COMPOSERS
Johan Halvorsen
arr. by Frederick Fennell
Johan Halvorsen (15 March 1864, Drammen, Norway – 4 December 1935, Oslo, Norway) was a Norwegian composer, conductor and violinist.
He was an accomplished violinist from a very early age and became a prominent figure in Norwegian musical life. He received his musical education in Kristiania (now Oslo) and Stockholm, and was a concertmaster in Bergen before joining the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. He was a concertmaster in Aberdeen, Scotland, then a professor of music in Helsinki, and finally became a student once again, in St Petersburg, Leipzig (with Adolph Brodsky), Berlin (with Adolf Becker), and Liège (with César Thomson).
Returning to Norway in 1893, he worked as conductor of the theatre orchestra at Den Nationale Scene in Bergen and of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. He became concertmaster of the Bergen Philharmonic in 1885, and principal conductor in 1893. In 1899 he was appointed conductor of the orchestra at the newly-opened National Theatre in Kristiania, a position he held for 30 years until his retirement in 1929.
As well as theatre music, Halvorsen conducted performances of over 30 operas and also wrote the incidental music for more than 30 plays. Following his retirement from the theatre he finally had time to concentrate on the composition of his three great symphonies and two well-known Norwegian rhapsodies. Halvorsen's compositions were a development of the national romantic tradition exemplified by Edvard Grieg, though written in a distinctive style marked by brilliant orchestration. His most popular works were his three symphonies, Entry March of the Boyars, and two Norwegian Rhapsodies.
Halvorsen married Grieg's niece, and orchestrated some of his piano works, such as a funeral march which was played at Grieg's funeral.
Leonard Bernstein
arr. by Michael Sweeney
Leonard Bernstein (25 August 1918 in Lawrence, Mass. - 14 October 1990, New York, N.Y.) was an American composer, pianist, and conductor.
Bernstein was born to Russian immigrants and attended Boston Latin School, Harvard University, and the Curtis Institute of Music. His studied with composers Edward Burlingame Hill and Walter Piston as well as conducting with Fritz Reiner. In the summers of 1940 and 1941 he studied conducting at Tanglewood with Serge Koussevitzky along with Frederick Fennell, Lukas Foss, and Walter Hendl. He become assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic in 1943 and it was in this role he became famous by filling in last minute for Bruno Walter for a national broadcast on 14 November 1943.
His Symphony No. 1, "Jeremiah" was premiered by the Pittsburgh Symphony in January 1944 followed by Fancy Free and On the Town by the end of the year. These successes led to numerous opportunities overseas, including being the first American to conduct at La Scala. In 1951 he become the head of conducting at Tanglewood and seven years later became Music Director of the New York Philharmonic (1958-1969). In this position he promoted new music, developed a series of Young People's Concerts, and recorded the symphonies of Gustav Mahler but was limited in his time to compose.
Bernstein was able to compose more in the 1970s. His achievements included Kennedy Center Honor for Lifetime of Contributions to American Culture Through the Performing Arts, 11 Emmy Awards, election to the Academy of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, and the Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
Michael Markowski
Michael Markowski is fully qualified to watch movies and cartoons. Although he graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in ‘Film Practices,’ his thirst for writing music has always been the more persistent itch.
At Crismon Elementary, he first joined band playing the alto saxophone under Gary Larkins. This was the start of his journey, one that would continue under several notable mentors and music teachers: Dawn Parker (Rhodes Junior High School), Jon Gomez (Dobson High School), Dr. Karl Schindler, Larry Hochman, and Michael Shapiro.
In 2006, Shadow Rituals – one of Markowski’s first compositions for concert band – received First Prize in Manhattan Beach Music’s Frank Ticheli Composition Contest. Since those early years, his music has been performed around the world, from the Musikverein in Vienna to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on the streets of New York City, from the Arizona Musicfest Symphony Orchestra, The Memphis Symphony, The Phoenix Symphony, The Houston Symphony, The Pittsburgh Camerata, to the United States Army and Air Force Bands. He has been the composer-in-residence for the ‘Music for All’ organization (2015), the ‘Mid Europe’ international wind band festival in Schladming, Austria (2013-2018), and frequently visits junior high schools, high schools, universities, and community bands around the country to share stories about his music.
