Tison C. Street aka Curry Tison Street (born May 20, 1943 in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...
,
) is a graduate of Harvard College ‘65 and an
American composer of
contemporary classical music
Contemporary classical music is classical music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 modern forms of post-tonal music after the death of Anton Webern, and included se ...
and violinist.
He studied violin with Einar Hansen, of the
Boston Symphony Orchestra
The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the " Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 1 ...
, from 1951 to 1959. He later studied composition at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
with
Leon Kirchner and
David Del Tredici, receiving B.A. and M.A. degrees. In 1973 he won the
Rome Prize
The Rome Prize is awarded by the American Academy in Rome, in Rome, Italy. Approximately thirty scholars and artists are selected each year to receive a study fellowship at the academy. Prizes have been awarded annually since 1921, with a hiatus ...
and spent a year at the American Academy in Rome.
His compositions have been performed by 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 ...
,
Los Angeles Philharmonic
The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at th ...
, the
American Composers Orchestra, the
Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the
New Hampshire Symphony Orchestra, the
North Carolina Symphony, and the
Boston Classical Orchestra
The Boston Classical Orchestra was a chamber orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1980 by the violinist Robert Brink. The orchestra's music director was Steven Lipsitt. It performed at Faneuil Hall.
The orchestra has pe ...
.
As a violinist, he has performed with
Alea III Alea III is a Boston, Massachusetts-based music ensemble that is devoted to the promotion, performance, and teaching of contemporary classical music.
About the ensemble
Alea III was founded in 1978 by Music Director Theodore Antoniou, the third ...
, the Boston Classical Orchestra, the
Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, the
Harvard Chamber Orchestra
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
, and the
Boston Ballet Orchestra
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most ...
. He performed the violin parts for
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 ...
's ''
Einstein on the Beach'' in its 1984 reviva
He has taught at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
(Associate Professor of Music, 1979–1983), the
University of California, 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 u ...
,
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original c ...
, and
Amherst College (2008).
He is a winner of 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 ...
(1981
a
Kennedy Center Friedheim Awards, Kennedy Center Friedheim Award (second prize, 1994, for his orchestral work ''Bright Sambas''), a
Naumberg Recording Award, an
American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters Award, an
NEA grant, the
Brandeis University
Brandeis University is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational institution sponsored by the Jews, Jewish community, Brandeis was established on t ...
Creative Arts Award.
His works are published by
G. Schirmer
G. Schirmer, Inc. is an American classical music publishing company based in New York City, founded in 1861. The oldest active music publisher in the United States, Schirmer publishes sheet music for sale and rental, and represents some well-know ...
br>
He has lived in Boston, Massachusetts, but in 2008 is living in
Amherst, Massachusetts
Amherst () is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Connecticut River valley. As of the 2020 census, the population was 39,263, making it the highest populated municipality in Hampshire County (although the county seat ...
.
**
Here a longer biography of Tison Street:
Tison Street was born in Boston (USA) on 20 May 1943. After studying violin with Einar Hansen from 1951–59, he studied a composition with Leon Kirchner and David Del Tredici at Harvard, where he received bis B.A. in 1965 and M.A. in 1971. Among his awards and fellowships are the Naumberg Recording Award, an American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and N.E.A. grant, the Brandeis Creative Arts Award, a Rome Prize Fellowship, and a Friedheim Award. During the years 1979 to 1983, he was associate professor of music at Harvard. He has also taught at U.C. Berkeley and Boston University.
Tison Street's works have been performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the American Composers Orchestra, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the New Hampshire Symphony, and the North Carolina Symphony, and many other ensembles, as well as by such soloists as Peter Serkin and Ani Kavafian. The New York Philharmonic performed his "Adagio in E-flat for oboe and strings" in 1983, then in 1993 commissioned "Bright Sambas" for their 150th anniversary celebration. Recent projects include "Zodiac Bagatelles", and "Labyrinth for solo violin and chamber orchestra", both for the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, completion of "Jewel Tree", "Two Latin Anthems for mixed chorus", and a new string quartet "Round, Gigue, and Perforation". In November 2004 the Boston Classical Orchestra premiered "Symphony V: Colonial Scenes", a work co-commissioned by the Orchestra and the Koussevitzky Music Foundation, in Boston's historic Faneuil Hall.
**
https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1976/5/14/music-department-picks-tison-street-to/
See YouTube for video and audio clips of Street’s compositions
**
He is the son of physicist Jabez Curry Street
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Curry_Street
Page 347
Suggested Citation:"JABEZ CURRY STREET." National Academy of Sciences. 1997. Biographical Memoirs: V.71. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5737.
His mother was Leila Fripp Tison Street
https://www.legacy.com/amp/obituaries/charleston/179499132
References
External links
Tison Street biographyTison Street biographyG. Schirmer page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Street, Tison
1943 births
Living people
Musicians from Boston
Harvard University alumni
American male classical composers
American classical composers
20th-century classical composers
American classical violinists
Male classical violinists
American male violinists
Amherst College faculty
20th-century American composers
Classical musicians from Massachusetts
21st-century classical violinists
20th-century American male musicians
21st-century American male musicians
21st-century American violinists