Frederick A. Fox
Encyclopedia
Frederick Alfred Fox, Jr. (January 17, 1931 - August 24, 2011) was an American composer and former music educator specializing in contemporary classical music
.
. His early musical training in his native city encompassed the saxophone (with Laurence "Larry" Teal
) and music theory and arranging (with Ray McConnell). He subsequently studied composition with Ruth Shaw Wiley and received the B.Mus. degree from Wayne State University
in 1953. He worked for a year with Ross Lee Finney at the University of Michigan
, but took a leave from his studies to tour as a jazz saxophonist (tenor
and baritone
), a career he gave up in 1956–57 to return to serious composing. Fox then came to Bloomington, Indiana
and the Indiana University
School of Music (now the Jacobs School of Music
), where he studied composition with Bernhard Heiden
, and from which he was graduated with the M.Mus. (1957) and D.Mus. (1959).
, Washington, D.C.
, San Francisco, New York
, among others. Fox was appointed chair of the I.U. School of Music composition department in 1981, and led that department for 13 years, a period during which it gained increasing recognition and become one of the highest-ranked programs in the United States.
Notable students of Fox include: James Aikman, Margaret Brouwer
, David Dzubay, Keith Fitch, Robert Paterson, Jeffrey Hass, Jeeyoung Kim, Mark Phillips, and Stephen Suber.
Like many young American composers in the 1950s and 1960s, Fox had some experience as a jazz
performer and arranger before he took up composing. His music grows principally out of this background, experience, and interest in jazz, in addition to serial techniques
, and some informal systematic formations which tend to possess qualities of improvisation. Though he found serialism to be essentially at odds with his creative outlook, his jazz background was to find its echo in several of his characteristic works.
SELECTED WORKS
Orchestra
Impressions (1995);
Echo Blues (1992);
Now and Then (1988) [Chamber Orchestra];
Januaries (1984);
Night Ceremonies (1979)
String Orchestra
Nightscenes (1988); string orchestra, harp, piano/celeste, percussion (5)
Symphonic Band
Four Times Round (1996);
Polarities (1987)
Ensemble/Chamber
Blind Time (1996) - orchestra brass, percussion (2);
Dreamcatcher (1994) - flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, trumpet, trombone, violin, viola, cello, double bass, piano, percussion (2);
Time Weaving (1993) - clarinet trio (Eb, Bb, Bass Cl);
Devil's Tramping Ground (1991) - flute, oboe, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, percussion (1);
The Avenging Spirit (1989) - saxophone quartet;
Auras (1988) - flute, clarinet, cello, piano, percussion (1);
Time Messages (1988) - brass quintet;
Shaking the Pumpkin (1986) - saxophone, piano, percussion (2);
3 Diversions (1987) - saxophone quartet;
Vis-A-Vis (1985) - horn and string quartet;
Dawnen Grey (1984) - sting quartet;
Sonaspheres 5 (1983) - flute/alto flute,fl./picc, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, violin, viola, cello, piano, percussion (2);
Bren (1982) - brass ensemble;
Sonaspheres 1 (1980) - flute/alto, flute/picc, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, violin, viola, cello, piano, percussion (2);
S.A.X. (1979) - solo alto saxophone, saxophone quartet;
Ambient Shadows (1978) - flute/alto, clarinet, trombone, violin, viola, cello, piano, percussion (1)
Choral/Voice
Time Excursions (1976) - soprano, speaker, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, percussion (2);
The Descent (1969) - SATB, piano, percussion (2)
Solo
When the Thunder Speaks (1998) - alto saxophone and piano;
Five Mementos for Trumpet & Piano (1995) - trumpet and piano;
Kokopelli (1994) - flute and piano;
Fantasy (1993) - viola and piano;
Echos and Shadows (1993) - violin and piano;
Hear Again in Memory (1991) - saxophone;
Annexus (1980) - alto saxophone and piano
SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY
Music of Frederick Fox, Indiana University School of Music, 1992.
The Music of Frederick Fox, Vol. 2, Indiana University School of Music, 2000.
New Music from Indiana University — Vol. 2, Indiana University School of Music, 1998.
Thomas Walsh. Shaking the Pumpkin. RIAX, Inc., 1998.
Zagreb Saxophone Quartet with Eugene Rousseau. Tsunagari, Zagrebačka banka, 2002.
Trio Indiana, Crystal Records, Inc., 1996.
Michael Jacobson, saxophone. Mixed Company, Equilibrium, 2000.
Contemporary classical music
Contemporary classical music can be understood as belonging to the period that started in the mid-1970s with the retreat of modernism. However, the term may also be employed in a broader sense to refer to all post-1945 modern musical forms.-Categorization:...
.
Formative Years
Frederick A. Fox was born in Detroit, MichiganDetroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
. His early musical training in his native city encompassed the saxophone (with Laurence "Larry" Teal
Larry Teal
Larry Teal is considered by many to be the father of American Saxophone.Teal earned a Bachelors degree in Pre-Dentistry from the University of Michigan. While studying there he began playing in jazz bands as a saxophonist...
) and music theory and arranging (with Ray McConnell). He subsequently studied composition with Ruth Shaw Wiley and received the B.Mus. degree from Wayne State University
Wayne State University
Wayne State University is a public research university located in Detroit, Michigan, United States, in the city's Midtown Cultural Center Historic District. Founded in 1868, WSU consists of 13 schools and colleges offering more than 400 major subject areas to over 32,000 graduate and...
in 1953. He worked for a year with Ross Lee Finney at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, but took a leave from his studies to tour as a jazz saxophonist (tenor
Tenor saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
and baritone
Baritone saxophone
The baritone saxophone, often called "bari sax" , is one of the largest and lowest pitched members of the saxophone family. It was invented by Adolphe Sax. The baritone is distinguished from smaller sizes of saxophone by the extra loop near its mouthpiece...
