John Melby
Encyclopedia
John Melby is an American
composer
.
Born in Whitehall, Wisconsin, Melby holds degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music
, the University of Pennsylvania
, and Princeton University
. He studied with Henry Weinberg, George Crumb
, Peter Westergaard
, J. K. Randall, and Milton Babbitt
. Melby has held faculty positions at West Chester University and was appointed to the faculty of the School of Music of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1973, where he served until his retirement in 1997.
Melby has won numerous awards for his work including an NEA Fellowship (1977), a Guggenheim Fellowship
(1983), an award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1984), and the 1979 First Prize from the International Electroacoustic Music Awards in Bourges, France.
His music is published by Theodore Presser Company
(Merion Music), Associated Music Publishers, and American Composers Alliance
. Recordings are available on a number of record labels. An all-Melby disc of three concerti was released on the Albany Records
label in 2008.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
composer
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...
.
Life and work
John Melby is most widely-known for his numerous compositions for computer-synthesized sounds, particularly in combination with live acoustic instruments. In addition to electronic music, Melby's catalog includes several large-scale orchestral works and acoustic chamber pieces.Born in Whitehall, Wisconsin, Melby holds degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music
Curtis Institute of Music
The Curtis Institute of Music is a conservatory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that offers courses of study leading to a performance Diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in Opera, and Professional Studies Certificate in Opera. According to statistics compiled by U.S...
, the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, and Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
. He studied with Henry Weinberg, George Crumb
George Crumb
George Crumb is an American composer of contemporary classical music. He is noted as an explorer of unusual timbres, alternative forms of notation, and extended instrumental and vocal techniques. Examples include seagull effect for the cello , metallic vibrato for the piano George Crumb (born...
, Peter Westergaard
Peter Westergaard
Peter Talbot Westergaard is an American composer and music theorist. He is Professor Emeritus of music at Princeton University.-Biography:...
, J. K. Randall, and Milton Babbitt
Milton Babbitt
Milton Byron Babbitt was an American composer, music theorist, and teacher. He is particularly noted for his serial and electronic music.-Biography:...
. Melby has held faculty positions at West Chester University and was appointed to the faculty of the School of Music of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1973, where he served until his retirement in 1997.
Melby has won numerous awards for his work including an NEA Fellowship (1977), a Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
(1983), an award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1984), and the 1979 First Prize from the International Electroacoustic Music Awards in Bourges, France.
His music is published by Theodore Presser Company
Theodore Presser Company
The Theodore Presser Company is an American music publishing and distribution company located in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania and formerly based in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. It is the oldest continuing music publisher in the United States.-Theodore Presser:...
(Merion Music), Associated Music Publishers, and American Composers Alliance
American Composers Alliance
The American Composers Alliance is an American membership organization dedicated to the publishing and promoting of American contemporary classical music. Founded in 1937 by Aaron Copland, Milton Adolphus and others, it is the oldest national organization of its kind, and represents over 200...
. Recordings are available on a number of record labels. An all-Melby disc of three concerti was released on the Albany Records
Albany Records
Albany Records is an American classical music record label focusing particularly on contemporary classical music. It was established by Peter Kermani in 1987, and is based in Albany, New York.-External links:**...
label in 2008.
Orchestral
- Concerto for Computer and Orchestra (1987)
- Symphony No. 1 (1993)
- Thanatopsis (1999) for lyric baritone, chorus, and orchestra
- Symphony No. 2 (2004)
- Piano Concerto No. 3 (2010)
- Violin Concerto No. 3 (2011)
Electro-Acoustic Concerti
- Violin (1979 and 1986)
- Violoncello (1981 and 1989)
- Viola (1982 and 2009)
- Flute (1984 and 1990)
- Violin and English Horn (1984)
- Piano (1985 and 2006)
- Clarinet (1986 and 2006)
- English Horn (1986)
- Contrabass (1989)
- Violin and Piano (2008)
Electro-Acoustic Vocal
- Two Norwegian Songs (1965–66) for soprano (or tenor) and piano (texts by Henrik IbsenHenrik IbsenHenrik Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of prose drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre...
