Mark Grey
Encyclopedia
Mark Grey is an American
Classical music
composer
and sound engineer. He is the composer-in-residence for the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra
for the 2007–2008 season. He has worked with such performers as Kronos Quartet
and the Paul Dresher
Ensemble, and composers including John Adams, Steve Reich
, Terry Riley
, and Philip Glass
.
in California
, where he studied electroacoustic music
and composition
with Pablo Furman and Allen Strange
. He also performed with an experimental
noise music
ensemble called the Gas Chamber Orchestra
. Grey received a Bachelor
and Master of Arts
in composition. Several years of teaching at the California State Summer School for the Arts
allowed Grey to meet and establish ties with several contemporary composers and performers, including John Adams. Through Adams, Grey was introduced to Kronos Quartet
in 1993. Kronos later recruited Grey to be one of live performance sound engineers.
Grey continued working as sound designer for John Adams. He was the recording engineer on Adams' Hoodoo Zephyr, and was the sound designer for El Niño
, Doctor Atomic
, and On the Transmigration of Souls
. His design work with Adams has been viewed as "cutting edge" for the world of traditional Classical music; the sound design for Doctor Atomic marked the first time house amplification was used in concert halls such as the Lyric Opera of Chicago
or the New York Metropolitan Opera
.
Grey's most recent work includes the Enemy Slayer: A Navajo Oratorio, which premiered on 7 February 2008. The work features a libretto by Navajo
author Laura Tohe and photographs by Deborah O'Grady. A recording of the work is to be released on Naxos Records
. In 2008 Grey provided the sound design for Stewart Wallace
's opera The Bonesetter's Daughter
when it premiered at the San Francisco Opera
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
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...
and sound engineer. He is the composer-in-residence for the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra
Phoenix Symphony
The Phoenix Symphony is a major United States symphony orchestra based in Phoenix, Arizona.Founded in 1947 when Phoenix had a population of less than 100,000, the orchestra began as an occasional group of musicians performing a handful of concerts each year...
for the 2007–2008 season. He has worked with such performers as Kronos Quartet
Kronos Quartet
Kronos Quartet is a string quartet founded by violinist David Harrington in 1973 in Seattle, Washington. Since 1978, the quartet has been based in San Francisco, California. The longest-running combination of performers had Harrington and John Sherba on violin, Hank Dutt on viola, and Joan...
and the Paul Dresher
Paul Dresher
Paul Joseph Dresher is an American composer. Dresher received his B.A. in music from the University of California, Berkeley and his M.A. in composition from the University of California, San Diego, where he studied with Robert Erickson, Roger Reynolds, Pauline Oliveros, and Bernard Rands.He also...
Ensemble, and composers including John Adams, Steve Reich
Steve Reich
Stephen Michael "Steve" Reich is an American composer who together with La Monte Young, Terry Riley, and Philip Glass is a pioneering composer of minimal music...
, Terry Riley
Terry Riley
Terrence Mitchell Riley, is an American composer intrinsically associated with the minimalist school of Western classical music and was a pioneer of the movement...
, and Philip Glass
Philip Glass
Philip Glass is an American composer. He is considered to be one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century and is widely acknowledged as a composer who has brought art music to the public .His music is often described as minimalist, along with...
.
Career
Mark Grey attended San Jose State UniversitySan José State University
San Jose State University is a public university located in San Jose, California, United States...
in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where he studied electroacoustic music
Electroacoustic music
Electroacoustic music originated in Western art music during its modern era following the incorporation of electric sound production into compositional practice. The initial developments in electroacoustic music composition during the mid-20th century are associated with the activities of composers...
and composition
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...
with Pablo Furman and Allen Strange
Allen Strange
Allen Strange was an American composer. He authored two books, Electronic Music: Systems, Techniques, and Controls and Programming and Meta-Programming the Electro-Organism...