), a career he gave up in 1956–57 to return to serious composing. Fox then came to Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 80,405 at the 2010 census....
and the Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
School of Music (now the Jacobs School of Music
Jacobs School of Music
The Jacobs School of Music of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, is a music conservatory established in 1921. Until 2005, it was known as the Indiana University School of Music...
), where he studied composition with Bernhard Heiden
Bernhard Heiden
Bernhard Heiden was a German and American composer and music teacher, who studied under and was heavily influenced by Paul Hindemith...
, and from which he was graduated with the M.Mus. (1957) and D.Mus. (1959).
Composer, Teacher
After serving in various faculty and foundation posts in the United States, Fox returned to the Indiana University School of Music in 1974 as professor of composition. One of his first undertakings was the founding of the Indiana University New Music Ensemble in 1975–76, with himself as its first director. During his leadership tenure, the New Music Ensemble began to take its place as one of the foremost university ensembles of its kind in the country; it has since toured to cities such as ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, San Francisco, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, among others. Fox was appointed chair of the I.U. School of Music composition department in 1981, and led that department for 13 years, a period during which it gained increasing recognition and become one of the highest-ranked programs in the United States.
Notable students of Fox include: James Aikman, Margaret Brouwer
Margaret Brouwer
Margaret Brouwer Margaret Brouwer Margaret Brouwer (b. Ann Arbor, Michigan, is an American composer.Brouwer studied at Oberlin College, graduating in 1962, and received her master's degree from Michigan State University. Having started her musical career as a professional violinist with the Fort...
, David Dzubay, Keith Fitch, Robert Paterson, Jeffrey Hass, Jeeyoung Kim, Mark Phillips, and Stephen Suber.
Compositions
With more than 55 published compositions in various media, Fox's catalog ranges from solo instrumental and choral pieces to large-scale works for orchestra; a good number of them are commercially recorded.Like many young American composers in the 1950s and 1960s, Fox had some experience as a jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
performer and arranger before he took up composing. His music grows principally out of this background, experience, and interest in jazz, in addition to serial techniques
Serialism
In music, serialism is a method or technique of composition that uses a series of values to manipulate different musical elements. Serialism began primarily with Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique, though his contemporaries were also working to establish serialism as one example of...
, and some informal systematic formations which tend to possess qualities of improvisation. Though he found serialism to be essentially at odds with his creative outlook, his jazz background was to find its echo in several of his characteristic works.
SELECTED WORKS
Orchestra
Impressions (1995);
Echo Blues (1992);
Now and Then (1988) [Chamber Orchestra];
Januaries (1984);
Night Ceremonies (1979)
String Orchestra
Nightscenes (1988); string orchestra, harp, piano/celeste, percussion (5)
Symphonic Band
Four Times Round (1996);
Polarities (1987)
Ensemble/Chamber
Blind Time (1996) - orchestra brass, percussion (2);
Dreamcatcher (1994) - flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, trumpet, trombone, violin, viola, cello, double bass, piano, percussion (2);
Time Weaving (1993) - clarinet trio (Eb, Bb, Bass Cl);
Devil's Tramping Ground (1991) - flute, oboe, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, percussion (1);
The Avenging Spirit (1989) - saxophone quartet;
Auras (1988) - flute, clarinet, cello, piano, percussion (1);
Time Messages (1988) - brass quintet;
Shaking the Pumpkin (1986) - saxophone, piano, percussion (2);
3 Diversions (1987) - saxophone quartet;
Vis-A-Vis (1985) - horn and string quartet;
Dawnen Grey (1984) - sting quartet;
Sonaspheres 5 (1983) - flute/alto flute,fl./picc, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, violin, viola, cello, piano, percussion (2);
Bren (1982) - brass ensemble;
Sonaspheres 1 (1980) - flute/alto, flute/picc, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, violin, viola, cello, piano, percussion (2);
S.A.X. (1979) - solo alto saxophone, saxophone quartet;
Ambient Shadows (1978) - flute/alto, clarinet, trombone, violin, viola, cello, piano, percussion (1)
Choral/Voice
Time Excursions (1976) - soprano, speaker, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, percussion (2);
The Descent (1969) - SATB, piano, percussion (2)
Solo
When the Thunder Speaks (1998) - alto saxophone and piano;
Five Mementos for Trumpet & Piano (1995) - trumpet and piano;
Kokopelli (1994) - flute and piano;
Fantasy (1993) - viola and piano;
Echos and Shadows (1993) - violin and piano;
Hear Again in Memory (1991) - saxophone;
Annexus (1980) - alto saxophone and piano
SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY
Music of Frederick Fox, Indiana University School of Music, 1992.
The Music of Frederick Fox, Vol. 2, Indiana University School of Music, 2000.
New Music from Indiana University — Vol. 2, Indiana University School of Music, 1998.
Thomas Walsh. Shaking the Pumpkin. RIAX, Inc., 1998.
Zagreb Saxophone Quartet with Eugene Rousseau. Tsunagari, Zagrebačka banka, 2002.
Trio Indiana, Crystal Records, Inc., 1996.
Michael Jacobson, saxophone. Mixed Company, Equilibrium, 2000.