John Melby (born 1941) is an American

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 ...

Life and work

John Melby is most widely known for his numerous compositions for computer-synthesized sounds, particularly in combination with live acoustic instruments. In addition to electronic music, Melby's catalog includes many acoustic chamber, vocal, and orchestral works. Since 2010, he has focused exclusively on writing acoustic music for chamber ensembles and symphony orchestra. Born in Whitehall, Wisconsin, Melby holds degrees from the

Curtis Institute of Music The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on full scholarship. Hi ...

, the University of Pennsylvania, and Princeton University. He studied with

Henry Weinberg Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

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Peter Westergaard Peter Talbot Westergaard (28 May 1931 – 26 June 2019) was an American composer and music theorist. He was Professor Emeritus of music at Princeton University. Biography Westergaard was born on 28 May 1931 in Champaign, Illinois. He pursued ...

, J. K. Randall, and

Milton Babbitt Milton Byron Babbitt (May 10, 1916 – January 29, 2011) was an American composer, music theorist, mathematician, and teacher. He is particularly noted for his Serialism, serial and electronic music. Biography Babbitt was born in Philadelphia t ...

. Melby has held faculty positions at West Chester University and was appointed to the faculty of the School of Music of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1973, where he served until his retirement in 1997. Melby has won numerous awards for his work including an NEA Fellowship (1977), a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

(1983), an award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1984), and the 1979 First Prize from the International Electroacoustic Music Awards in Bourges, France. His music is published by Theodore Presser Company (Merion Music), Associated Music Publishers, and

American Composers Alliance The American Composers Alliance (ACA) is an American nonprofit composer service organization dedicated to the publishing and promoting of American contemporary classical music. Founded in 1937 by Aaron Copland, Milton Adolphus, Marion Bauer and oth ...

. Recordings are available on a number of record labels. An all-Melby disc of three concerti was released on the Albany Records label in 2008.Albany Records
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Major works

Orchestral

*''Concerto for Computer and Orchestra'' (1987) *''Symphony No. 1'' (1993) *''Thanatopsis'' (1999) for lyric baritone, chorus, and orchestra *''Symphony No. 2'' (2004) *''Piano Concerto No. 3'' (2010) *''Violin Concerto No. 3'' (2011) *''Violoncello Concerto No. 3'' (2012) *''Viola Concerto No. 3'' (2013) *''Symphony No. 3'' (2019) *''Symphony No. 4'' (2020) *''Symphony No. 5'' (2020) *''Symphony No. 6'' (2021) *''Symphony No. 7'' (2021) *''Symphony No. 8'' (2021) *''Symphony No. 9'' (2022)

Electro-Acoustic Concerti

*Violin (No. 1: 1979 and No. 2: 1986) *Violoncello (No. 1: 1981 and No. 2: 1989) *Viola (No. 1: 1982 and No. 2: 2009) *Flute (No. 1: 1984 and No. 2: 1990) *Violin and English Horn (1984) *Piano (No. 1: 1985 and No. 2: 2006) *Clarinet (No. 1: 1986 and No. 2: 2006) *English Horn (1986) *Contrabass (1989) *Violin and Piano (2008)

Electro-Acoustic and Acoustic Vocal

*''Two Norwegian Songs'' (1965–66) for soprano (or tenor) and piano (texts by

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...

) *''Due canti de Leopardi'' (1966/74) for soprano, horn and piano (texts by Giacomo Leopardi) *''Two Dances'' (1970) for tenor and piano (text by L. E. Kramer) *''Valedictory'' (1973) for soprano and computer (text by L. E. Kramer) *''Two Stevens Songs'' (1975) for soprano and computer (texts by

Wallace Stevens Wallace Stevens (October 2, 1879 – August 2, 1955) was an American modernist poet. He was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, educated at Harvard and then New York Law School, and spent most of his life working as an executive for an insurance compa ...

) *''The men that are falling'' (1978) for soprano, piano, and computer (text by

) *''Peter Quince at the Clavier'' (1988) for soprano and computer (text by

) *''Three Wordsworth Songs'' (2005) for soprano and computer (texts by William Wordsworth) *''In Darkness'' (2007) for soprano and computer (texts by Amy Lowell) *''Aftermath'' (2009) for soprano and computer (texts by Amy Lowell) *''For Milton'' (2011) for soprano and computer (text by

Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 17928 July 1822) was one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame during his lifetime, but recognition of his achie ...

) *''A Japanese Wood-Carving'' (2014) for soprano and string quartet (text by Amy Lowell)

Electro-Acoustic Solo and Chamber

*''91 Plus 5'' (1969–70) for brass quintet and computer *''Zonnorities'' (1974) for oboe/English horn, clarinet/bass clarinet, and computer *''Transparences'' (1977) for trumpet and computer *''Passages'' (1977–78) for tuba and computer *''Accelerazioni'' (1979) for flute and computer *''In tenebris'' (1980) for piano and computer *''L'Infinito'' (1980) for string trio and computer *''Wind, Sand and Stars'' (1983) for 8 instruments and computer *''Alto Rhapsody'' (1986) for alto saxophone and computer *''And I remembered the cry of the peacocks'' (1988) for English horn, string trio, and computer *''Threeplay'' (1989) for flute, clarinet, contrabass, and computer *''String Quartet No. 3'' (1989–90) with computer *''Zonnorities II'' (1991) for oboe/English horn, clarinet/Eb clarinet, and computer

Acoustic Chamber

*''Four Pieces for String Quartet (String Quartet No. 1)'' (1963–64) *''Music for Six Players'' (1966) for woodwind quintet and piano *''String Quartet No. 2'' (1968) *''Composition for Five Brasses'' (1968) *''Epitaph (in memoriam Carl Ruggles)'' (1975) for winds and percussion *''O, wind, if winter comes...'' (2014) for woodwind quintet *''String Quartet No. 4'' (2014) *''Brass Quintet'' (2015) *''Piano Quintet'' (2016) *''String Quartet No. 5'' (2017) *''String Quartet No. 6'' (2017) *''String Quartet No. 7'' (2019)

Acoustic Solo

*''First Piano Sonata'' (1964–65, rev. 1993) *''Second Piano Sonata'' (1966) *''The rest is silence...'' (1994) for organ

Electronics Alone

*''A forandre: Seven Variations for Digital Computer'' (1969) *''...of quiet desperation'' (1976) *''Chor der Steine'' (1979) *''Layers'' (1981) *''Chor der Waisen'' (1985) *''Chor der Toten'' (1988)

Choral

*''Oculi omnium in te sperant, Domine'' (1976)

References

External links

John Melby websiteJohn Melby's page at Theodore Presser CompanyAlbany Records release
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melby, John 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers American male classical composers American classical composers Living people 1941 births 21st-century American composers 20th-century American composers West Chester University faculty 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians