Irwin Swack (November 8, 1916 – January 2, 2006) was an American composer of

contemporary classical music Contemporary classical music is Western art music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st-century classical music, 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 Modernism (music), post-tonal music after the death of ...

from West Salem, Ohio. He held degrees from the

Cleveland Institute of Music The Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) is a private music conservatory in Cleveland, Ohio. The school was founded in 1920 by a group of supporters led by Martha Bell Sanders and Mary Hutchens Smith, with Ernest Bloch serving as its first dire ...

(where he studied violin, graduating with a B.M. in 1939), 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 ...

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

(master's degree), and

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

(doctorate). He studied with

Henry Cowell Henry Dixon Cowell (; March 11, 1897 – December 10, 1965) was an American composer, writer, pianist, publisher, teacher Marchioni, Tonimarie (2012)"Henry Cowell: A Life Stranger Than Fiction" ''The Juilliard Journal''. Retrieved 19 June 2022.C ...

(at Columbia University),

Gunther Schuller Gunther Alexander Schuller (November 22, 1925June 21, 2015) was an American composer, conductor, horn player, author, historian, educator, publisher, and jazz musician. Biography and works Early years Schuller was born in Queens, New York City ...

(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 ...

Vittorio Giannini Vittorio Giannini (October 19, 1903 – November 28, 1966) was an American neoromanticism, neoromantic composer of operas, songs, symphonies, and band works, and member of the Giannini family. Life and work Giannini was born in Philadelphia on Oct ...

(at Juilliard),

Paul Creston Paul Creston (born Giuseppe Guttoveggio; October 10, 1906 – August 24, 1985) was an American composer of classical music. He composed six symphonies and several concertante works for violin, piano, accordion, marimba and saxophone. Biography B ...

(at Columbia University), and Normand Lockwood. Swack also worked as an assistant professor of music at Jacksonville State College. His music was recorded on the Centaur, CRS, Opus One, and Living Artist Recordings labels. His music is published by Carl Fischer, Shawnee Press,

Theodore Presser The Theodore Presser Company is an American Music publisher (popular music), music publishing and Distribution (business), distribution company located in Malvern, Pennsylvania, formerly King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, and originally based in Br ...

, and Galaxy Music. His last residence was in Bellmore, New York.

Awards and grants

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 ...

Standard Awards *

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

grant * Meet-the-Composer grant *

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 ...

grant

Works

*Duets for Violin and Viola *Fantasie Concertante, string orchestra *Profiles, clarinet, violin and cello *Sonata for Flute and Piano *String Quartet no. 1 *String Quartet no. 2 *String Quartet no. 3 *String Quartet no. 4 *String Quartet no. 5 *Symphony no. 1 *Symphony no. 2 *The Visions of Isaiah, mixed choir and orchestra

References

External links

Irwin Swack pageIrwin Swack page
from American Music Center site 1916 births 2006 deaths American male classical composers 20th-century American classical composers People from West Salem, Ohio Northwestern University alumni Columbia University alumni Cleveland Institute of Music alumni People from Bellmore, New York Pupils of Gunther Schuller 20th-century American male musicians Classical musicians from Ohio Classical musicians from New York (state) Pupils of Henry Cowell {{US-composer-20thC-stub