Jack Vees (born 1955) is an American composer and bassist from

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 2020 ...

Biography

Both a performer (electric bass/guitar and electronics) and a composer, Vees has written music for his own ensemble, Chez Vees, and for groups such as Ensemble Modern,

California EAR Unit The California EAR Unit was an American chamber ensemble dedicated to the performance of contemporary classical music. The group was founded in March 1981 in Los Angeles, California. The original members of the EAR Unit were Dorothy Stone (flute) ...

, and Zeitgeist (ensemble). He has collaborated with performers Ashley Bathgate,

Libby Van Cleve Libby Van Cleve (born August 22, 1958) is an American oboist and Director of Yale University, Yale University's Oral History of American Music. Education and personal life Van Cleve has received the following degrees: *Bachelor of Arts degree in ...

, Amy Knoles, Jeffrey Krieger, and Ben Verdery, as well as various choreographers and video artists. Influences include

Louis Andriessen Louis Joseph Andriessen (; 6 June 1939 – 1 July 2021) was a Dutch composer, pianist and academic teacher. Considered the most influential Dutch composer of his generation, he was a central proponent of The Hague school of composition. Although ...

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading fi ...

George Crumb George Henry Crumb Jr. (24 October 1929 – 6 February 2022) was an American composer of avant-garde contemporary classical music. Early in his life he rejected the widespread modernist usage of serialism, developing a highly personal musical ...

Charles Ives Charles Edward Ives (; October 20, 1874May 19, 1954) was an American modernist composer, one of the first American composers of international renown. His music was largely ignored during his early career, and many of his works went unperformed f ...

Erik Satie Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (, ; ; 17 May 18661 July 1925), who signed his name Erik Satie after 1884, was a French composer and pianist. He was the son of a French father and a British mother. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, but was an und ...

Joel Thome Joel Thome (born in Detroit, Michigan) is the conductor and artistic director of Orchestra of Our Time. A Grammy Award recipient, Thome has been acclaimed internationally as an accomplished conductor and composer of classical and contemporary o ...

, and

Captain Beefheart Don Van Vliet (; born Don Glen Vliet; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. Conducting a rotating ensemble known as Th ...

(Don Van Vliet). Vees holds an undergraduate degree from

Glassboro State College Rowan University is a public research university in Glassboro, New Jersey, with a medical campus in Stratford and medical and academic campuses in Camden. It was founded in 1923 as Glassboro Normal School on a site donated by 107 residents. ...

and an M.F.A. from

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...

. Previous composition teachers include

Vinko Globokar Vinko Globokar (born 7 July 1934) is a French-Slovenian avant-garde composer and trombonist. Globokar's music uses unconventional and extended techniques, places great emphasis on spontaneity and creativity, and often relies on improvisation. Hi ...

, Stephen L. Mosko,

Bernard Rands Bernard Rands (born 2 March 1934 in Sheffield, England) is a British-American contemporary classical music composer. He studied music and English literature at the University of Wales, Bangor, and composition with Pierre Boulez and Bruno Mader ...

, and

Morton Subotnick Morton Subotnick (born April 14, 1933) is an American composer of electronic music, best known for his 1967 composition '' Silver Apples of the Moon'', the first electronic work commissioned by a record company, Nonesuch. He was one of the foun ...

. Vees currently resides in Guilford, Connecticut with his wife

. He is the operations director and instructor of the Center of Studies in Music Technology at the

Yale School of Music The Yale School of Music (often abbreviated to YSM) is one of the 12 professional schools at Yale University. It offers three graduate degrees: Master of Music (MM), Master of Musical Arts (MMA), and Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA), as well as a joi ...

Notable compositions

Solo (with or without electronics)

''National Anthem'' (2000) for guitar and electronics ''Surf Music Again'' (1996) for guitar and electronics ''Rocket Baby'' (1994) for electric cello and midi cellos ''Apocrypha'' (1986) for oboe and electronic tape ''John Henry'' (1984) for bass guitar

Small ensemble

''Piano Trio (Hulk Smash!)'' (1994) for three players on two pianos ''Tattooed Barbie'' (1991) for 12-string guitar, oboe, and computer ''Saints Before the Vanishing Point'' (1990) for small ensemble ''Colorized Chaplin'' (1989) for electric guitar and harpsichord ''Child Bride'' (1988) for cello, electronics, and midi

Theatrical works / opera / multimedia

''Feynman'' (2003-2005), chamber opera ''Piece for Composition'' (1987) for multimedia and percussion

Discography

2001: Ben Verdery – Soe-Pa. CD Baby. * ''Strummage'' 2000: The Restaurant Behind the Pier.

Recommended Records Recommended Records (RēR) is a British independent record label and distribution network founded by Chris Cutler with Nick Hobbs in March 1978. RēR features largely "Rock in Opposition" and related music, but it also distributes selected mus ...

. * ''The Restaurant Behind the Pier'' * ''John Henry'' * ''Monsiur Piñata'' * ''Surf Music II'' 1998: Emergency Music.

Composers Recordings, Inc. Composers Recordings, Inc. (CRI) was an American record label dedicated to the recording of contemporary classical music by American composers. It was founded in 1954 by Otto Luening, Douglas Moore, and Oliver Daniel, and based in New York City. ...

* ''Prom Face Devotion'' 1997: Surf Music Again.

* ''Tattooed Barbie'' * ''Stigmata non Grata'' * ''Piano Trio'' * ''Rocket Baby Electric'' * ''Piano Trio (Hulk Smash!)'' * ''SPNFL'' * ''Surf Music Again''

Publications

The Book on Bass Harmonics. Alfred Music Publishers. 1981.

References

21st-century American composers 1955 births Living people Musicians from Camden, New Jersey {{US-composer-stub