Reynold Tharp (born June 17, 1973) 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 ...

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 ...

. His music reflects a fascination with transitory physical aspects of sound, such as

resonance Resonance describes the phenomenon of increased amplitude that occurs when the frequency of an applied periodic force (or a Fourier component of it) is equal or close to a natural frequency of the system on which it acts. When an oscillatin ...

and

decay Decay may refer to: Science and technology * Bit decay, in computing * Software decay, in computing * Distance decay, in geography * Decay time (fall time), in electronics Biology * Decomposition of organic matter * Tooth decay (dental caries) ...

. Tharp was born in

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, and studied music composition and history at

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...

before entering the graduate program in composition 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 recipient of the university's Ladd Fellowship, he spent two years in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

studying composition with

Philippe Leroux Philippe Leroux (born 24 September 1959) is a French composer living in Montreal, Quebec, who has been identified as "one of the most important composers in contemporary music." Biography Leroux was born in Boulogne-Billancourt. He studied compo ...

and orchestration with

Marc-André Dalbavie Marc-André Dalbavie (born 10 February 1961 at Neuilly-sur-Seine, France) is a French composer.Anne Sédès, "Marc-André Dalbavie", ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' He had his first music lessons at age 6.IRCAM IRCAM (French: ''Ircam, '', English: Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music) is a French institute dedicated to the research of music and sound, especially in the fields of avant garde and electro-acoustical art music. It is ...

in 2000 and has participated in workshops and seminars with Ivan Fedele,

Brian Ferneyhough Brian John Peter Ferneyhough (; born 16 January 1943) is an English composer. Ferneyhough is typically considered the central figure of the New Complexity movement. Ferneyhough has taught composition at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg and ...

and Jonathan Harvey. In recent years, his music has been performed in the U.S. and Europe by groups such as the Berkeley Contemporary Chamber Players, the Orchestre Lyrique de Region Avignon-Provence and the

Nieuw Ensemble The Nieuw Ensemble ( or ; English: New Ensemble) is a Dutch musical ensemble. It was founded in 1980 in Amsterdam. It has a unique instrumental structure, using plucked instruments such as mandolin, guitar and harp in combination with wind, str ...

(Amsterdam), which commissioned and premiered his work ''A Backward Glance'' in 2000. Several of these performances have been broadcast on French and Dutch radio. Awards for his music include BMI’s William Schuman Prize,

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

’s Joseph H. Bearns Prize for his orchestral work ''Drift'' and UC Berkeley’s Nicola DeLorenzo Prize. Recent projects include commissions from the Irving M. Klein International String Competition, the

San Francisco Contemporary Music Players The San Francisco Contemporary Music Players (SFCMP) is a performing arts organization and unionized chamber orchestra that commissions, performs, and records innovative new music from across cultures and stylistic traditions. SFCMP incorporated in ...

for their 2008-2009 season and a duo for flute and harp for Jonathan Keeble and Ann Yeung. Tharp has taught composition, orchestration, analysis and theory at the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of Californi ...

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 ...

and

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different b ...

Compositions

*"Wide sea, changeful heaven" for orchestra (2012) *"Red-winged Blackbird", for flute, violin, and viola (2012) *"Chaparral (Cantilena alla memoria di John Thow)" for flute and harp (2011) *"Anima Liberata", for soprano, cello, and piano (2010) *''San Francisco Night'', for eight players (2008) *''Vertiginous Lines'', for solo violin (2006) *''Fog Lines'', for solo viola (2006) *''Wavering Lines'', for solo cello (2006) *''Littoral'', for solo piano (2006) *''Mountains and Seas'', for piano and percussion (2005) *''Cold Horizon'', for chamber orchestra (2003-5) *''In Passing'', for chamber orchestra (2001) *''Cold'', for vibraphone and piano (2000, rev. 2002) *''Dis-moi vite'', for chamber ensemble (2000) *''A Backward Glance'', for 12 players (1999) *''Far and Away'', for string quartet (1998) *''Etching'', for cor anglais, clarinet, viola, and piano (1997) *''Drift'', for orchestra (1996) *''Three Fables'', for flute and string quartet (1996)

References

Faculty page at the University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignNational Endowment for the Arts Grant Awards list for 2008
* ttp://www.dailycal.org/sharticle.php?id=13249 Concert preview by the Daily Cal

External links

Listen to music by Reynold TharpReview of "San Francisco Night" by the Financial TimesReview of "San Francisco Night" by the San Francisco Classical VoiceReview of ''Mountains and Seas'' by the San Francisco Classical VoiceReview of ''Etching'' by the San Francisco Classical Voice
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tharp, Reynold 1973 births American male composers 21st-century American composers Living people Musicians from Indiana 21st-century American male musicians