Steven Gellman
Encyclopedia
Steven Gellman is a Canadian composer
and pianist
. He has been commissioned to write works for the Besançon International Music Festival
, the CBC Symphony Orchestra
, the Hamilton Philharmonic, McGill University
, Musica Camerata, the National Arts Centre Orchestra
, the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra
, Opera Lyra, the Pierrot Ensemble
, the Stratford Festival, and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra
among others. Since 1976 he has taught music composition and theory at the University of Ottawa
.
, Gellman began his musical training in his native city with Samuel Dolin
with whom he studied both the piano
and music composition. He began his career as a concert pianist while still a teenager, first drawing acclaim for his 1964 performance of his own piano concerto
with the CBC Symphony Orchestra
. For that composition he won the BMI Student Composer Award.
In 1965 Gellman entered the Juilliard School
in New York City where he studied through 1968 with such teachers as Luciano Berio
, Vincent Persichetti
, and Roger Sessions
. During the summers of 1965 and 1966 he attended the Aspen Music Festival and School
where he was a pupil of Darius Milhaud
. In 1973 he entered the graduate music composition program at the Conservatoire de Paris
where he spent three years studying under Olivier Messiaen
. In 1976 he graduated from the conservatoire with a Premier Prix. In 1970 he won the UNESCO prize for “the best work by a composer under the age of 25”, for “Mythos” for flute and string quartet.
One of Gellman’s most extensive works, Chori, was premiered by the Toronto Symphony in 1975. Since his return to Canada in 1976 Gellman has been Professor of Composition and Theory at the University of Ottawa. During the late 70’s he composed several pieces for piano including Poeme, for Angela Hewitt; Wind Music, commissioned by the Canadian Brass; Dialogue for horn solo; and Dialogue II for flute and piano.
In 1978 Gellman received a commission from the French Government to compose a work for the Festival de Besançon, France, in honour of Oliver Messiaen’s 70th Birthday. The result, Deux Tapisseries for 15 players, was given its premiere on September 11, 1978, in Besançon by the Ars Nova Ensemble conducted by Marius Constant; it was given a repeat performance one month later in Paris.
Gellman’s expertise in the area of orchestral music triggered a commission from the Toronto Symphony to compose Awakening in 1983, a short concert overture moving from darkness to light, chaos to order, through a gradual accumulation of energy. The work was one of the three introduced during the orchestra’s first season in Roy Thompson Hall. In the spring of 1983, it was featured by the orchestra during a major tour throughout Europe.
In 1986, the Toronto Symphony unveiled another newly commissioned Gellman opus, Universe Symphony, featuring the synthesizers of the Canadian Electronic Ensemble
as soloists with the orchestra under conductor Andrew Davis. A performance later that year at Expo 86 in Vancouver, featured the Vancouver Symphony. Further performances followed, at the Festival de Lanaudiere with the Orchestre Metropolitan de Montreal and in Ottawa with the Ottawa Symphony. Composed with the aid of funding from both the Canada Council and the Ontario Arts Council, this ambitious work in five movements features many lyrical episodes framing a driving, energy-raising Scherzo culminating in an improvisation from the soloists. It is dedicated “to all beings in the aspiration for World Peace”. Universe Symphony brought further international recognition with Steven Gellman being named Canadian Composer of the Year in 1987.
In the wake of Universe Symphony, Jon Kimura Parker commissioned Steven Gellman to compose a work for him. The result was: “Keyboard Triptych” for Piano/Synthesizer with which Parker toured Canada, the U.S and Britain.
Since then Gellman has composed a wide variety of works, including Love’s Garden, for Soprano and Orchestra ; Canticles of Saint Francis, for Choir and Orchestra, for the 150th anniversary of the Red Cross; a second Piano Concerto ; Burnt Offerings for String Orchestra; Musica Eterna, for String Quartet ; Red Shoes (for the S.M.C.Q. ); Chiaroscuro ; Album for Piano (published by Frederick Harris Co.) ; Sonata for Cello and Piano; the Jaya Overture (for the N.A.C.O.) and Fanfare for the New Millennium, among others. Gellman’s Piano Quartet (commissioned by Radio Canada) received its world premiere on April 3, 2004 in Montreal, performed by Musica Camerata. His Viola Concerto received its world premiere on January 29, 2007 at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. “Musings” for Piano Trio was premiered by the Gryphon Trio at The Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival, summer 2009.
