Patrick Greene (born 1985) 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 ...

and performer of

contemporary classical music Contemporary classical music is classical music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 modern forms of post-tonal music after the death of Anton Webern, and included seria ...

. A lifelong resident of

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

, he has been based in Boston, Massachusetts, since 2008.

Education

Greene earned his MM in Composition from the Boston Conservatory in May 2010, where his primary teachers were

Andy Vores Andy Vores (born 1956) is a Welsh classical music and opera composer. He has lived in the United States since 1986 and is based in Boston, Massachusetts. Education Vores studied composition at Lancaster University in Lancaster, England. He in ...

and

Dalit Warshaw Dalit Hadass Warshaw (born August 6, 1974) is a New York-based composer, pianist, thereminist. Previously on the composition and music theory faculty of Boston Conservatory, she currently serves on the composition faculty at Juilliard and CUNY- Br ...

. While at the Conservatory, he also studied with

Jan Swafford Jan Swafford (born September 10, 1946) is an American author and composer. He earned his Bachelor of Arts '' magna cum laude'' from Harvard College and his M.M.A. and D.M.A. from the Yale School of Music. His teachers included Earl Kim at Harvard, ...

and

Curtis Hughes Curtis Hughes (born December 7, 1964) is an American professional wrestler, also known by the ring name Mr. Hughes. He is best known for his stints in World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation. He also worked for the America ...

. His undergraduate career was at

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

, where he earned his B.A. in Music in 2007. His primary teachers at Trinity were Gerald Moshell and Douglas Bruce Johnson.

Musical style

In writing about Greene's style, Jonathan Blumhofer of the Boston Classical Review notes "his musical language is ... diverse," with a "wide emotional breadth.". His music has been called "undeniably expressive and smartly crafted." Greene has described his music as "extractive," rather than "abstractive," while still noting the unique expressive power of music as an abstract medium. In interviews, Greene has cited the work of composers like

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

Steven Stucky Steven Edward Stucky (November 7, 1949 − February 14, 2016) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer. Life and career Stucky was born in Hutchinson, Kansas. At age 9, he moved with his family to Abilene, Texas, where, as a teenager, he ...

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...

, Toru Takemitsu, and

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 ...

as inspiration; he also draws influence from Anglican choral traditions and rock bands such as

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...

and

Tool A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...

Major pieces

Recent projects include ''Mabinte'', a co-composition with the percussionist/composer Ryan Edwards. Commissioned by the Boston Landmarks Orchestra, it paired the orchestral musicians with dozens of young members of Greater Boston Boys and Girls Clubs, and featured choreography by Brian Mirage. It premiered in the

Hatch Memorial Shell The Edward A. Hatch Memorial Shell (commonly referred to as the "Hatch Shell") is an outdoor concert venue on the Charles River Esplanade in the Back Bay section of Boston, Massachusetts. Built in 1939–1940, it is one of the city's prominent e ...

on the Charles River Esplanade in the summer of 2016. Greene's song cycle ''Year of Glad'', based on

erasure poetry Erasure is a form of found poetry or found object art created by erasing words from an existing text in prose or verse and framing the result on the page as a poem. The results can be allowed to stand ''in situ'' or they can be arranged into lin ...

by Jenni B. Baker from David Foster Wallace's '' Infinite Jest'', premiered in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in spring 2016. Other recent vocal works include "Come soon, you feral cats", a cycle on the poetry of

W. S. Di Piero William Simone Di Piero is an American poet, translator, essayist, and educator. He has published ten collections of poetry and five collections of essays in addition to his translations. In 2012 Di Piero received the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize for ...

written for and premiered by the

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

-based loadbang ensemble. He has collaborated with

Boston Musica Viva Boston Musica Viva is a Boston, Massachusetts-based music ensemble founded by its Music Director, Richard Pittman, in 1969 and dedicated to contemporary music. Composers and compositions In its 44-year history, Boston Musica Viva has performed m ...

numerous times—most recently in 2019, when they premiered ''The Druddigon,'' a ballet with a libretto by noted young adult author M.T. Anderson. Another collaboration with the ensemble, ''Machine Language for Beginners,'' explores humanity's complicated history with machines and artificial intelligence; it earned him the

St. Botolph Club The St. Botolph Club is a private social club in Boston, Massachusetts, founded in 1880 by a group including many artists. Its name is derived from the English saint Botwulf of Thorney. Among the club's other activities in its quarters at 2 Newb ...

