Early life and education
Felder was born inCareer
Academics
Felder was the Composer-in-Residence of theJune in Buffalo Festival
The June in Buffalo Festival was founded at the University at Buffalo in 1975 by composer and UB Professor Morton Feldman, with sponsorship by the Rockefeller Foundation, New York State Council for the Arts, and the university at Buffalo. The festival was originally dedicated to emerging composers and to presenting and exposing new music to the world. The festival ran until 1980 and took a brief a hiatus until 1985 when David Felder revived the festival. From 1985 to 2022, Felder was the director of June in Buffalo, and expanded the program to include student composers, as well as, recently, student ensembles. June in Buffalo has run every June since 1985, and offers a week-long intensive schedule of seminars, lectures, workshops, professional presentations, participant forums and open rehearsals as well as afternoon and evening concerts open to the general public and critics. Each of the invited composers has one of their pieces performed during the festival. Evening performances feature faculty composers, resident ensembles and soloists renowned internationally as interpreters of contemporary music.Slee Sinfonietta
June in Buffalo boasts a resident ensemble that performs regularly at the festival, the Slee Sinfonietta, which Felder co-founded with conductor Magnus Martensson, and began as artistic director in 1996. The Slee Sinfonietta is the professional chamber orchestra in residence at the university at Buffalo and presents a series of concerts each year that feature performances of challenging new works by contemporary composers and lesser-known works from the chamber orchestra repertoire. The Slee Sinfonietta consists of a core group including UB faculty performance artists, visiting artists, national and regional professionals and advanced performance students, and conducted by leading conductors and composers.Center for 21st Century Music
The June in Buffalo Festival enjoys sponsorship from the Robert and Carol Morris Center for 21st Century Music, which Felder founded in 2006, and acted as artistic director until his retirement in 2022. In 2015 he was named co-director of the university at Buffalo's Creative Arts Initiative, a plan to bring major international creative artists to the region as guest artists.Published works
All works are published by the Theodore Presser Company andOrchestra and chamber orchestra
*''Die Dämmerungen'' for orchestra (complete premiere date October 2019) *''Dream Journal'' for chamber ensemble, 2013 *''Les Quatre Temps Cardinaux'' for large chamber orchestra, solo soprano, solo bass, electronics, 2013 *''Tweener'' for small chamber orchestra, solo percussionist, 8 channel electronics, 2010 *''Gone grey'' for chamber string orchestra, 2003 *''In Between'' for solo percussion and chamber orchestra, 2000 *''a pressure triggering dreams'' for orchestra, 1997, revised 1998 *''Three Pieces for Orchestra'' 1996, score revised 2008 *''Linebacker Music'' for orchestra, 1994 *''Six Poems from Neruda's Alturas...'' for orchestra, 1990–92, revised 1998 *''Journal'' for chamber orchestra, 1990 *''Between'' for solo percussion and large orchestra, 1990 *''La Dura Fria Hora'' for chamber chorus and orchestra, 1986 *''Three Lines from Twenty Poems'' for chamber orchestra, 1987 *''Coleccion Nocturna'', for clarinet (=bcl), piano, orchestra, optional tape, 1984Choral
*''Nomina Sunt Consequentia Rerum'' for choir, 2012 *''Memento mori'' for 16 voice mixed chorus, 2004 *''La Dura Fria Hora'' for voices, a cappella, 1986Large ensemble
