Frank Ferko (born June 18, 1950) is an American composer.
Born in
Barberton, Ohio
Barberton is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States. The population was 26,550 at the 2010 census. Lying directly southwest of Akron, it is a suburb of the Akron metropolitan area.
History
Barberton was founded in 1891 by industrialist O ...
, Ferko played piano from childhood, and worked as an organist and conductor in his teens. His first compositions were primarily
liturgical
Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...
in nature, with
Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
composer
Richard Wienhorst being an early influence. He attended
Valparaiso University
Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana. It is a Lutheran university with about 3,000 students from over 50 countries on a campus of . Originally named Valparaiso Male and Female College, Valparaiso Universit ...
as an undergraduate, where he studied composition and
counterpoint under Wienhorst and organ under
Philip Gehring. Ferko took particular interest in
early music and the compositional and theoretical output of
Olivier Messiaen.
He received a bachelor's from Valparaiso in 1972 in piano and organ performance, and then took his master's at
Syracuse University in
music theory. There he studied theory under
Howard Boatright and organ under
Will Headlee, and wrote his thesis on one of the extended piano works of Messiaen. Following this, Ferko served as Director of Music at various midwestern churches before entering
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Charte ...
. At Northwestern he first pursued a Ph.D. in music theory but shifted his attention to music composition which he studied under
Alan Stout. During his time at Northwestern he worked as a teaching assistant in the School of Music and also continued his work as a church musician. In 1982 he began working as a music
librarian
A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users.
The role of the librarian has changed much over time ...
and continues to work as both a librarian and an archivist. He currently works at the music library at the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
.
As a composer, Ferko began receiving critical acclaim and commissions in the 1980s, including the Holtkamp Award from the
American Guild of Organists
The American Guild of Organists (AGO) is an international organization of academic, church, and concert organists in the US, headquartered in New York City with its administrative offices in the Interchurch Center. Founded as a professional educat ...
in 1990 for the
song cycle
A song cycle (german: Liederkreis or Liederzyklus) is a group, or cycle (music), cycle, of individually complete Art song, songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a unit.Susan Youens, ''Grove online''
The songs are either for solo voice ...
''A Practical Program for Monks''. In 1990-91 he composed a ten-movement cycle for organ based upon the visions of
Hildegard von Bingen
Hildegard of Bingen (german: Hildegard von Bingen; la, Hildegardis Bingensis; 17 September 1179), also known as Saint Hildegard and the Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German Benedictine abbess and polymath active as a writer, composer, philosopher ...
. It would be the first of several large-scale projects inspired by Hildegard, followed by ''The Hildegard Motets'' and ''Hildegard Triptych''. Ferko premiered ''
Stabat Mater'' in 1999, commissioned by
His Majestie's Clerkes. He has also worked as composer-in-residence with the
Dale Warland Singers
The Dale Warland Singers (DWS) was a 40-voice professional chorus based in St. Paul, Minnesota, founded in 1972 by Dale Warland and disbanded in 2004. They performed a wide variety of choral repertoire but specialized in 20th-century music an ...
. The European premiere of his choral works took place in April 2003 with a performance of his ''Stabat Mater'' by the VU-Kamerkoor, Amsterdam, on the occasion of which Ferko joined in rehearsals and held a public introduction to the piece. In 2004 the VU-Kamerkoor commissioned "La remontée des cendres," an extended work for chorus, soloists and an ensemble of eight instruments, based on texts by
Tahar Ben Jelloun
Tahar Ben Jelloun ( ar, الطاهر بن جلون; born in Fes, Morocco, 1 December 1944) is a Moroccan writer. All of his work is written in French although his first language is Darija. He became known for his 1985 novel ''L’Enfant de Sab ...
. The work received its premiere in The Netherlands, performed by the VU-Kamerkoor, conducted by Boudewijn Jansen in May 2005.
The music of Frank Ferko has been heard through public performance or radio broadcast in 30 countries on six continents.
Recordings
*''The Hildegard Organ Cycle''
Arsis Audio 1995)
*''Motets''
1995)
*''Stabat Mater''
Cedille Records 2000)
*''Hildegard Triptych''
Hyperion Records 2011)
*''Organ Music by Frank Ferko and Leo Sowerby''
Cedille Records 2021)
*''Night: Music for Choir and Cello (includes Motet for Passion Sunday and Lord, Let At Last Thine Angels Come)''
Herald 2007)
*''I Loved Lucy (includes Constellations for Flute/Alto Flute and Guitar)''
Gasparo 2000)
References
*Thomas Oram,
Frank Ferkoat
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
External links
*Composer's Websit
Interview with Frank Ferko April 20, 2000
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferko, Frank
American male classical composers
American classical composers
20th-century classical composers
Valparaiso University alumni
Living people
21st-century classical composers
1950 births
Singers from Ohio
People from Barberton, Ohio
Syracuse University alumni
Bienen School of Music alumni
American archivists
American librarians
Stanford University staff
21st-century American composers
20th-century American composers
Classical musicians from Ohio
20th-century American male musicians
21st-century American male musicians
Music librarians
Cedille Records artists