Eric Ewazen (; born March 1, 1954,

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

) is an American composer and teacher.

Biography

Ewazen studied composition under Samuel Adler,

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, and Eugene Kurtz 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 ...

and

The Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

(where he received numerous composition awards, prizes, and fellowships). He has been on the faculty of The

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

since 1980, and has been a lecturer for the New York Philharmonic's Musical Encounters Series. He has also served on the faculties of the Hebrew Arts School and the Lincoln Center Institute. He served as Vice President of the

League of Composers The League of Composers/International Society for Contemporary Music is a society whose stated mission is "to produce the highest quality performances of new music, to champion American composers in the United States and abroad, and to introduce Ame ...

–

International Society for Contemporary Music The International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) is a music organization that promotes contemporary classical music. The organization was established in Salzburg in 1922 as Internationale Gesellschaft für Neue Musik (IGNM) following the ...

from 1982–1989, and was also composer-in-residence for the Orchestra of St. Luke's.

Music

Ewazen's compositions have been performed by numerous ensembles and

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, ...

s around the world, such as the

Cleveland Orchestra The Cleveland Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded in 1918 by the pianist and impresario Adella Prentiss Hughes, the orchestra is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the " Big Five". T ...

, and at festivals such as

Woodstock The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held from August 15 to 18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. Billed as "a ...

, Tanglewood, Aspen, Caramoor, Tidewater, and the

Music Academy of the West The Music Academy of the West is a summer classical music training program in Montecito, California, and festival with performances in the County of Santa Barbara. Overview The academy annually enrolls 136 pre-professional musicians in their ...

, among others. In recent years, he has increasingly written for brass instruments. Many of these works are performed regularly. His works have been commissioned and performed by organizations such as the St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble, Greenwich Symphony, Fairfield Chamber Orchestra,

American Brass Quintet The American Brass Quintet is an American brass quintet founded in 1960. Unlike conventional brass quintets, the bass voice is provided by a bass trombone rather than a tuba. The Quintet has served as Ensemble-in-Residence at the Aspen Music Fes ...

, Borealis Wind Quintet, Bellevue Philharmonic, Detroit Chamber Winds, Western Piedmont Symphony, School for Strings, L'Amore di Musica,

New York State Council on the Arts The New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) serves to foster and advance the arts, culture, and creativity throughout New York State, according to its website. The goal of the council is to allow all New Yorkers to benefit from the contribution ...

, the Philip-Morris Companies, Jerome Foundation, University of Arizona,

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

, Music Academy of the West, and by soloists such as Julius Baker, Mindy Kaufman, Philip Smith, Joseph Alessi, and Eugene Becker (of 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 ...

), Toni Lipton and Scott Brubaker (of the Metropolitan Opera), Olegna Fuschi, Rebecca Scott, James Houlik, Linda Strommen, and Leon Russianoff, among others. The third movement of Ewazen's Symphony in Brass is used as the theme music for

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

's political coverage.

Recordings

Among his recorded works are the "Ballade for Clarinet, Harp & String Orchestra" (John Russo); "Colchester Fantasy" (

on Summit Records); "Sonata for Viola and Piano" (Eugene Becker on Clique Trak), "Symphony in Brass" (Summit Brass on Summit Records); "The Tiger" (William White on Hyperion Records), "The Diamond World" (

Ahn Trio The Ahn Trio is a classical piano trio composed of three sisters: Angella (violin), Lucia (piano), and Maria (cello) Ahn; Lucia and Maria are twins. Born in Seoul, Korea, they moved to New York City in 1981, and began their training at the Juilli ...

), and Well-Tempered Productions has released an all-Ewazen disc of "Frost Fire", "...to cast a shadow again", "Quintet for Trumpet and Strings", "The Palace of Nine Perfections" (

Percussion Ensemble), and "Sonata for Horn & Piano" featuring the American Brass Quintet, Chamber Ensemble of St. Luke's and Grammy winner William Sharp. In the fall of 1996, the principal chairs of the New York Philharmonic recorded a disc of Mr. Ewazen's music for Cala Records. There are three discs dedicated to his music on the Albany Records label: "Sejong Plays Ewazen" with the International Sejong Soloists, "Orchestral Music and Concertos" with the Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra conducted by Paul Polivnick, and "Bass Hits," a collection of concert pieces for bass trombone and various ensembles.

Partial list of works

For a more complete list of works see '' List of compositions by Eric Ewazen''.

For orchestra or wind ensemble

*''Chamber Symphony'' (1986) *''Legacy'' (2000) *''Flight'' (2001) *''A Hymn for the Lost and the Living'' (2001) *''Celtic Hymns and Dances'' (1990) *''Celebration of a Cherished Life'' (2002) *''Sinfonia for String Orchestra'' (2001) *''Overture to the School for Strings'' (2000) *''Celestial Dancers'' (2007)

Concerti

*''Shadowcatcher'' – Concerto for Brass Quintet and Wind Ensemble (1996) rr. for orchestra/piano*''Concerto for Flute and Chamber Orchestra'' (1989) *''Down a River of Time'' – Oboe and String Orchestra (1999) *''Ballade for Clarinet, Harp, and String Orchestra'' (1986) *''Concerto for Trumpet and String Orchestra'' (1990) *''Danzante'' – Trumpet and Wind Ensemble (2004) *''Concerto for Tenor Trombone and Wind Ensemble'' (2001) *''Visions of Light'' – Tenor Trombone and Wind Ensemble (2003) *''Concerto for Tuba or Bass Trombone and Orchestra'' (1995) *''Concerto for Euphonium and Wind Ensemble'' (2003) *''Concerto for Marimba and String Orchestra'' (1999) *''Concerto for Violin and String Orchestra'' (1997) *''Concerto for Bassoon and Wind Ensemble'' (2002) *''Cascadian Concerto for Wind Quintet and Orchestra'' (2003) *''Concerto for Tenor Saxophone and Orchestra'' (1992) *''Concerto for Horn and String Orchestra'' (2002) *''Hold Fast Your Dreams'' – Oboe and Wind Ensemble (2010) *''Concerto for Bass Trombone and String Orchestra'' (1998)

Sonatas

* ''Sonata No. 1 for Flute and Piano'' (2011) * ''Sonata No. 2 for Flute and Piano'' (2013) * ''Sonata for Horn and Piano'' (1992) * ''Sonata for Trombone and Piano'' (1993) * ''Sonata for Trumpet and Piano'' (1995)

References

External links

Eric Ewazen's page at Theodore Presser CompanyThe Music of Eric Ewazen
Eric Ewazen's Website – Contains complete list of works

March 21, 1998
Eric Ewazen
Interview with Hip-Bone Music, September 2017 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ewazen, Eric American male classical composers 20th-century American classical composers 21st-century American classical composers Musicians from Cleveland Eastman School of Music alumni Juilliard School alumni Juilliard School faculty 1954 births Living people Pupils of Samuel Adler (composer) Educators from Ohio Classical musicians from Ohio 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians Pupils of Joseph Schwantner