Eric Moe (born October 24, 1954) is an American composer and pianist. He has received awards from the

American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headq ...

the

Koussevitzky Music Foundation Sergei Alexandrovich KoussevitzkyKoussevitzky's original Russian forename is usually transliterated into English as either "Sergei" or "Sergey"; however, he himself adopted the French spelling " Serge", using it in his signature. (SeThe Koussevi ...

and a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

. Moe was born in

Durham, NC Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County and Wake County. With a population of 283,506 in the 2020 Census, Durham is the 4th-mo ...

. He studied musical composition at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the n ...

(BA) and at the

University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant uni ...

(MA, PhD). Currently, he is the Professor of Composition and Theory at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

where he co-directs the ''Music on the Edge'' new music concert series. At the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universit ...

and Princeton University, he has held visiting professorships. Moe is also active as a concert pianist, having performed works by hundreds of composers, from John Cage and

Anthony Davis Anthony Marshon Davis Jr. (born March 11, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He plays the power forward and center positions. Davis is an eight-time ...

Stefan Wolpe Stefan Wolpe (25 August 1902, Berlin – 4 April 1972, New York City) was a German-Jewish-American composer. He was associated with interdisciplinary modernism, with affiliations ranging from the Bauhaus, Berlin agitprop theater and the kibbutz mo ...

. In 2003 Moe completed a 45-minute work for mezzo-soprano and ten players, setting a text of

David Foster Wallace David Foster Wallace (February 21, 1962 – September 12, 2008) was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and university professor of English and creative writing. Wallace is widely known for his 1996 novel '' Infinite Jest'', whi ...

. Moe wrote about setting Wallace for ''Fiction Writers Review.''Moe, Eri
+ Me = An ‘Arranged’ Marriage of Music and Fiction"
''Fiction Writer's Review'', 19 October 2011. Retrieved Dec 30, 2011.

Selected compositions

* ''Spirit Mountain'' for five players (2010) * ''Strenuous Pleasures'' for six players (2010) * ''Frozen Hours Melt Melodiously Into The Past'' for six players (2009) * ''Jozaphine Freedom'' an entertainment on text of

Denise Duhamel Denise Duhamel (born 1961 in Woonsocket, Rhode Island) is an American poet. Background Duhamel received her B.F.A. from Emerson College and her M.F.A. from Sarah Lawrence College. She is a New York Foundation for the Arts recipient and has been ...

, for soprano, clarinet/bcl, piano/keyboard sampler (2009) * ''Lavished Sunlight, Frozen Hours'' setting of

Richard Wilbur Richard Purdy Wilbur (March 1, 1921 – October 14, 2017) was an American poet and literary translator. One of the foremost poets of his generation, Wilbur's work, composed primarily in traditional forms, was marked by its wit, charm, and gentle ...

for soprano, cello and piano (2009) * ''Dead Cat Bounce'' for five players (2009) * ''Kick & Ride'' (2008) Concerto for drum set and orchestra * ''Grand Prismatic'' (2007) for clarinet and piano * ''Gong Tormented'' solo percussion (2007) * ''Heavenly Labials'' setting of

Wallace Stevens Wallace Stevens (October 2, 1879 – August 2, 1955) was an American modernist poet. He was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, educated at Harvard and then New York Law School, and spent most of his life working as an executive for an insurance comp ...

for soprano, mezzo-soprano and piano (2007) * ''Mud Wrestling at the O.K. Corral'' for cello and piano (2007) * ''Superhero'' for six players (2006) * ''I Have Only One Itching Desire'' for percussion sextet (2006) * ''Market Forces'' saxophone quartet (2005) * ''The Legend of the Sad Triad'' for solo piano (2005) * ''Strange Exclaiming Music'' for violin and piano (2004) * ''Preamble & Dreamsong from the 4-5 a.m. REM Stage'' for alto flute or viola and piano (2003) * ''Tri-Stan''for mezzo-soprano and 10 players, text by

(2003) * ''Pulaski Skyway Waltz'' solo piano (2002) * ''Eight Point Turn'' for eight players (2001) * ''3 Ways to Relieve Tension'' solo piano (2001) * ''Repeat Offender'' for seven players (2000) * ''Dead Elf Tugboat'' for flute and midi-keyboard (2000) * ''Siren Songs'' for soprano and piano; also version with ensemble and version with chamber orchestra (1998) * ''Fled Is That Music'' flute and piano (1998) * ''And Life Like Froth Doth Throb'' for viola and cello (1997) * ''Sonnets to Orpheus'' setting of

