Charles Dodge (composer)
Encyclopedia
Charles Dodge is an American composer
best known for his electronic music
, specifically his computer music
. He is a former student of Darius Milhaud
and Gunther Schuller
.
, and earned his MA and doctorate (DMA) at Columbia University
. While at Columbia, Dodge was very active at the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center. In particular, Dodge was one of the leading innovators in the emerging field of computer music
composition (as opposed to analog electronic composition, the norm in the field through the 1970s).
In the 1970s he taught at Columbia and subsequently founded the Brooklyn College Center for Computer Music (BC-CCM)
at Brooklyn College
of the City University of New York
where he was Professor of Music. He also taught at the City University Graduate Center. During Dodge’s years as Professor of Composition and Director of the BC-CCM, Dodge not only had the BC-CCM designated as an official Center within Brooklyn College in 1978 but more importantly brought it to a world-class standing in the field of computer music.
In the early 1990s Dodge left Brooklyn College for Dartmouth College
. In May 2009 he retired from the position of Visiting Professor at Dartmouth College
, a post he held for 18 years. In addition to his work as a composer, Dodge is noted for co-authoring the highly praised book Computer Music: Synthesis, Composition, and Performance, ISBN 0-02-864682-7
Best known in recent years as the owner, with his wife Katharine, of the Putney Mountain Winery in Putney, Vermont. The company has experienced growth every year since its founding in 1998.
"Synthesized Voices" CRI SD 348, 1976.
"Electro Acoustic Music 1" Cambridge, MA: Neuma, 1990.
"Any Resemblance is Purely Coincidental" San Francisco: New Albion, 1994.
"The Composer in the Computer Age III, CDCM Series Volume 18" Baton Rouge: Centaur, 2006?.
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
best known for his electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
, specifically his computer music
Computer music
Computer music is a term that was originally used within academia to describe a field of study relating to the applications of computing technology in music composition; particularly that stemming from the Western art music tradition...
. He is a former student of Darius Milhaud
Darius Milhaud
Darius Milhaud was a French composer and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as The Group of Six—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions are influenced by jazz and make use of polytonality...
and Gunther Schuller
Gunther Schuller
Gunther Schuller is an American composer, conductor, horn player, author, historian, and jazz musician.- Biography and works :...
.
Education and teaching career
Dodge received his undergraduate education (BA) at the University of IowaUniversity of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
, and earned his MA and doctorate (DMA) at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. While at Columbia, Dodge was very active at the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center. In particular, Dodge was one of the leading innovators in the emerging field of computer music
Computer music
Computer music is a term that was originally used within academia to describe a field of study relating to the applications of computing technology in music composition; particularly that stemming from the Western art music tradition...
composition (as opposed to analog electronic composition, the norm in the field through the 1970s).
In the 1970s he taught at Columbia and subsequently founded the Brooklyn College Center for Computer Music (BC-CCM)
Brooklyn College Center for Computer Music (BC-CCM)
The Brooklyn College Center for Computer Music located at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York was one of the first computer music centers at a public university in the United States...
at Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York, United States.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New...
of the City University of New York
City University of New York
The City University of New York is the public university system of New York City, with its administrative offices in Yorkville in Manhattan. It is the largest urban university in the United States, consisting of 23 institutions: 11 senior colleges, six community colleges, the William E...
where he was Professor of Music. He also taught at the City University Graduate Center. During Dodge’s years as Professor of Composition and Director of the BC-CCM, Dodge not only had the BC-CCM designated as an official Center within Brooklyn College in 1978 but more importantly brought it to a world-class standing in the field of computer music.
In the early 1990s Dodge left Brooklyn College for Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
. In May 2009 he retired from the position of Visiting Professor at Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
, a post he held for 18 years. In addition to his work as a composer, Dodge is noted for co-authoring the highly praised book Computer Music: Synthesis, Composition, and Performance, ISBN 0-02-864682-7
Best known in recent years as the owner, with his wife Katharine, of the Putney Mountain Winery in Putney, Vermont. The company has experienced growth every year since its founding in 1998.
Music
Dodge created some of the first meritorious works in the field of computer music, including Earth’s Magnetic Field (1970), which mapped magnetic field data to musical sounds, Speech Songs, a 1974 work that used analysis and resynthesis of human voices, The Waves (voice and computer music), Profile, and Any Resemblance is Purely Coincidental (1978), which combines live piano performance with a digitally-manipulated recording of Enrico Caruso singing the aria "Vesti la giubba."Discography
"Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center 1961-1973" New York: New World Records, 1998.- Earth's Magnetic Field
"Synthesized Voices" CRI SD 348, 1976.
- In Celebration
- Speech Songs
- The Story Of Our Lives
"Electro Acoustic Music 1" Cambridge, MA: Neuma, 1990.
- Profile
"Any Resemblance is Purely Coincidental" San Francisco: New Albion, 1994.
- Any Resemblance is Purely Coincidental
- Speech Songs
- The Waves
- Viola Elegy
"The Composer in the Computer Age III, CDCM Series Volume 18" Baton Rouge: Centaur, 2006?.
- In Celebration
External links
- Charles Dodge page at Dartmouth College Department of Music site
- Charles Dodge papers in the Music Division of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
- http://vermonttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071203/VBJ/71203021
- Brooklyn College Center for Computer Music
Listening
- Epitonic.com: Charles Dodge two works from Any Resemblance is Purely Coincidental
- Art of the States: Charles Dodge Any Resemblance is Purely Coincidental (1980)
- Charles Dodge interview from American Mavericks site
- Charles Dodge interviewed by Charles Amirkhanian, 1975