Michael Torke (; born September 22, 1961) is an American composer who writes music influenced by

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, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

and minimalism. Torke was born in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...

, where he attended Wilson Elementary School, graduated from Wauwatosa East High School, and studied 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. It was established in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman. It offers Bachelor of Music ...

with Joseph Schwantner and Christopher Rouse, and at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

Works

Sometimes described as a

post-minimalist Postminimalism is an art term coined (as post-minimalism) by Robert Pincus-Witten in 1971Chilvers, Ian and Glaves-Smith, John, ''A Dictionary of Modern and Contemporary Art'', second edition (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2009), p. ...

, his most characteristically postminimal piece is ''Four Proverbs'', in which the syllable for each pitch is fixed and variations in the melody produce streams of nonsense words. Other works in this style include ''Book of Proverbs'' and ''Song of Isaiah''. An early piece where he first used a certain post-minimalist style was '' Vanada'', made in 1984. His best-known work is probably ''

Javelin A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon, but today predominantly for sport. The javelin is almost always thrown by hand, unlike the sling, bow, and crossbow, which launch projectiles with t ...

'', which he composed in 1994, commissioned by the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games in celebration of the

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) is an American orchestra based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. The ASO's main concert venue is Atlanta Symphony Hall in the Woodruff Arts Center. History Though earlier organizations bearing the same name date b ...

's 50th anniversary season, in conjunction with the 1996 Summer Olympics. Commissioned by

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

and

Michael Eisner Michael Dammann Eisner (born March 7, 1942) is an American businessman and former chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of The Walt Disney Company from September 1984 to September 2005. Prior to Disney, Eisner was president of rival film st ...

for the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

's Millennium Celebration, he wrote ''Four Seasons,'' an

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...

for chorus and orchestra celebrating various aspects of the months. He wrote a ballet in 2002, ''The Contract,'' with choreography by James Kudelka. Torke was also commissioned to help Chicago celebrate the centennial of

Daniel Burnham Daniel Hudson Burnham (September 4, 1846 – June 1, 1912) was an American architect and urban designer. A proponent of the '' Beaux-Arts'' movement, he may have been, "the most successful power broker the American architectural profession has ...

's 1909 Plan of Chicago and produced a work entitled ''Plans'' that was performed at the

Grant Park Music Festival The Grant Park Music Festival (formerly the Grant Park Concerts) is a ten-week classical music concert series held annually in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It features the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra and Grant Park Chorus along with guest ...

in June 2009. A

synesthete Synesthesia (American English) or synaesthesia (British English) is a perceptual phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. People who rep ...

, he is the composer of numerous pieces (''Bright Blue Music'', ''Ecstatic Orange'') which include colors in the titles, later made into the suite '' Color Music.'' Other pieces include the opera ''The Directions'' (1986), ''Rust'' (1989), influenced by rap and disco, ''Telephone Book'' (1985, 1995), '' Adjustable Wrench'', and ''Ash'' (1989) and ''Mass'' (1990), which received criticism for an attempt at the style of

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

and

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sym ...

. In 2003, he created his own record label, Ecstatic Records, on which he re-released a set of six 1990s CDs that were deleted by the now out-of-business

Argo Records Argo Records was a record label in Chicago that was established in 1955 as a division of Chess Records. Originally the label was called Marterry, but bandleader Ralph Marterie objected, and within a couple of months the imprint was renamed Ar ...

, which was a subsidiary of

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American Decca's president. ...

. His opera ''Pop'pea'', a

rock opera A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...

version of Monteverdi's '' L'incoronazione di Poppea'', was commissioned by the

Théâtre du Châtelet The Théâtre du Châtelet () is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. One of two theatres (the other being the Théâtre de la Ville) built on the site of a ''châtelet'', a sm ...

in Paris and premiered there on May 29, 2012.

Awards

*Independent Music Awards 2012: ''Tahiti'' – Best Instrumental Album"11th Annual Independent Music Awards Winners Announced!"
Independent Music Awards, 2 May 2012. Retrieved on 4 September 2013.

References

External links

Michael Torke Official SiteNew York City Opera: Learning Center: Resources Center: Biographies: Michael TorkePublisher

Listening

Boosey & Hawkes: Michael Torke Sound Samples
{{DEFAULTSORT:Torke, Michael 1961 births Living people 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century classical composers 21st-century American composers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century classical composers American classical composers American male classical composers American opera composers Ballet composers Composers for carillon Eastman School of Music alumni Male opera composers Pupils of Christopher Rouse (composer)