. He also performed with an experimental
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
noise music
Noise music
Noise music is a term used to describe varieties of avant-garde music and sound art that may use elements such as cacophony, dissonance, atonality, noise, indeterminacy, and repetition in their realization. Noise music can feature distortion, various types of acoustically or electronically...
ensemble called the Gas Chamber Orchestra
Gas Chamber Orchestra
The Gas Chamber Orchestra is a noise music ensemble consisting of Michael Andrade, Mark Grey, Gary Singh, and Ryan Torchia, which was formed in 1991 at San José State University in San Jose, California while the four were electroacoustic music composition students...
. Grey received a Bachelor
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
and Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in composition. Several years of teaching at the California State Summer School for the Arts
California State Summer School for the Arts
The , commonly known as CSSSA [See-Suh] or InnerSpark, is a four-week, pre-professional art training program for high school student that is held each summer at the California Institute of the Arts . The goal of CSSSA is to provide a supportive environment in which students acquired useful skills...
allowed Grey to meet and establish ties with several contemporary composers and performers, including John Adams. Through Adams, Grey was introduced to Kronos Quartet
Kronos Quartet
Kronos Quartet is a string quartet founded by violinist David Harrington in 1973 in Seattle, Washington. Since 1978, the quartet has been based in San Francisco, California. The longest-running combination of performers had Harrington and John Sherba on violin, Hank Dutt on viola, and Joan...
in 1993. Kronos later recruited Grey to be one of live performance sound engineers.
Grey continued working as sound designer for John Adams. He was the recording engineer on Adams' Hoodoo Zephyr, and was the sound designer for El Niño
El Niño (oratorio)
El Niño is an opera-oratorio by the American composer John Adams. It was premiered on December 15, 2000 at Paris's Théâtre du Châtelet by the Deutsches Symphony Orchestra, the London Voices, the Theater of Voices, La Maîtrise de Paris and soloists Dawn Upshaw, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson and Willard...
, Doctor Atomic
Doctor Atomic
Doctor Atomic is an opera by the contemporary American composer John Adams, with libretto by Peter Sellars. It premiered at the San Francisco Opera on 1 October 2005. The work focuses on the great stress and anxiety experienced by those at Los Alamos while the test of the first atomic bomb was...
, and On the Transmigration of Souls
On the Transmigration of Souls
On the Transmigration of Souls, for orchestra, chorus, children’s choir and pre-recorded tape is a composition by composer John Adams commissioned by The New York Philharmonic and Lincoln Center’s Great Performers shortly after the September 11 terrorist attacks.Adams began writing the piece in...
. His design work with Adams has been viewed as "cutting edge" for the world of traditional Classical music; the sound design for Doctor Atomic marked the first time house amplification was used in concert halls such as the Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1952, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicolà Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria Callas's American debut in Norma...
or the New York Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
.
Grey's most recent work includes the Enemy Slayer: A Navajo Oratorio, which premiered on 7 February 2008. The work features a libretto by Navajo
Navajo people
The Navajo of the Southwestern United States are the largest single federally recognized tribe of the United States of America. The Navajo Nation has 300,048 enrolled tribal members. The Navajo Nation constitutes an independent governmental body which manages the Navajo Indian reservation in the...
author Laura Tohe and photographs by Deborah O'Grady. A recording of the work is to be released on Naxos Records
Naxos Records
Naxos Records is a record label specializing in classical music. Through a number of imprints, Naxos also releases genres including Chinese music, jazz, world music, and early rock & roll. The company was founded in 1987 by Klaus Heymann, a German-born resident of Hong Kong.Naxos is the largest...
. In 2008 Grey provided the sound design for Stewart Wallace
Stewart Wallace
Stewart Wallace is an American composer and cantor. He has spent much of his career composing experimental operas, from the dance-centered Kabbalah to the surrealist Hopper's Wife...
's opera The Bonesetter's Daughter
The Bonesetter's Daughter (opera)
The Bonesetter's Daughter is an opera in a prologue and two acts by Stewart Wallace to a libretto byAmy Tan based on her novel of the same name...
when it premiered at the San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera is an American opera company, based in San Francisco, California.It was founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola and is the second largest opera company in North America...
.