Foundation's 2015 Emerging Artist Award. ''Steel Symphony'', a 2013 composition for virtuoso

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

, has been performed extensively across the United States. Composed for

Christopher Houlihan Christopher Mark Houlihan (born October 6, 1987) is an American concert organist noted for his clarity, flexibility of rhythm, and technical achievement. His Vierne 2012 tour in which he performed Louis Vierne's complete organ symphonies in six ...

, it gained special praise in the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''. Greene won th
Rapido! New England Composition Contest
in October 2010 with his chamber piece ''abstractEXTRACTION'', premiered by the

Boston University's Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

Tsai Performing Arts Center. At the 2011 Rapido! Take Two!! National Finals in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, the same piece garnered the Internet Audience Favorite Award. In 2007, he was commissioned by the

New Haven Symphony Orchestra The New Haven Symphony Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra based in New Haven, Connecticut. The New Haven Symphony Orchestra gave its first concert in 1895 and is the fourth oldest orchestra in the United States. Today, the orchestra is ...

for two new works: a large choral/orchestral piece based on the spiritual God's Gonna Set This World on Fire, and a wind quintet based on the

Kenyan ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

folk song "Kwaharree." After fulfilling a number of commissions for various ensembles at Trinity College, he received a large-scale choral/orchestral commission for performance in 2011. He also recently composed the official

anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short ...

of the college'
Cornerstone Campaign
a $32.9 million-dollar restoration project. His orchestral thesis at the Conservatory, ''Night of the Four Zoas'', was premiered by Yoichi Udagawa in Boston in the spring of 2010. Based on the mythopoetic writings of

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...

, ''Night of the Four Zoas'' marks the composer's third Blake-derived piece. His recent trumpet/cello/piano trio, ''

Maxwell's Demon Maxwell's demon is a thought experiment that would hypothetically violate the second law of thermodynamics. It was proposed by the physicist James Clerk Maxwell in 1867. In his first letter Maxwell called the demon a "finite being", while the ' ...

'', was premiered in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

in the fall of 2010. Other recent pieces include his ''Variations for String Quartet'' (2009–10), ''No Oblivion'' (solo clarinet, 2010), ''The Pieces That Fall to Earth'' (solo singers with chamber orchestra on the poetry of

A.R. Ammons Archibald Randolph Ammons (February 18, 1926 – February 25, 2001) was an American poet who won the annual National Book Award for Poetry in 1973 and 1993. Poetic themes Ammons wrote about humanity's relationship to nature in alternately comic ...

, Stephen Crane, and

T.S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and editor.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National B ...

, 2010), ''Inclinado en las tardes'' (SATB, on the poetry of

Pablo Neruda Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto (12 July 1904 – 23 September 1973), better known by his pen name and, later, legal name Pablo Neruda (; ), was a Chilean poet-diplomat and politician who won the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature. Nerud ...

, 2010), and ''The City in the Sea: Landscape for 15 Strings'' (string orchestra, 2008).Boston Musica Viva biographical entry
/ref> Conduct

List of works

Full orchestra

*"Mabinte" (12', 2016) Collaborative composition with percussionist/composer Ryan Edwards, commissioned by the Boston Landmarks Orchestra and featuring young musicians and dancers from Greater Boston Boys and Girls Clubs. *"Gift: Choral Symphony on the Poetry of

Hugh Ogden Hugh may refer to: *Hugh (given name) Noblemen and clergy French * Hugh the Great (died 956), Duke of the Franks * Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France under his father, Robert II * Hugh, Duke of Alsace (died 895), modern-day ...

" (Chamber Arrangement, 15', 2011) , Commissioned by

Chapel Music * ''Night of the Four Zoas'' (20’, 2009–10) * ''God's Gonna Set This World On Fire'' (high school choir with orchestra, 2008) Commissioned by the

. * Two Movements for Orchestra from ''Water in Music: A Psychoacoustical Study'' (10’, 2006) Component of Undergraduate Thesis Project, * ''In Medias Res'' (8’, 2005)

Chamber orchestra

* ''Gift'' (

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

and

chamber orchestra Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numbe ...

