Shirish Korde (born June 18, 1945), is a

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

n composer of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n ancestry. He is the Chair of the Music Department at the

College of the Holy Cross The College of the Holy Cross is a private Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by educators Benedict Joseph Fenwick and Thomas F. Mulledy in 1843 under the auspices of the Society of Jesus. ...

(Worcester, MA) and has previously been on the faculty of the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

, the

New England Conservatory The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. The conservatory is located on Huntington Avenue along Avenue of the Arts (Boston), the Avenue of the Arts near Boston Symphony Ha ...

, and

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

. Korde studied

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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and composition at the Berklee College of Music, analysis and composition at the New England Conservatory, and

ethnomusicology Ethnomusicology is the multidisciplinary study of music in its cultural context. The discipline investigates social, cognitive, biological, comparative, and other dimensions. Ethnomusicologists study music as a reflection of culture and investiga ...

at Brown University.

Works

His works include: * ''Tenderness of Cranes'', for solo flute, influenced by

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese

shakuhachi A is a Japanese longitudinal, end-blown flute that is made of bamboo. The bamboo end-blown flute now known as the was developed in Japan in the 16th century and is called the .

techniques * ''Time Grids'', for amplified guitar and tape * ''Constellations'', for saxophone quartet * ''Drowned Woman of the Sky'', a song cycle based on poems by

Pablo Neruda Pablo Neruda ( ; ; born Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto; 12 July 190423 September 1973) was a Chilean poet-diplomat and politician who won the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature. Neruda became known as a poet when he was 13 years old an ...

* ''Nesting Cranes'' (2006), for solo flute and strings, premiered by Jennifer Gunn and the

Chicago Symphony Orchestra The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891, the ensemble has been based in the Symphony Center since 1904 and plays a summer season at the Ravinia F ...

under

Ludovic Morlot Ludovic Morlot (born 11 December 1973) is a French conductor. Early years Morlot was born in Lyon on 11 December 1973. As a youth, he trained as a violinist. He later attended the Royal Academy of Music, and began his studies in conducting in Lo ...

* ''Svara-Yantra'' (2005), a violin concerto premiered by the

Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra The Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra ( (NOSPR)) is one of Poland's radio orchestras and premier musical institutions. It was founded in 1935 in Warsaw and was later re-established in Katowice in 1945. Since 2006 it has been a "National ...

with soloist Joanna Kurkowicz, who also played the American premiere *''Songs of Ecstasy'' (2008) *''Zikhr: Songs of Longing'' (2009) for soprano, flute, string trio, harp, tabla and percussion, premiered by the Chameleon Arts Ensemble of Boston Korde has composed five large-scale music-theatre works: * ''Chitra'' (2003), commissioned by

Boston Musica Viva Boston Musica Viva is a Boston, Massachusetts-based music ensemble founded by its music director, Richard Pittman, in 1969 and dedicated to contemporary music. Composers and compositions In its 44-year history, Boston Musica Viva has performed mo ...

and premiered by that ensemble at a concert sponsored by the

Celebrity Series of Boston The Celebrity Series of Boston is a non-profit performing arts presenter established in Boston, Massachusetts by Boston impresario Aaron Richmond in 1938 as Aaron Richmond's Celebrity Series. History Below is a partial list of performers by gen ...

* ''Rasa'' (1999) * ''Bhima's Journey'' * ''The Separate Prison'' * ''The Conquistadors'' * ''Phoolan Devi: The Bandit Queen'' (2010), a multi-media opera based on the life of

Phoolan Devi Phoolan Devi (, 10 August 1963 25 July 2001), popularly known as the Bandit Queen, was an Indian dacoit (bandit) who became a politician, serving as a member of parliament until her assassination. She was a woman of the Mallah subcaste who ...

based on a libretto he authored with Lynn Kremer, who directed the premiere performances by

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

's Tsai Performance Center. *''Aède Of The Ocean And Land'' (based on Noor Inayat Khan's play of the same title) was premiered live with the Athens based ODC Ensemble and 20 performers from 4 different countries in September 2020 These works exhibit influences of Asian dramatic and musical forms, especially

Balinese Balinese may refer to: *Bali, an Indonesian island *Balinese art *Balinese dance *Balinese people *Balinese language *Nusa Penida Balinese * Bali Aga Balinese **Balinese script **Balinese (Unicode block) *Balinese mythology *Balinese cat, a cat bre ...

gamelan Gamelan (; ; , ; ) is the traditional musical ensemble, ensemble music of the Javanese people, Javanese, Sundanese people, Sundanese, and Balinese people, Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussion instrument, per ...

and

shadow puppet Shadow play, also known as shadow puppetry, is an ancient form of storytelling and entertainment which uses flat articulated cut-out figures (shadow puppets) which are held between a source of light and a translucent screen or scrim. The cut-o ...

ry, Vedic chant,

Tuva Tuva (; ) or Tyva (; ), officially the Republic of Tyva,; , is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. Tuva lies at the geographical center of Asia, in southern Siberia. The republic borders the Federal subjects of Russia, federal sub ...

music from

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

North Indian North India is a geographical region, loosely defined as a cultural region comprising the northern part of India (or historically, the Indian subcontinent) wherein Indo-Aryans (speaking Indo-Aryan languages) form the prominent majority populati ...

Tala, and shakuhachi music. Jazz elements and computer voice synthesis techniques are also incorporated into his music-theater works. Korde also composed KA, for the Boston Musica Viva, a work for cello and voice (cellist Jan Müller-Szerwas and Deepti Navaratna, soprano) – Anusvara, Fifith Prism. He also composed a guitar concerto, Nada Ananda, released on CD featuring Simon Thacker and his ensemble. In 2021, Korde is working on a symphonic piece inspired by climate change, " Oceans Rising for the South Asian Symphony Orchestra." He was also a resident composer at the 2021 Seal Bay Festival. He was described by

Computer Music Journal ''Computer Music Journal'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that covers a wide range of topics related to digital audio signal processing and electroacoustic music. It is published on-line and in hard copy by MIT Press. The journal is accompani ...

as one of the few "contemporary composers who have been deeply touched by music of non-Western cultures, jazz, and computer technology and who has created a powerful and communicative compositional language." Korde is the founder of

Neuma Records A neume (; sometimes spelled neum) is the basic element of Western and some Eastern systems of musical notation prior to the invention of five-line staff notation. The earliest neumes were inflective marks that indicated the general shape but n ...

Awards and grants

* The National Flute Association *Composers Inc. *The Fuller Foundation *The Lef Foundation *The Fromm Foundation *The Massachusetts Council for the Arts *New England Foundation for the Arts *The Mellon Foundation *The Artists Foundation *Saint Botolph Club Foundation Award *Mass Cultural Council- 2021 Artist Fellowship Awards

References

External links

Neuma Records''Phoolan Devi: The Bandit Queen''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Korde, Shirish 1945 births Living people Berklee College of Music alumni 21st-century classical composers 20th-century classical composers College of the Holy Cross faculty American male musicians of Indian descent American musicians of Indian descent Berklee College of Music faculty New England Conservatory faculty Brown University faculty Ugandan emigrants to the United States Male classical composers 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians Ugandan people of Indian descent American people of Marathi descent