Hayden Wayne (born March 2, 1949) is a modern
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
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Defi ...
and
librettist. Due to his background in
popular music, his style is an amalgamation of
classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
influenced by popular idioms. Wayne also has several film scores and award-winning commercials for television to his credit.
Biography
His study of the
piano began at the age of four, played tenor drum in the orchestra pit of
The King And I at the age of five which his father was conducting, and performed his first composition in concert at the age of eleven. He won a second prize medal for piano solo from the
New York State Music Awards at fifteen and subsequently toured with a series of rock 'n' roll bands including Man on
CBS Records and
Jobriath
Bruce Wayne Campbell (December 14, 1946 – August 3, 1983), known by his stage name Jobriath, was an American rock musician and actor. He was the first openly gay rock musician to be signed to a major record label, and one of the first in ...
on
Elektra Records
Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...
.
As a composer, Wayne opened a new theater for the Mark Taper Forum in
Los Angeles with his metaphorical circus Wire, won national first place (1987) from the National Institute for Music Theater with ''NEON'' (A Street Opera). In 2002, ''NEON'' won a 25,000 DM prize in the Prague Opera Competition. He was commissioned to write ''In Memoriam: A Celebration'' by the Interfaith Concert of Holocaust Remembrance, which premiered at Saint John the Divine in New York in 1993. Subsequently linked with ''Sinfonietta No. 1: The Klezmer'' and ''An Elegy Into Madness'', specifically commissioned for the Fiftieth Anniversary of Israel, and titled A Triptych, had its world première at Mandel Hall, the
University of Chicago in January 1998.
To date, Wayne has written over 400 compositions including: ''The Symphony of Friends'', the ballet ''Cirque de la Lune'', ''Dracula'' (Opera Erotica), ''Piano Concerto #1'' (The Rock 'n' Roll) and ''Cello Concerto #1'' which are paired as a
diptych: ''Sinfonietta #2'' (It's a Boy) and #3 (The Emerald) and ''Symphony #5 Africa'' (A Tone Poem) (also recorded by the State Philharmonic of Brno); the string quartets ''The Rosenberger Variations'' and ''The Romantic'', ''The Nuzerov Quartets 3, 4, and 5'', ''Nuzerov Quartets 6, 7, and 8'', and ''Nuzerov Quartets 9 and 10'' performed by the Wallinger String Quartet which were all released on
New Millennium Records.
In recent times, most of his performances have taken place in the
Czech Republic. Wayne calls his style "The New Classicism." He lives in
Duchess County, New York
Dutchess County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The county seat is the city of Poughkeepsie, New York, Poughkeeps ...
with his wife and son. He has provided the music for the Randolph School's Circus show in May 2007.
External links
New Millennium Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wayne, Hayden
1949 births
21st-century American composers
Living people
People from Dutchess County, New York
20th-century classical composers