*''Jeu de Tarot 2'' for solo violin, flute, clarinet, oboe, horn, bass trombone, perc., harp, piano/keyboard, vln., vla., vc., bass, electronics, 2020 *''Jeu de Tarot'' for solo violin, flute, clarinet, oboe, horn, perc., harp, piano/keyboard, vln., vla., vc., bass, electronics, 2017 *''Requiescat'' for bass flute, contrabass clarinet, perc., guitar, piano/celeste, 2 vlns., vla., vc.. bass, 8 channels of electronics, 2010 *''Dionysiacs'' for flute ensemble (6 players), and ''‘gli altri’'' (minimum 14), 2005 *''PartialBrass
*''Canzona'' for brass ensemble (4,4,3,1), 2017 *''shredder'' for brass ensemble (13 players), timpani, electric bass, 2001 *''Incendio'' for brass dectet (arranged with Jon Nelson), 2000 *''Canzone XXXI'' for two trumpets, horn, trombone, bass trombone, 1993String quartet
*''Netivot'' for string quartet, 2016 *''Stuck-stücke'' for string quartet, 2007, revised 2009 *''Third Face'' for string quartet, 1988Electronics
*''Green Flash'' for 6 channels of electronic sound, 2012 *''So Quiet Here'' for four channels of electronic sound, 2006 *''RRRings tRRR(o)u h'' for 8 channels of electronic sound, 2004Solo and small ensemble
*''Three Songs from Three Watches, 2014 *''A Garland (for Bruce)'' for solo cello, 4, 6, or 8 channels of electronic sound, 2012 *''Rare Air'' for solo bass clarinet, piano and electronics, 2008 *''Insomnia'' for solo bass voice and percussion, 2008 *''Black Fire/White Fire'' (part 3 of Shamayim) for solo bass voice, video, 8 channels electronics, 2008 *''Sa’arah'' (part 2 of Shamayim) for solo bass voice, 8 channel electronics, video, 2007 *''Chashmal'' (part 1 of Shamayim) for solo bass voice, 8 channels of electronics, optional video, 2006 *''TweeenerB'' for solo percussion (including KAT mallet controller), and electronics, 1995, revised 2013 *''November Sky'' for flute doubling piccolo, alto, bass flutes, can be presented as media work with video walls (16 monitors each) and video playback, 1992 *''Crossfire'' for trombone, violin, flute, percussion; consists of four individual works: ''Boxman'', ''Another Face'', ''November Sky'', and ''In Between''; each work may be presented with or without video, 1986–92 *''Boxman'' for amplified solo trombone with MaxMSP processing, can also be presented as media work with two Delcom video walls (16 monitors each) and video playback, 1986–88, revised 1999 *''Another Face'' for solo violin, can be presented as media work with two Delcom video walls (16 monitors each) and video playback, 1987 *''Coleccion Nocturna'' for clarinet (=bcl), piano, tape, 1983 *''Rocket Summer'' for solo piano, 1979, revised 1983 *''Rondage/Cycle'' for trumpet (trombone) with amplification/delay, piano, percussion, digital synthesizer, tape, 1977, revised with choreography and synclavier II digital synthesizer, 1983 *''Nexus'' for solo bass trombone, 1975Discography
Felder's music is featured on several solo discs, and included on many albums released by individual artists and new music groups, as well as on a joint release with Morton Feldman. His works have been released on a variety of labels including Bridge Records, Mode Records, Albany Records, and others.Solo releases
*''Jeu de Tarot'', Coviello Contemporary CD 91913, 2019. ''Jeu de Tarot'', ''Netivot'', and ''Another Face''. Ensemble Signal, Brad Lubman, Arditti String Quartet, Irvine Arditti. *Inner Sky, Albany Blu-ray surround 5.1 Troy 1418, 2013. Features 90 minutes of Felder's music spanning from 1979 to 2012, including ''Rare Air'', ''Tweener'', ''Requiescat'', ''Incendio'', ''Rocket Summer'', ''Inner Sky'', ''Canzone XXXI'', and ''Dionysiacs''. *''Boxman'', Albany SACD 5.1 Troy 1153, 2009. ''BoxMan'', ''partialReleases with other artists
*''The Age of Wire and String'', edition NEO, 2011. Released by the Norbotten NEO Ensemble, features ''PartialNotable students
As an active teacher and mentor, he has served as Ph.D. dissertation advisor for nearly fifty composers at Buffalo, many of whom are actively teaching, composing and performing internationally at leading institutions.References
External links