Rilke René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926), shortened to Rainer Maria Rilke (), was an Austrian poet and novelist. He has been acclaimed as an idiosyncratic and expressive poet, and is widely recog ...

for soprano, oboe, string quartet and piano (1997) * ''Blue Air'' violin and piano (1996) * ''Time Will Tell'' for five players (1996) * ''No Time Like the Present'' for orchestra (1996) for the

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra The ''Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra'' (''PSO'') is an American orchestra based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The orchestra's home is Heinz Hall, located in Pittsburgh's Cultural District. History The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is an Americ ...

* ''Kicking and Screaming'' concerto for piano and 10 players (1994) * ''On the Tip of My Tongue'' bass clarinet and keyboard synthesizer (1993) * ''We Happy Few'' piano trio (1990) * ''riprap'' for four players (1989) * ''Up & At 'Em'' for five players (1988) commissioned by the

Koussevitzky Music Foundations Sergei Alexandrovich KoussevitzkyKoussevitzky's original Russian forename is usually transliterated into English as either "Sergei" or "Sergey"; however, he himself adopted the French spelling "Serge", using it in his signature. (SeThe Koussevi ...

Selected recordings

* Kick & Ride. ''Superhero, Eight Point Turn, Kick & Ride.'' Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Robert Schultz, soloist, Gil Rose conductor. BMOP/sound CD1021 * Strange Exclaiming Music. Curtis Macomber, violin; Stephen Gosling, piano; Michael Lipsey, percussion; New York Saxophone Quartet;

Raschèr Saxophone Quartet The Raschèr Saxophone Quartet is a professional ensemble of four saxophonists which performs classical and modern music. The quartet was founded in the United States in 1969 by prominent classical saxophonist Sigurd Raschèr and his daughter, Ca ...

; DoublePlay Percussion Duo; Columbus State University Percussion Ensemble/Paul Vaillancourt conductor.

Naxos Records Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about ...

8.559612. * Tri-Stan. text of

, Many Nessinger, mezzo-soprano, Sequitur,

Paul Hostetter Paul Hostetter is an American conductor, the Ethel Foley Distinguished Chair in Orchestral Activities for the Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University, the Conductor and Artistic Advisor for the Sequitur Ensemble, and the Founder and Arti ...

, conductor. Koch International Classics KIC-CD-7736 * Siren Songs, Sonnets to Orpheus, & A Warm Hello from the Alien Ant Farm. Christine Brandes, soprano, J. Karla Lemon, conductor, Jacqueline Leclair, oboe, Renee Jolles and Tom Chiu, violins, Toby Appel, viola, Fred Sherry, cello, Eric Moe, piano. Elizabeth Farnum, soprano, Rob Frankenberry, tenor.

Albany Records Albany Records is a record label that concentrates on unconventional contemporary classical music by American composers and musicians. It was established by Peter Kermani in 1987 and is based in Albany, New York. See also * List of record labe ...

TROY953 * The Waltz Project Revisited: New Waltzes for Piano. Eric Moe, piano. waltzes by

Milton Babbitt Milton Byron Babbitt (May 10, 1916 – January 29, 2011) was an American composer, music theorist, mathematician, and teacher. He is particularly noted for his serial and electronic music. Biography Babbitt was born in Philadelphia to Albert E ...

, Hayes Biggs,

Ronald Caltabiano Ronald Caltabiano (born December 7, 1959) is an American arts administrator and composer of contemporary classical music, with his music showing elements of modernism and romanticism. He holds B.M., M.M., and D.M.A. degrees from the Juilliard Scho ...

, Anthony Cornicello, Akin Euba,

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimalism, being built up from repetitive ...

Ricky Ian Gordon Ricky Ian Gordon (born May 15, 1956) is an American composer of art song, opera and musical theatre. Life Gordon was born in Oceanside, New York. He was raised by his mother, Eve, and father, Sam, and he grew up on Long Island with his three si ...

