Clare (Ewing) Grundman (May 11, 1913 in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

– June 15, 1996 in

South Salem, New York South Salem is a hamlet in the Town of Lewisboro, Westchester County, in the U.S. state of New York. Part of the New York metropolitan area, the town center has a post office, town hall, library, and recycling center. Notable residents have incl ...

) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

composer and

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

.Raoul F. Camus, ''Grove online''

Biography

He was born in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

and graduated from Shaw High School in East Cleveland in 1930. He then attended

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

, where he received a bachelor's degree in Music Education in 1934. For a few years he taught instrumental music in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

and

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

public schools, but returned to Ohio State in 1937, where he taught

orchestration Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orc ...

, applied lessons in woodwind instruments, and conducted the band. He received his MA degree in 1940. After finishing his degree he moved to New York. He then studied composition with

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith (; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the ''Ne ...

at the

Berkshire Music Center The Tanglewood Music Center is an annual summer music academy in Lenox, Massachusetts, United States, in which emerging professional musicians participate in performances, master classes and workshops. The center operates as a part of the Tanglew ...

, and served as a military musician in the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...

from 1942 to 1945.Bruce Gbur, ''The Sinfonian'', December 2013, p. 13 Among his many awards were an Honorary Membership in the Women Band Directors International (1974), the AWAPA award of the National Band Association (1982), the American Bandmasters Association's Edwin Franko Goldman Memorial Citation (1983), the Sudler Order of Merit of the

John Philip Sousa Foundation The John Philip Sousa Foundation is a non-profit foundation dedicated to the promotion of band music internationally. The foundation administers a number of projects and awards supporting high quality band performance, conducting, and composition ...

(1990), and the American School Band Directors Association's Goldman Award (1992). In addition to his musical accomplishments he co-authored ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' 1974 Crossword Puzzle Dictionary. Grundman was

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

and in a long-term relationship. After his death in 1996, Grundman's partner survived him for another sixteen years. His papers and manuscripts are located in the Music and Dance Library at Ohio State.

Music

Grundman composed scores for films, radio, and television, as well as orchestrations for Broadway musicals. He also wrote a few works for various chamber ensembles and for full

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

. However, he is best known for his many compositions and arrangements for symphonic band. Many of his band pieces are rhapsodies or fantasies on folk tunes from various countries. They are often played by American high school bands, especially ''An Irish Rhapsody'', but he also used melodies from England, Finland, Japan, Norway, and Scotland. His primary publisher is

Boosey & Hawkes Boosey & Hawkes is a British music publisher purported to be the largest specialist classical music publisher in the world. Until 2003, it was also a major manufacturer of brass, string and woodwind musical instruments. Formed in 1930 throu ...

Writings

*''The New York Times Crossword Puzzle Dictionary", Third Edition, with Tom Pulliam (1974)

Musical works

Chamber music * Bagatelle (Bagatelles) (for four clarinets) * Caprice for Clarinets (for four clarinets or clarinet choir) * Concertante (for alto

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

and piano; originally for alto saxophone and band) * Conversation for Cornet (for

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a sopr ...

and piano) * Flutation (for flute trio or flute choir) * Puppets (for two clarinets) * Pat-a-Pan (Christmas carol for two flutes and snare drum) * Scherzo (for six clarinets) * Three Medieval Sketches (Joust, Chapel, and Pagent) (for two horns in F) * Tuba Rhapsody (for tuba and piano, arrangement of work for tuba and band) * Waltz and Interlude (for clarinet, flute and piano) * Works for unaccompanied

bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...

English horn The cor anglais (, or original ; plural: ''cors anglais''), or English horn in North America, is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family. It is approximately one and a half times the length of an oboe, making it essentially an alto ...