, 40', 2011) Commissioned by John Rose and the

Department of Music on a cycle of poems by

. * ''The Pieces That Fall to Earth'' (with

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

and

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

soloists, 16’, 2009–10) On poems by

, and Stephen Crane. * ''The City in the Sea: Landscape for 15 Strings'' (

string orchestra A string orchestra is an orchestra consisting solely of a string section made up of the bowed strings used in Western Classical music. The instruments of such an orchestra are most often the following: the violin, which is divided into first ...

, 9’, 2009) Commissioned by Yohei Sato. Inspired by a poem by

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...

Small ensembles

* ''The Druddigon'' (flute/piccolo, clarinet in Bb/bass clarinet, violin, cello, percussion, piano, narrator, 35', 2019) Ballet commissioned by

for their 50th anniversary season's Family Concert. Story and libretto by M.T. Anderson; staging and choreography by Denise Cecere * ''Machine Language for Beginners'' (flute, clarinet, percussion, piano, violin, viola, cello, 15', 2015) Chamber suite on

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...

, composed for Boston Musica Viva. * ''Triptych III. Comprehensive Research'' (violin, viola, cello, 7.5', 2015) Third movement of collaboratively composed piece on the poetry of Daniil Kharms. * ''Come soon, you feral cats'' (bass clarinet, C trumpet, trombone, baritone voice, 20', 2015) Composed for loadbang ensemble. Settings of the poetry of W.S. Di Piero. * ''The Hedgehog's Dilemma'' (violin, horn in F, piano, 2', 2014) Winner of the Red Hedgehog Trio's inaugural Call for Scores. * ''The Tower'' (bass clarinet, C trumpet, trombone, baritone voice, digital audio, live actress, 40', 2014) Composed for loadbang ensemble. Setting of an original one-act play by Kevin Kordis. * ''Eventually, everything connects'' (

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

in B flat, two

marimba The marimba () is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the timbre ...

s, and

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

, 2013) Premiered by Balletik Duo and Transient Canvas. Exploration of the works of Charles and Ray Eames. Expansion of ''Charles & Ray'' (see below). * ''Charles & Ray'' (clarinet in B flat and marimba, 5', 2012) Premiered by Transient Canvas. Exploration of the works of Charles and Ray Eames. * ''The Tortoise and the Hare'' (modified Pierrot ensemble, mixed percussion ensemble, and narrator, 27', 2011–12) Commissioned by Boston Musica Viva and Marimba Magic. Libretto by Christopher Pickett. * ''Maxwell's Demon'' (trumpet in C, cello, piano, 15’, 2010) Commissioned by Stuart Terrett. Exploration of the thermodynamics thought experiment of the same name. * ''AbstractEXTRACTION'' (flute, clarinet in Bb, cello, piano, 5’, 2010) Winner of the 2010 Rapido! New England Competition. Exploration of the works of Alexander Calder. * ''Variations for String Quartet'' (12’, 2008–10) * ''Characters'' (two scherzandi for trombone trio, 4’, 2009). Inspired by

commedia dell'arte (; ; ) was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is also known as , , and . Charact ...

. * ''Missa Brevis'' (three male voices, 11’, 2008–9) Commissioned by The Elmsmen. * ''How sweet I roam’d'' (three male voices, 4’, 2008) Commissioned by The Elmsmen. On a poem by

. * ''Kwaharree'' (wind quintet, 6’, 2007–8) Commissioned by the New Haven Symphony Wind Quintet. Arrangement and expansion of a traditional

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

n folksong.

Choral

*''Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming'' (SATB choir, 5', 2017) , Commissioned by the Skylark Ensemble *''Logos'' (male trio, SATB choir, narrator, and organ, 8', 2016) , Commissioned by John Rose for the Trinity College Chapel Singers, The Elmsmen,

, and numerous additional singers from the Trinity College choral network *''Hark, the Glad Sound!'' (SATB, 4', 2012) Commissioned by John Rose for the Choirs of Trinity College. *''i carry your heart(i carry it in)'' (SATB, 6', 2012) Commissioned for a wedding. On a poem by

E.E. Cummings Edward Estlin Cummings, who was also known as E. E. Cummings, e. e. cummings and e e cummings (October 14, 1894 - September 3, 1962), was an American poet, painter, essayist, author and playwright. He wrote approximately 2,900 poems, two autobi ...