) - Due canti de Leopardi (1966/74) for soprano, horn and piano (texts by Giacomo LeopardiGiacomo LeopardiGiacomo Taldegardo Francesco di Sales Saverio Pietro Leopardi was an Italian poet, essayist, philosopher, and philologist...
) - Two Dances (1970) for tenor and piano (text by L. E. Kramer)
- Valedictory (1973) for soprano and computer (text by L. E. Kramer)
- Two Stevens Songs (1975) for soprano and computer (texts by Wallace StevensWallace StevensWallace Stevens was an American Modernist poet. He was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, educated at Harvard and then New York Law School, and spent most of his life working as a lawyer for the Hartford insurance company in Connecticut.His best-known poems include "Anecdote of the Jar",...
) - The men that are falling (1978) for soprano, piano, and computer (text by Wallace StevensWallace StevensWallace Stevens was an American Modernist poet. He was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, educated at Harvard and then New York Law School, and spent most of his life working as a lawyer for the Hartford insurance company in Connecticut.His best-known poems include "Anecdote of the Jar",...
) - Peter Quince at the Clavier (1988) for soprano and computer (text by Wallace StevensWallace StevensWallace Stevens was an American Modernist poet. He was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, educated at Harvard and then New York Law School, and spent most of his life working as a lawyer for the Hartford insurance company in Connecticut.His best-known poems include "Anecdote of the Jar",...
) - Three Wordsworth Songs (2005) for soprano and computer (texts by William WordsworthWilliam WordsworthWilliam Wordsworth was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with the 1798 joint publication Lyrical Ballads....
) - In Darkness (2007) for soprano and computer (texts by Amy LowellAmy LowellAmy Lawrence Lowell was an American poet of the imagist school from Brookline, Massachusetts who posthumously won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1926.- Personal life:...
) - Aftermath (2009) for soprano and computer (texts by Amy LowellAmy LowellAmy Lawrence Lowell was an American poet of the imagist school from Brookline, Massachusetts who posthumously won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1926.- Personal life:...
) - For Milton (2011) for soprano and computer (text by Percy Bysshe ShelleyPercy Bysshe ShelleyPercy Bysshe Shelley was one of the major English Romantic poets and is critically regarded as among the finest lyric poets in the English language. Shelley was famous for his association with John Keats and Lord Byron...
)
Electro-Acoustic Solo and Chamber
- 91 Plus 5 (1969–70) for brass quintet and computer
- Zonnorities (1974) for oboe/English horn, clarinet/bass clarinet, and computer
- Transparences (1977) for trumpet and computer
- Passages (1977–78) for tuba and computer
- Accelerazioni (1979) for flute and computer
- In tenebris (1980) for piano and computer
- L'Infinito (1980) for string trio and computer
- Wind, Sand and Stars (1983) for 8 instruments and computer
- Alto Rhapsody (1986) for alto saxophone and computer
- And I remembered the cry of the peacocks (1988) for English horn, string trio, and computer
- Threeplay (1989) for flute, clarinet, contrabass, and computer
- String Quartet No. 3 (1989–90) with computer
- Zonnorities II (1991) for oboe/English horn, clarinet/Eb clarinet, and computer
Acoustic Chamber
- Four Pieces for String Quartet (String Quartet No. 1) (1963–64)
- Music for Six Players (1966) for woodwind quintet and piano
- String Quartet No. 2 (1968)
- Composition for Five Brasses (1968)
- Epitaph (in memoriam Carl Ruggles) (1975) for winds and percussion
Acoustic Solo
- First Piano Sonata (1964–65, rev. 1993)
- Second Piano Sonata (1966)
- The rest is silence... (1994) for organ
Electronics Alone
- A forandre: Seven Variations for Digital Computer (1969)
- ...of quiet desperation (1976)
- Chor der Steine (1979)
- Layers (1981)
- Chor der Waisen (1985)
- Chor der Toten (1988)