Steven Gellman lives in Ottawa with his wife, Cheryl, a painter. They have two grown children, Dana and Misha.
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 pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
. He has been commissioned to write works for the Besançon International Music Festival
Besançon International Music Festival
The Besançon International Music Festival is a one of the oldest festivals of classical music that takes place in the city of Besançon, northeastern France, over two weeks from around the middle of September...
, the CBC Symphony Orchestra
CBC Symphony Orchestra
The CBC Symphony Orchestra was a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario that was operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation during the 1950s and 1960s. Founded in 1952, conductor Geoffrey Waddington served as the orchestra'a only music director; although other conductors, such as...
, the Hamilton Philharmonic, McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
, Musica Camerata, the National Arts Centre Orchestra
National Arts Centre Orchestra
The National Arts Centre Orchestra is an orchestra in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada's capital. It is a classically-sized ensemble currently conducted by Pinchas Zukerman.-Description:Since 1998, Pinchas Zukerman has been the Music Director. Mario Bernardi C.C...
, the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra
Ottawa Symphony Orchestra
The Ottawa Symphony Orchestra is a full size orchestra in Ottawa including professional, student and amateur musicians. With around 100 musicians, the OSO is Ottawa's largest orchestra, which allows it to perform large symphonic repertoire of the 19th and 20th centuries, including works by...
, Opera Lyra, the Pierrot Ensemble
Pierrot ensemble
A Pierrot ensemble is a musical ensemble comprising flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano, frequently augmented by the addition of a singer or percussionist, and/or by the performers doubling on other woodwind/stringed/keyboard instruments.-History:...
, the Stratford Festival, and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra
Toronto Symphony Orchestra
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario.-History:The TSO was founded in 1922 as the New Symphony Orchestra, and gave its first concert at Massey Hall in April 1923. The orchestra changed its name to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 1927. The TSO...
among others. Since 1976 he has taught music composition and theory at the University of Ottawa
University of Ottawa
The University of Ottawa is a bilingual, research-intensive, non-denominational, international university in Ottawa, Ontario. It is one of the oldest universities in Canada. It was originally established as the College of Bytown in 1848 by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate...
.
Life and career
Born in TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Gellman began his musical training in his native city with Samuel Dolin
Samuel Dolin
Samuel Joseph Dolin was a Canadian composer, music educator, and arts administrator. An associate of the Canadian Music Centre and a founding member of the Canadian League of Composers , he served as the CLC's vice president in 1967-1968 and president from 1969-1973...
with whom he studied both the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and music composition. He began his career as a concert pianist while still a teenager, first drawing acclaim for his 1964 performance of his own piano concerto
Piano concerto
A piano concerto is a concerto written for piano and orchestra.See also harpsichord concerto; some of these works are occasionally played on piano...
with the CBC Symphony Orchestra
CBC Symphony Orchestra
The CBC Symphony Orchestra was a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario that was operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation during the 1950s and 1960s. Founded in 1952, conductor Geoffrey Waddington served as the orchestra'a only music director; although other conductors, such as...
. For that composition he won the BMI Student Composer Award.
In 1965 Gellman entered the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
in New York City where he studied through 1968 with such teachers as Luciano Berio
Luciano Berio
Luciano Berio, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was an Italian composer. He is noted for his experimental work and also for his pioneering work in electronic music.-Biography:Berio was born at Oneglia Luciano Berio, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI (October 24, 1925 – May 27, 2003) was an Italian...
, Vincent Persichetti
Vincent Persichetti
Vincent Ludwig Persichetti was an American composer, teacher, and pianist. An important musical educator and writer, Persichetti was a native of Philadelphia...
, and Roger Sessions
Roger Sessions
Roger Huntington Sessions was an American composer, critic, and teacher of music.-Life:Sessions was born in Brooklyn, New York, to a family that could trace its roots back to the American revolution. His mother, Ruth Huntington Sessions, was a direct descendent of Samuel Huntington, a signer of...