Still, Markowski continues to grow his craft by pursuing and participating in programs like The Art of Orchestration, the National Band Association’s Young Composer and Conductor Mentorship Project, and the NYU/ASCAP Foundation’s Film Scoring Workshop. As a film composer, Markowski has composed music for several independent projects, most notably Nathan Blackwell’s “The Last Movie Ever Made,” which is now streaming on Amazon Prime and Apple TV. His commercial music can also be heard in various ad campaigns from brands like Chi-Chi’s, Gila River Casino, and Truly Nolan.
He was invited to join the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop in 2015 as a composer and lyricist where he honed in and explored various songwriting and dramaturgical skills. As an orchestrator, he has prepared charts for conductor Steven Reineke and The New York Pops Orchestra, which have featured stunning vocalists Hailey Kilgore, Derek Klena, Javier Muñoz, Ali Stroker, and Valisia LeKae. Over the years, he’s also been very fortunate to work closely with the talented Jay Klaitz, Paige O’Hara, and the late John Dunsworth.
Beyond composition, Markowski has occasionally taken on the roles of producer and engineer, collaborating on projects like opera singer Timothy Stoddard’s debut solo album, “Tarot” (2023, Navona Records), and curating his own album of original compositions with the Brooklyn Wind Symphony.
Michael is a member of ASCAP, the Recording Academy, and currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Samuel Barber
trans. by Guy M. Duker
Samuel Barber (9 March 1910, West Chester, Pennsylvania – 23 January 1981, New York, New York) was an American composer of orchestral, opera, choral, and piano music. Barber was born into a comfortable, educated, social, and distinguished Irish-American family.
His father was a doctor, and his mother was a pianist. His aunt, Louise Homer, was a leading contralto at the Metropolitan Opera and his uncle, Sidney Homer, was a composer of American art songs. Louise Homer is noted to have influenced Barber's interest in voice. Through his aunt, Barber had access to many great singers and songs. This background is further reflected in that Barber decided to study voice at the Curtis Conservatory.
Barber began composing seriously in his late teenage years. Around the same time, he met fellow Curtis schoolmate Gian Carlo Menotti, and the two would form a lifelong personal and professional relationship. At the Curtis Institute, Barber was a triple prodigy of composition, voice, and piano. He soon became a favorite of the conservatory's founder, Mary Louise Bok. It was through Bok that Barber would be introduced to his one and only publisher, the Schirmer family. At the age of 18, Barber won a prize from Columbia University for his Violin Sonata (now lost or destroyed by the composer).
At Curtis, Barber met Gian Carlo Menotti with whom he would form a lifelong personal and professional relationship. Menotti supplied libretti for Barber's operas Vanessa (for which Barber won the Pulitzer) and A Hand of Bridge. Barber's music was championed by a remarkable range of renowned artists, musicians, and conductors including Vladimir Horowitz, John Browning, Martha Graham, Arturo Toscanini, Dmitri Mitropoulos, Jennie Tourel, and Eleanor Steber. His Antony and Cleopatra was commissioned to open the new Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center in 1966.
Barber was the recipient of numerous awards and prizes including the American Prix de Rome, two Pulitzers, and election to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His intensely lyrical Adagio for Strings has become one of the most recognizable and beloved compositions, both in concerts and films ("Platoon," "The Elephant Man," "El Norte," "Lorenzo's Oil").
Fred J. Allen
Fred J. Allen (b. 14 November 1953, Longview, Tx.) is an American composer, arranger, conductor, author and teacher.
Mr. Allen is retired from a teaching career that spanned over 40 years and included 24 years as director of bands at Stephen F Austin State University, seven years at Abilene Christian University and in two public school districts. At the university level, he taught numerous courses in the music education and wind conducting curricula, including conducting lessons, wind literature, rehearsal techniques, instrumental methods and orchestration in addition to conducting duties with the wind ensemble. His teaching was recognized in 2012 with the Meritorious Achievement Award by the Texas Bandmasters Association. In 2020 he was inducted into the Texas Bandmasters Hall of Fame, sponsored by the Alpha Chapter of Phi Beta Mu Honorary Bandmasters Fraternity.
Allen has conducted All-Region and All-State Bands throughout Texas and the United States, where he is also an active concert clinician and adjudicator. He has often served as guest conductor for bands playing at the Midwest Clinic and the Texas Music Educators Association Convention, and has also conducted in Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Australia.
As an arranger and composer, Allen has published several pieces for band, orchestra and flute choir that have drawn upon his experience in teaching in the public schools. These works have been performed frequently at conventions and festivals across the United States and internationally. He has several commissioned works in progress [2020]. His music is noted in The Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music (Rehrig), Teaching Music Through Performance in Band (Miles, et al.) and other band music reference books.
