Randall Woolf (born August 23, 1959) is an American composer known for his diverse contemporary works for chamber orchestra, chamber ensembles, and solo players, often combined with digital audio, turntables, and video. He studied composition privately with
David Del Tredici
David Walter Del Tredici (born March 16, 1937) is an American composer. He has won a Pulitzer Prize for Music and is a former Guggenheim and Woodrow Wilson fellow. Del Tredici is considered a pioneer of the Neo-Romantic movement. He has also bee ...
and Joseph Maneri, and at Harvard, where he earned a Ph.D. He is a member of the Common Sense Composers Collective. He is composer-mentor of the
Brooklyn Philharmonic
There have been several organisations referred to as the Brooklyn Philharmonic. The most recent one was the now-defunct Brooklyn Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, an American orchestra based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, in existence fr ...
. In 1997, he composed a ballet version of ''
Where the Wild Things Are
''Where the Wild Things Are'' is a 1963 children's picture book written and illustrated by American writer and illustrator Maurice Sendak, originally published in hardcover by Harper & Row. The book has been adapted into other media several tim ...
'' in collaboration with
Maurice Sendak
Maurice Bernard Sendak (; June 10, 1928 – May 8, 2012) was an American author and illustrator of children's books. He became most widely known for his book ''Where the Wild Things Are'', first published in 1963.Turan, Kenneth (October 16, 200 ...
and Septime Webre. He created three pieces for video and live instruments with directors Mary Harron (director of “American Psycho”) and John C. Walsh. He has worked frequently with
John Cale
John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styl ...
, notably on his score of ''
American Psycho
''American Psycho'' is a novel by Bret Easton Ellis, published in 1991. The story is told in the first person by Patrick Bateman, a serial killer and Manhattan investment banker. Alison Kelly of ''The Observer'' notes that while "some countr ...
''. He re-created four of
Nico’s songs for Cale’s tribute concert “On the Borderline”, sung by Peter Murphy, Lisa Gerrard, Sparklehorse, Stephin Merritt, Peaches, and
Meshell Ndegeocello. He arranged over 40 of Cale’s songs for orchestra, including the entire ''Paris 1919'' album (performed at the
Brooklyn Academy of Music
The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a performing arts venue in Brooklyn, New York City, known as a center for progressive and avant-garde performance. It presented its first performance in 1861 and began operations in its present location in ...
in January 2013), songs from ''The Velvet Underground and Nico'', and "Music for a New Society". His works have been performed by Kathleen Supové, Jennifer Choi, Timothy Fain, Mary Rowell, Todd Reynolds, Ethel, conductor/flutist
Ransom Wilson, Tara O’Connor, Lindsey Goodman, the Brooklyn Philharmonic, the
Kronos Quartet, Turnmusic, Fulcrum Point, the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, Sonic Generator, Bang on a Can/SPIT Orchestra, the
American Composers Orchestra
The American Composers Orchestra (ACO) is an American orchestra administratively based in New York City, specialising in contemporary American music. The ACO gives concerts at various concert venues in New York City, including:
* Zankel Hall at ...
, NakedEye Ensemble, and others.
Recordings and scores of most of Woolf's music are on his website, randallwoolf.com. His complete flute music is on http://flutterbyrandallwoolf.com/, an alluvial by CCA. An alluvial is a music streaming website, organized around a theme, like an album.
Woolf's orchestral work ''White Heat'' was commissioned by and premiered at the
Tanglewood Music Center in 1989.
References
Randall WoolfLiner notes for ''Rock Steady'' published by New World Records
biography on the ''Paul Dresher Ensemble'' website
External links
*
by Mic Holwin for American Composers Orchestra website
''Distant Partners, Distant Portraits''preview of events by the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra
1959 births
Living people
American male classical composers
21st-century classical composers
20th-century classical composers
Harvard University alumni
21st-century American composers
20th-century American composers
20th-century American male musicians
21st-century American male musicians
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