Rodney Waschka II is an American composer known for his algorithmic compositions and his theatrical works.

Biography

Waschka studied at

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls about 15,000 undergraduate and 2,800 graduate students on a 35-acre campus. Being New York City's first publ ...

, at the

Institute of Sonology The Institute of Sonology is an education and research center for electronic music and computer music based at the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague in the Netherlands. Background The institute was founded at Utrecht University in 1960 under the n ...

, then newly part of the

Royal Conservatory of The Hague The Royal Conservatoire ( nl, Koninklijk Conservatorium, KC) is a conservatoire in The Hague, providing higher education in music and dance. The conservatoire was founded by King William I in 1826, making it the oldest conservatoire in the Netherl ...

, and earned his doctorate at the

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School," ...

. His teachers include Larry Austin at the University of North Texas, Charles Dodge (composer) at Brooklyn College, and

Paul Berg Paul Berg (born June 30, 1926) is an American biochemist and professor emeritus at Stanford University. He was the recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1980, along with Walter Gilbert and Frederick Sanger. The award recognized their con ...

Clarence Barlow Clarence Barlow (also Klarenz, born 27 December 1945) is a composer of classical and electroacoustic works. Career Barlow was one of the founders of Initiative Musik und Informatik Köln. In 1988 he was the director of music at the Internatio ...

Joel Ryan Joel or Yoel is a name meaning "Yahweh Is God" and may refer to: * Joel (given name), origin of the name including a list of people with the first name. * Joel (surname), a surname * Joel (footballer, born 1904), Joel de Oliveira Monteiro, Brazili ...

and

George Lewis (trombonist) George Emanuel Lewis (born July 14, 1952) is an American composer, performer, and scholar of experimental music. He has been a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians ( AACM) since 1971, when he joined the organization ...

at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague. He also studied with

Robert Ashley Robert Reynolds Ashley (March 28, 1930 – March 3, 2014) was an American composer, who was best known for his television operas and other theatrical works, many of which incorporate electronics and extended techniques. His works often involve ...

. His music has been performed throughout the world including numerous instances at the annual International Computer Music Conference, at the Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the US festival, at the

World Saxophone Congress The World Saxophone Congress is a festival gathering approximately 1000 saxophone, saxophonists and other musicians from all over the world. It is held every three years at a different congress centre in a different country and focuses primaril ...

in Montreal, and various other venues including Merkin Concert Hall in New York, the Sheremetev Palace and Glinka Hall in St. Petersburg, Russia, the International Review of Composers in Belgrade, the Purcell Room in London, Hong Kong City Hall, and the Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid. Currently, Rodney Waschka II is Director and Professor of Arts Studies at

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

and he is the director of the North Carolina Computer Music Festival.

Performances and publications

Waschka's performances and recordings are regularly reviewed in ''

Computer Music Journal ''Computer Music Journal'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that covers a wide range of topics related to digital audio signal processing and electroacoustic music. It is published on-line and in hard copy by MIT Press. The journal is accompa ...

'' (MIT Press), the ''Classical Voice of North Carolina'' and ''Fanfare''. Reviews have appeared in ''Journal SEAMUS'', ''

Technology Review ''MIT Technology Review'' is a bimonthly magazine wholly owned by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and editorially independent of the university. It was founded in 1899 as ''The Technology Review'', and was re-launched without "The" in ...

'', and other journals. A lengthy interview with Waschka appeared in ''21st-Century Music'', in December, 2007, conducted by Tom Moore. Waschka has written articles on techniques used in his music and on other topics. Explanations of his notable work on composing with genetic algorithms appear in the book, ''Evolutionary Computer Music''. He has performed music by Allen Strange,

Pertti Jalava Pertti Jalava (born 1960) is Finnish composer who has written numerous works for various chamber ensembles choral groups and orchestra, including five symphonies and a piano concerto. He wrote music for jazz and big band line-ups. Stylisticall ...

Mansoor Hosseini Mansoor Hosseini ( fa, منصور حسینی; born 1967) is an Iranian-Swedish percussionist and composer of classical music, born in Iran, who studied in Paris and Brussels. His works comprise chamber music and orchestral pieces. He founded the E ...

, himself, and others.

Discography

''Riding with Phil'', "Teth", Phasma Records, 2021. ''A Tuesday with Rodney'', Jeff Morris, composer; Waschka, performer, “Hearing Voices: Human Sounds, Digital Ears”, Ravello Records, 2020. ''Considering Jupiter'', Olga Kleiankina, piano, “...Our Passage To The Stars...”, Blue Griffin Records, 2019. ''Au Revoir, Svetozar'', Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, “Live From Prague”, Ablaze Records, 2017. ''Belgrade Overture'', Brno Philharmonic Orchestra, Mikel Toms, conductor, “Orchestral Masters”, Ablaze Records, 2013. ''Winter Concerto'', London Schubert Players chamber orchestra, Huw Morgan, trumpet soloist, “A European Odyssey”, Nimbus Records, 2013. ''Singing in Traffic'', Jonathan Kramer, cello, “CHASS Creates”, North Carolina State University, 2012. ''Winter Concerto'', the London Schubert Players chamber orchestra, Huw Morgan, trumpet soloist, “As You Like It”, RMA, 2013. ''Reminded of Dickens'', “60x60 2006-2007”, Vox Novus, 2008. ''String Quartet: Laredo'', ''Six Folksongs from an Imaginary Country'' (viola alone), ''Xuan Men'' (violin alone, Russian version), ''Ravel Remembers Fascism'' (cello alone), and ''String Quartet: Ha! Fortune''. The Nevsky String Quartet, "Music for Strings"

Capstone Records Capstone Records is an American classical music record label focusing particularly on contemporary classical music. It was established by Richard Brooks in 1986 and was based in Brooklyn, New York. The label has hundreds of releases featuring a w ...

, 2007. ''Singing in Traffic'', Steve Duke, saxophone, "Evolutionary Computation", Springer, 2007. ''Summer Concerto'', Phillip Barham, sax soloist, and the Tennessee Tech Symphony Band, Joseph Hermann, director, Arizona University Recordings, 2007. ''Saint Ambrose'' (opera), Steve Duke, saxophone,

, 2002. ''Still Life with Castanets'', "Presence III", PeP, 2002. ''Visions of Habakkuk'', Centaur Records, 1996. ''Xuan Men'', Bruce Berg, violin, Centaur Records, 1994. ''Help Me Remember'', Waschka, soloist, Centaur Records, 1993. ''Last Night'', Phillip Barham, sax, Yumi Mayama-Livesay, piano; Centaur Records, 1992. ''A Noite, Porem, Rangeu E Quebrou'', George Dimitri, string bass, Centaur Records, 1991. ''More Adult Music'' and ''This Is Music As It Was Expected'', Composer: Antonio Ferreira; Text: Waschka and Ferreira. Waschka (voice), "LOW FIDELITY MUSIC", Ama Romanta Records, 1988. Rereleased on Plancton Records, 2002. ''Euwe Suite'' and ''Runes'', "Cartography". IRIDA Records, 1986.

References

External links

CONSORTIUM TO DISTRIBUTE COMPUTER MUSIC

Rodney Waschka II website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waschka, Rodney, Ii Living people 20th-century classical composers 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century classical composers 21st-century American composers 21st-century American male musicians American male classical composers American classical composers Electroacoustic music composers Texas classical music Brooklyn College alumni North Carolina State University people North Carolina State University faculty Royal Conservatory of The Hague alumni University of North Texas College of Music alumni Year of birth missing (living people)