Lou Harrison Lou Silver Harrison (May 14, 1917 – February 2, 2003) was an American composer, music critic, music theorist, painter, and creator of unique musical instruments. Harrison initially wrote in a dissonant, ultramodernist style similar to his ...

Robert Helps Robert Eugene Helps (b. Passaic, New Jersey, United States, September 23, 1928; d. Tampa, Florida, United States, November 24, 2001) was an American pianist and composer. Career Helps studied at the universities of Columbia (1947–49) and Ber ...

Lee Hyla Lee Hyla (August 31, 1952 – June 6, 2014) was an American classical music composer from Niagara Falls, New York. He received the Stoeger Prize from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, a Guggenheim Fellowship, two National Endowment for ...

Andrew Imbrie Andrew Welsh Imbrie (April 6, 1921 – December 5, 2007) was an American contemporary classical music composer and pianist. Career Imbrie was born in New York City and began his musical training as a pianist when he was 4. In 1937, he went to P ...

Louis Karchin Louis Karchin (born September 8, 1951) is an American composer, conductor and educator who has composed over 90 works including unaccompanied and chamber music, symphonic works and opera. Karchin was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is ...

Karl Kohn Karl Georg Kohn (born August 1, 1926) is an Austrian-born American composer, teacher and pianist. He taught at Pomona College for more than 40 years. Biography Kohn began playing the piano as a child in Vienna; after he emigrated to the Unite ...

Zygmunt Krauze Zygmunt Krauze (born September 19, 1938) is a Polish composer of contemporary classical music, educator, and pianist. Biography Zygmunt Krauze is an important artist of his generation: a respected composer, valued pianist, educator, organiser of ...

, Eric Moe,

Wayne Peterson Wayne Peterson (September 3, 1927April 7, 2021) was an American composer, pianist, and educator. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Music for '' The Face of the Night, the Heart of the Dark'' in 1992, when its board overturned the jury's unanimous ...

Mathew Rosenblum Mathew Rosenblum (born March 19, 1954) is an American composer whose works have been commissioned, recorded and performed by musical groups such as the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the Thailand Philharmonic ...

Roger Sessions Roger Huntington Sessions (December 28, 1896March 16, 1985) was an American composer, teacher and musicologist. He had initially started his career writing in a neoclassical style, but gradually moved further towards more complex harmonies and ...

Virgil Thomson Virgil Thomson (November 25, 1896 – September 30, 1989) was an American composer and critic. He was instrumental in the development of the "American Sound" in classical music. He has been described as a modernist, a neoromantic, a neoclassi ...

Joan Tower Joan Tower (born September 6, 1938)http://www.schirmer.com/default.aspx?TabId=2419&State_2872=2&ComposerId_2872=1605 Biography on Schirmer is a Grammy-winning contemporary American composer, concert pianist and conductor. Lauded by ''The New Y ...

Charles Wuorinen Charles Peter Wuorinen (; June 9, 1938 – March 11, 2020) was an American composer of contemporary classical music based in New York City. He performed his works and other 20th-century music as pianist and conductor. He composed more than ...

, and Roger Zahab. Albany Records TROY689 * Kicking and Screaming, Three Ways to Relieve Tension, Dead Elf Tugboat, Where Branched Thoughts Murmur in the Wind, Grande Etude Brilliante, Dance of the Honey Monkey, Nocturne, Fled Is That Music. Alex Karis, piano, Speculum Musicae, Donald Palma, conductor, Eric Moe, piano and midi keyboard, Rachel Rudich flutes. Albany Records TROY597 * Up & At 'Em: Chamber & Electroacoustic Music. ''Time Will Tell, Mouth Music, Blue Air, The Lone Cello, A Whirling and a Wandering Fire, Up & at 'em.'' Albany Records TROY506

References

Official Eric Moe website

Eric Moe page at University of Pittsburgh

All Music Guide bio

Fanfare review of Naxos CD ''Strange Exclaiming Music''

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moe, Eric 1954 births 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American pianists 20th-century classical composers 20th-century classical pianists 21st-century American composers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American pianists 21st-century classical composers 21st-century classical pianists American classical composers American classical pianists American contemporary classical composers American male classical composers American male classical pianists Centaur Records artists Composers for piano Contemporary classical music performers Living people Postmodern composers