, and

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

* Zoo Illogical Voice (for winds, percussion, and piano) Works for concert or symphonic band * American Folk Rhapsody No. 1 * American Folk Rhapsody No. 2 * American Folk Rhapsody No. 3 * American Folk Rhapsody No. 4 * An American Scene * Black Knight * The Blue And The Gray (Civil War Suite), 1961 * Burlesque * Chessboard Suite * Classical Overture * Concertante for Alto Sax and Band, 1973 * Colonial Legend * Concord, 1987 * A Copland Tribute * Cowboy in Cuba * Dance and Interlude * English Christmas * English Suite * Fantasy on American Sailing Songs * Fantasy on English Hunting Songs * Festive Piece * Finnish Rhapsody * Green Domino * Hebrides Suite (based on Airs from "Songs of the Hebrides", collected by

Marjory Kennedy-Fraser Marjory Kennedy-Fraser (1 October 1857 – 22 November 1930) was a Scottish singer, composer and music teacher and supporter of women's suffrage and pacifism. According to Ray Perman, Kennedy-Fraser "made a career of collecting Gaelic songs in ...

#The Peat-Fire Flame #An Eriskay Love Lilt #Milking Song (Hebridean Game Song) #The Road to the Isles * Holiday * An Irish Rhapsody * Kentucky 1800 * Little English Suite #The Leather Bottle #Roving #We Met #The Vicar of Bray * Little March * Little Suite for Band * Music for a Carnival * Nocturne (solo

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...

and wind ensemble) * Normandy * Northwest SagaThe commissioning of this work: http://www.bandworld.org/MagOnline/MagOnline.aspx?i=22&p=95 * Norwegian Rhapsody * Overture on a Short Theme * Quiet Christmas * A Scottish Rhapsody * Songs for Christmas * Spirit of '76 * Three Carols for Christmas * Three Sketches for Winds * Trumpets Triumphant * Tuba Rhapsody (solo tuba and band) * Two Irish Songs * Two Moods Overture, 1947 * A Welsh Rhapsody * A Westchester Overture * Western Dance Arrangements for band * Candide Suite (by

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...

) * A Copland Portrait (works by

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Com ...

) * Divertimento (by Leonard Bernstein) * A Somerset Rhapsody, Op. 21b (by

Gustav Holst Gustav Theodore Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite ''The Planets'', he composed many other works across a range ...

) * Overture to Candide (by

) *Slava! (by Leonard Bernstein) Orchestrations for musicals *''

Drat! The Cat! ''Drat! The Cat!'' is a musical with a book and lyrics by Ira Levin and music by Milton Schafer. Originally called ''Cat and Mouse'', this spoof of late- Victorian melodrama has at its core Alice Van Guilder, who wants to be a career girl at a ...

'', 1965 *'' Show Girl'', additional orchestrations for the 1961 revival *''

Joyce Grenfell Joyce Irene Grenfell OBE (''née'' Phipps; 10 February 1910 – 30 November 1979) was an English diseuse, singer, actress and writer. She was known for the songs and monologues she wrote and performed, at first in revues and later in her solo s ...

Requests the Pleasure'', 1955 *''Phoenix ’55'', 1955 *'' Two’s Company'', 1952-53 *''

Lend an Ear ''Lend an Ear'' is a musical revue with a book, music, and lyrics by Charles Gaynor and additional sketches by Joseph Stein and Will Glickman.Gaynor, CharleLend an Ear:An Intimate Musical Revuegoogle books), Samuel French, Inc., 1948, Producti ...

'', 1948-50

References

Sources

* *

External links

''Clare Grundman''
as part of the "History of the Ohio State University Concert Bands"
''Clare E. Grundman''
on the "Military Music" web site
''Clare Grundman''
in "The Wind Repertory Project" web site {{DEFAULTSORT:Grundman, Clare 1913 births 1996 deaths 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century classical composers 20th-century LGBT people American classical composers American male classical composers Classical musicians from Ohio LGBT classical composers Musicians from Cleveland People from South Salem, New York Tanglewood Music Center alumni