. During the summers of 1965 and 1966 he attended the Aspen Music Festival and School
Aspen Music Festival and School
The Aspen Music Festival and School, founded in 1949, is an internationally renowned classical music festival that presents music in an intimate, small-town setting...
where he was a pupil 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...
. In 1973 he entered the graduate music composition program at the Conservatoire de Paris
Conservatoire de Paris
The Conservatoire de Paris is a college of music and dance founded in 1795, now situated in the avenue Jean Jaurès in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, France...
where he spent three years studying under Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen was a French composer, organist and ornithologist, one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex ; harmonically and melodically it is based on modes of limited transposition, which he abstracted from his early compositions and improvisations...
. In 1976 he graduated from the conservatoire with a Premier Prix. In 1970 he won the UNESCO prize for “the best work by a composer under the age of 25”, for “Mythos” for flute and string quartet.
One of Gellman’s most extensive works, Chori, was premiered by the Toronto Symphony in 1975. Since his return to Canada in 1976 Gellman has been Professor of Composition and Theory at the University of Ottawa. During the late 70’s he composed several pieces for piano including Poeme, for Angela Hewitt; Wind Music, commissioned by the Canadian Brass; Dialogue for horn solo; and Dialogue II for flute and piano.
In 1978 Gellman received a commission from the French Government to compose a work for the Festival de Besançon, France, in honour of Oliver Messiaen’s 70th Birthday. The result, Deux Tapisseries for 15 players, was given its premiere on September 11, 1978, in Besançon by the Ars Nova Ensemble conducted by Marius Constant; it was given a repeat performance one month later in Paris.
Gellman’s expertise in the area of orchestral music triggered a commission from the Toronto Symphony to compose Awakening in 1983, a short concert overture moving from darkness to light, chaos to order, through a gradual accumulation of energy. The work was one of the three introduced during the orchestra’s first season in Roy Thompson Hall. In the spring of 1983, it was featured by the orchestra during a major tour throughout Europe.
In 1986, the Toronto Symphony unveiled another newly commissioned Gellman opus, Universe Symphony, featuring the synthesizers of the Canadian Electronic Ensemble
Canadian Electronic Ensemble
The Canadian Electronic Ensemble is a Canadian electronic music ensemble based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1971 by David Grimes, David Jaeger, Larry Lake and James Montgomery, it is the oldest continuously active live-electronic performing group in the world. In 1984 they performed at the...
as soloists with the orchestra under conductor Andrew Davis. A performance later that year at Expo 86 in Vancouver, featured the Vancouver Symphony. Further performances followed, at the Festival de Lanaudiere with the Orchestre Metropolitan de Montreal and in Ottawa with the Ottawa Symphony. Composed with the aid of funding from both the Canada Council and the Ontario Arts Council, this ambitious work in five movements features many lyrical episodes framing a driving, energy-raising Scherzo culminating in an improvisation from the soloists. It is dedicated “to all beings in the aspiration for World Peace”. Universe Symphony brought further international recognition with Steven Gellman being named Canadian Composer of the Year in 1987.
In the wake of Universe Symphony, Jon Kimura Parker commissioned Steven Gellman to compose a work for him. The result was: “Keyboard Triptych” for Piano/Synthesizer with which Parker toured Canada, the U.S and Britain.
Since then Gellman has composed a wide variety of works, including Love’s Garden, for Soprano and Orchestra ; Canticles of Saint Francis, for Choir and Orchestra, for the 150th anniversary of the Red Cross; a second Piano Concerto ; Burnt Offerings for String Orchestra; Musica Eterna, for String Quartet ; Red Shoes (for the S.M.C.Q. ); Chiaroscuro ; Album for Piano (published by Frederick Harris Co.) ; Sonata for Cello and Piano; the Jaya Overture (for the N.A.C.O.) and Fanfare for the New Millennium, among others. Gellman’s Piano Quartet (commissioned by Radio Canada) received its world premiere on April 3, 2004 in Montreal, performed by Musica Camerata. His Viola Concerto received its world premiere on January 29, 2007 at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. “Musings” for Piano Trio was premiered by the Gryphon Trio at The Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival, summer 2009.
Steven Gellman lives in Ottawa with his wife, Cheryl, a painter. They have two grown children, Dana and Misha.