Allen played principal clarinet with the Ft. Worth Civic Orchestra for five seasons, was bass clarinetist with the Irving Symphony for three seasons and played clarinet in the Irving Symphony Woodwind Quintet for six years. He held the piccolo position with the Abilene Philharmonic for six years and played both flute and clarinet in several community bands. As a woodwind specialist, he has performed professionally at Opryland, USA and for the Ice Capades and the Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey’s Circus, as well as over forty musicals and operas.
He has presented clinics and workshops at conventions of the Midwest Clinic, Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Bandmasters Association, at the Conservatorium of Music in Hobart, Tasmania, and in several public school districts for faculty development. He is an elected member of the American Bandmasters Association, Phi Beta Mu International Bandmasters Fraternity, College Band Directors National Association and ASCAP.
Vaclav Nelhybel
Vaclav Nelhybel (VAHTS-love NEL-hee-bel) (24 September 1919, Polanka, Czechoslovakia - 22 March 1996, Scranton, Penn.) was a Czech composer and conductor. (There is some ambiguity as to whether the name should be written Václav Nelhýbel. The United States Library of Congress does not use the diacritics in its authorized version of the name; hence we do not use them here.)
Nelhybel studied composition and conducting at the Prague Conservatory of Music and musicology at the universities of Prague and Fribourg, Switzerland. As a student, he was already affiliated with Radio Prague as composer and conductor. At age 18, he was conducting the Czech Philharmonic as an assistant to Rafael Kubelik. By 1948, he had become active in Swiss National Radio as composer/conductor, and from 1950 to 1957 he served as co-founder and music director of Radio Free Europe in Munich. During this time he functioned as guest conductor with numerous European orchestras, including the Vienna Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, Bavarian Symphony, and Orchestra de la Swisse Romande. Beginning in 1957 he lived in the United States, becoming a U.S. citizen in 1962, and was active as a composer, conductor and lecturer up to his death in 1996.
Among his many awards are the First National Prize for the best radiophonic composition (Prague, 1947); First Prize for the motion picture score to La Beaute des Formes (Paris, 1955); First Prize for the ballet In the Shadow of the Lime Tree at the First International Music and Dance Festival (Copenhagen, 1947); First Prize of the Ravich Music Foundation for the opera A Legend (New York, 1954); The "Man of the Year in Music" St. Cecelia Award (University of Notre Dame, 1968) and the United States Treasury Department Award for "Patriotic Service" (1968).
In 1962, Nelhybel received his first exposure to a concert band. He wrote: “The first band I heard played a piece by Persichetti, and it was so good I just caught fire. I was fascinated with the possibilities of what you can do with half an acre of clarinets, half an acre of flutes, and half an acre of percussion. So I said, why not try it? I did, and it seemed to open new creative channels in my mind.” It was the enthusiasm of the students that truly inspired him to compose. His music is complex and exciting; it employs linear counterpoint, freely dissonant harmonic textures, and forceful rhythms.
A common trait in the Nelhybel "sound" would seem to be a panchromatic melodic system, not serial in the dodecaphonic sense, but one which has a strong relation to one gravitational center. This relation to the 'gravitional center' generates and releases tensions which Nelhybel calls the human element in music and is the sine qua non of communication between composer and listener. He is not a revolutionary innovator. He is. rather, a synthesist, bringing all of past techniques into a harmonious entity. Nelhybel often employed thematic material from his Czech heritage.
Terry Crummel
Terry Crummel graduated from the University of North Texas in 1977 with a Bachelor of Music Education. During his time at UNT he performed with the Marching Band, Symphonic Band, Jazz Lab Bands and Trumpet Choir. He taught high school band for 29 years in the Spring ISD, Alief ISD and Ft. Bend ISD. He currently plays in the Lone Star Symphonic Band (Associate Music Director), Lone Star Big Band, Houston Brass Band (British-style brass band), and the Sugar Land Winds. During a short period he continued teaching band and playing in the Thornton Community Concert Band and the Rocky Mountain Brassworks (brass band) while he lived in Denver, Colorado.
Terry enjoys writing and arranging music for concert bands, brass bands, jazz bands and brass quintets. Several of his compositions/arrangements have been performed by the ensembles in Colorado & Texas mentioned above, as well as an original Paso Doble march performed by a high school band at the UIL Concert & Sight-Reading Evaluation. Terry was married to Maree for 38 years and has 4 children & 2 grand-children.