. *''Love'' (ATB, 9', 2011) Commissioned for a wedding. On a poem by Billy Collins. *''My Dearest Friend'' (SATB, 4', 2011) Commissioned for a wedding. Text taken from a letter from

Abigail Adams Abigail Adams ( ''née'' Smith; November 22, [ O.S. November 11] 1744 – October 28, 1818) was the wife and closest advisor of John Adams, as well as the mother of John Quincy Adams. She was a founder of the United States, an ...

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...

. * ''Ubi Caritas'' (SATB motet, 3’, 2010) Commissioned by Joseph Marchio for the Cantata 4. * ''The Lord Bless You and Keep You'' (SATB, 3’, 2010) Commissioned by John Rose for the Trinity College Chapel Singers. * ''The Long Walk'' (choir with orchestra, 4’, 2010) Commissioned as the anthem for the Trinity College Long Walk restoration project. * ''Inclinado en las tardes'' (SATB, 7’, 2009) * ''Apache Wedding Prayer'' (SATB, 4’, 2010) Commissioned by Emmanuel Espiritu. * ''The Shepherd'' (Children's choir with accompaniment, 4’, 2010) Commissioned by Joseph Marchio for the Pleasant Bay Children's Chorus. On a poem by William Blake. * ''Dodi Li'' (SATB, 4’, 2008) Commissioned for a wedding. * ''Irish Blessing'' (SATB, 3’, 2008) Commissioned for a wedding. * ''Life Is Song'' (male choir, 7’, 2007) * ''Requiem Mass'' (SSAATTBB choir with divisi, 12’, 2005) * ''The Fly'' (SSAATTBB choir with divisi, 5’, 2004–5) On a poem by William Blake.

Songs

*"Year of Glad" (soprano and piano, 15', 2016) On erasure poetry from David Foster Wallace's "Infinite Jest" by Jenni B. Baker. Commissioned by Joelle Kross. *"Ferncliff" (soprano and piano, 6', 2011) * ''Hymn'' (baritone and

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

, 8’, 2009) On a poem by A.R. Ammons. * ''Songs of Stasis'' (soprano and piano, 10’, 2008) On poems by T.S. Eliot and Stephen Crane.

Solo instruments

*''But not until it is finished with you'' (cello, 10', 2017) Commissioned by Laura Usiskin. *''Steel Symphony'' (organ, 13', 2013) Commissioned by

. Based on sculptures on display at the deCordova Museum and Sculpture Park in

Lincoln, Massachusetts Lincoln is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. The population was 7,014 according to the 2020 United States Census, including residents of Hanscom Air Force Base that live within town limits. The town, located in the MetroWest region o ...

. * ''No Oblivion'' (solo clarinet in Bb, 8’, 2010) Commissioned by Kathleen LeBlanc-Hood. Based on a poem by the Greek poet

Sappho Sappho (; el, Σαπφώ ''Sapphō'' ; Aeolic Greek ''Psápphō''; c. 630 – c. 570 BC) was an Archaic Greek poet from Eresos or Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Sappho is known for her Greek lyric, lyric poetry, written to be sung while ...

. * ''Granitic'' ( meantone piano, 4’, 2010) * ''Etudes for Solo Harp'' (

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...

, 6', 2010) Commissioned by Izabella Angelova. * ''Recessional Fanfare'' (

, 4', 2008)

Electronics

* ''JUICY: Spectral Studies for a Citrus Juicer'' (6.5', 2014) * ''Fuzzy Logic'' (10', 2012) * ''Vox Populi'' (6’, 2010)

Notes

External links

Official WebsiteArticle on "Come soon, you feral cats"
in

McSweeney's McSweeney's Publishing is an American non-profit publishing house founded by Dave Eggers in 1998 and headquartered in San Francisco. Initially publishing the literary journal'' Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern'', the company has moved to n ...

.
Rapido! Composition Contest

Fan Page on Facebook

Greene discussing his music at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greene, Patrick 1985 births Living people 21st-century classical composers 21st-century American composers 21st-century American male musicians American composers American classical composers American male classical composers Boston Conservatory at Berklee alumni Musicians from New Haven, Connecticut Trinity College (Connecticut) alumni