), soprano, baritone, choir, and orchestra *''Turning Variations'' (2006), piano concerto *''The Sting'' (2001-2) - (narr, orch) *''Voices'' (1997), clarinet concerto


Symphonic Band

*''Ides March'' (2005)


Choral works

*''A Child's War'' (2005) *''Kpanlongo'' (1993) *''Pete Pete'' (1993)


Songs

Solo voice: *''Nature Calls'' (1999), medium voice and piano *''Cabaret Songs'' (1998), soprano and piano *''See How She Moves'' (1997), solo medium voice *''Three Songs on Poems by Wendy S. Walters'' (1993), medium voice and piano With ensemble: *''Cabaret Songs'' (2007), soprano, clarinet, percussion, double bass, dobro, and guitar *''Natural Selection'' (2000), low voice and ensemble *''At the End of the World'' (2000), high voice and orchestra *''Old Songs for a New Man'' (1997), baritone soloist and trumpet, trombone, piano, percussion, violin, double bass


Solo Instrument

*''Fetch'' (2004), piano *''Funk Studies'' (2004), piano *''Kontraphunktus'' (2004), piano *''Thracian Sketches'' (2003), clarinet *''Meditation'' (1997), piano *''Turning'' (1995), piano *''Two Songs from Nandom'' (1993), organ *''Theme and Absurdities'' (1993), clarinet *''Dodecaphunk'' (1992), piano *''Three Funk Studies'' (1991), piano


References

*http://dworkincompany.com/site/artist/derek-bermel/


External links


Official websitePeermusic Classical: Derek Bermel
Composer's Publisher and Bio
Derek Bermel management

Discography

Page at Faber Music Ltd (publishing agent for Europe, Australia & New Zealand)Inspirations - Derek Bermel blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bermel, Derek 1967 births Living people 20th-century American classical composers 21st-century American classical composers American male classical composers Artists-in-Residence at the Institute for Advanced Study Musicians from New Rochelle, New York University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance alumni Classical musicians from New York (state) 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians