Roger Bourland (born December 13, 1952) is an American composer, publisher, blogger, and Professor-Emeritus of Music at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music.

Biography

Born in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...

, Bourland received a

Bachelor of Music Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consists of prescr ...

in Music Theory and Composition (1976) from the

University of Wisconsin, Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

, studying with Leslie Thimmig and Randall Snyder; a Master of Music in Music Composition (1978) from the

New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music Music school, conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The ...

, studying with

William Thomas McKinley William Thomas McKinley (December 9, 1938 – February 3, 2015) was an American composer and jazz pianist born in New Kensington, Pennsylvania). He wrote more than 300 musical compositions in what he called a neo-tonal style, of which Margalit Fo ...

and

Donald Martino Donald James Martino (May 16, 1931 – December 8, 2005) was a Pulitzer Prize winning American composer. Biography Born in Plainfield, New Jersey, Martino attended Plainfield High School. He began as a clarinetist, playing jazz for fun and p ...

; and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

and Ph.D. in Music Composition from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, studying with

Randall Thompson Randall Thompson (April 21, 1899 – July 9, 1984) was an American composer, particularly noted for his choral works. Career Randall attended The Lawrenceville School, where his father was an English teacher. He then attended Harvard University, ...

Earl Kim Earl Kim (1920–1998; née Eul Kim) was an American composer, and music pedagogue. He was of Korean–descent. Early life, education, and training Kim was born on January 6, 1920 in Dinuba, California, to immigrant Korean parents. He began p ...

and

Leon Kirchner Leon Kirchner (January 24, 1919 – September 17, 2009) was an American composer of contemporary classical music. He was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and he won a Pulitzer Pr ...

. Bourland studied at

Tanglewood Tanglewood is a music venue in the towns of Lenox and Stockbridge in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. It has been the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1937. Tanglewood is also home to three music schools: the T ...

with

Gunther Schuller Gunther Alexander Schuller (November 22, 1925June 21, 2015) was an American composer, conductor, horn player, author, historian, educator, publisher, and jazz musician. Biography and works Early years Schuller was born in Queens, New York City, ...

and was awarded the Koussevitzky Prize in Composition (1978). Other awards include the John Knowles Paine Fellowship (Harvard), two

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

Grants to Young Composers, numerous

Meet the Composer New Music USA is a new music organization formed by the merging of the American Music Center with Meet The Composer on November 8, 2011. The new organization retains the granting programs of the two former organizations as well as two media progra ...

s grants, and was a co-founder of the Boston-based consortium " Composers in Red Sneakers." Bourland has composed over one hundred fifty works for all media: film, solo, instrumental, chamber, vocal and choral music, electro-acoustic music, and music for orchestra, wind ensemble, and other large ensembles. From 1983 to 2013, Bourland taught composition, music theory, analysis, orchestration, electro-acoustic composition, and other classes and seminars in the

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

Herb Alpert School of Music. He was awarded the UCLA Distinguished Teaching Award for 2005-6, and served as Chair of the

UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, located on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles, is “the first school of music to be established in the University of California system.” Established in 2007 under the purview of the U ...

, Department of Music from 2007-2011. Professor Bourland retired from UCLA in 2013 and moved to Northern California to devote his time to composition.

Selected compositions

OPERA

*''Homer in Cyberspace'' (2009) Book and lyrics by

Mel Shapiro Mel Shapiro is an American theatre director and writer, college professor, and author. Trained at Carnegie-Mellon University, Shapiro began his professional directing career at the Pittsburgh Playhouse and then as resident director at Arena Stage i ...

(music theater)

Cantatas

*''The Crocodile's Christmas Ball and other odd tales'' (2002) for chorus, soloists and wind ensemble; lyrics by William MacDuff *''Rosarium'' (1999) for soloists, chorus and orchestra; libretto by William MacDuff *''Flashpoint/Stonewall'' (1994) for chorus, soloists, four synthesizers, bass and drums; libretto b
John Hall
*''Letters to the Future'' (1993) for chorus, soloists, three synthesizers, bass and drums; poems by

Francisco X. Alarcón Francisco Xavier Alarcón (21 February 1954 – 15 January 2016) was a Chicano poet and educator. He was one of the few Chicano poets to have "gained recognition while writing mostly in Spanish" within the United States. His poems have been also ...

May Swenson Anna Thilda May "May" Swenson (May 28, 1913 – December 4, 1989) was an American poet and playwright. Harold Bloom considered her one of the most important and original poets of the 20th century. The first child of Margaret and Dan Arthur Sw ...

Adrienne Rich Adrienne Cecile Rich ( ; May 16, 1929 – March 27, 2012) was an American poet, essayist and feminist. She was called "one of the most widely read and influential poets of the second half of the 20th century", and was credited with bringing "th ...

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...

James Merrill James Ingram Merrill (March 3, 1926 – February 6, 1995) was an American poet. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1977 for ''Divine Comedies.'' His poetry falls into two distinct bodies of work: the polished and formalist lyri ...

J. D. McClatchy J. D. "Sandy" McClatchy (August 12, 1945 – April 10, 2018) was an American poet, opera librettist and literary critic. He was editor of the ''Yale Review'' and president of The American Academy of Arts and Letters. Life McClatchy was born ...

and

Thom Gunn Thomson William "Thom" Gunn (29 August 1929 – 25 April 2004) was an English poet who was praised for his early verses in England, where he was associated with The Movement, and his later poetry in America, even after moving towards a looser, ...

*''Hidden Legacies'' (1992) for chorus, soloists, four synthesizers, bass and drums; libretto b
John Hall

Orchestra, Chamber orchestra, Wind ensemble

*''El Ruisenor Mexicano'' (2016) for orchestra *''Poem'' (2006) for piano and orchestra *''The Night Train'' (2004) for marimba, tom-toms, violin, viola, violoncello, double bass, flute and alto flute, harp, and strings *''Trauermusik'' (2003) for wind ensemble (By W.A Mozart, orchestrated by Roger Bourland) *''Ozma'' (1996) for orchestra; orchestration for wind ensemble (2003) *''Mirabell Jam'' (1992) for orchestra *''Rivers in the Sky'' (1988) for wind ensemble *''Scenes from Gauguin'' (1987) for orchestra *''Broken Arrows'' (1986) for EVI and EWI instruments designed by Nyle Steiner (EVI), four Yamaha

DX7 The Yamaha DX7 is a synthesizer manufactured by the Yamaha Corporation from 1983 to 1989. It was the first successful digital synthesizer and is one of the best-selling synthesizers in history, selling more than 200,000 units. In the early 19 ...

s, and jazz ensemble *''Serenade No.1: Far in the Night'' (1983) for soprano saxophone, bassoon, harp, and strings *''Cantilena'' (1983) for string orchestra *''Scenes from Redon'' (1982) for orchestra *''Sweet Alchemy'' (1980) for orchestra *''Clarinet Rhapsody'' (1979) for clarinet and orchestra *''Jackson Pollock in Memoriam'' (1978) for orchestra

Choral music

*''Healy Madrigals'' (2009) for SSAA; poems by

Eloise Klein Healy Eloise Klein Healy (born 1943) is an American poet. She has published five books of poetry and three chapbooks. Her collection of poems, ''Passing'', was a finalist for the 2003 Lambda Literary Awards in Poetry and the Audre Lorde Award from The ...

*''Alarcón Madrigals, Book 3'' (2006) for SSAA; poems by

*''A More Perfect Union'' (2005) for TTBB and piano; lyrics b
Philip Littell
*''Alarcón Madrigals, Book 2'' (2002) for SSAA; poems by Francisco X. Alarcón *''Keeping the Ocean Free'' (2000) for SATB and piano; lyrics by William MacDuff *''Spiritual Gifts'' (2000) for SATB and organ; lyrics by Roger Bourland *''Fa La La (Blah, Blah, Blah)'' (1998) for TTBB, SATB, or SSAA and piano; lyrics by William MacDuff *''Look Behind our Song'' (1996) for TTBB, and piano; lyrics b
John Hall
*''The Acts of Love'' (1995) for men's chorus; poem by Michael J. Lafferty *''Alarcón Madrigals, Book 1'' (1993) for SSAA or SATB; poems by Francisco X. Alarcón *''All there is is love'' (1993) for TTBB; text by

Paul Monette Paul Landry Monette (October 16, 1945 – February 10, 1995) was an American author, poet, and activist best known for his books about gay relationships. Early life and career Monette was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, and graduated from Phil ...

*''The Son of God Was Singing'' (1987) for SATB and organ or piano; lyrics by Roger Bourland *''Christmas Introit'' (1987) for SATB and organ or piano; lyrics by Roger Bourland *''Dickinson Madrigals, Book 3'' (1985) for TTBB; poems by

Emily Dickinson Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry. Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massach ...

*''Psalm 47'', a setting of

Psalm 47 Psalm 47 is the 47th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "O clap your hands". The Book of Psalms is the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and a book of the Christian Old Testament. In the slightly differ ...

(1983) for SATB *''His Spirit Lives'' (1983) for SATB; poem by

Amos Niven Wilder Amos Niven Wilder (September 18, 1895 – May 4, 1993) was an American poet, minister, and theology professor. Life Wilder was born in Madison, Wisconsin. He studied for two years at Oberlin College (1913–1915), but volunteered in the AF ...

*''Antiphon'' (1983) for SATB; poem by

George Herbert George Herbert (3 April 1593 – 1 March 1633) was an English poet, orator, and priest of the Church of England. His poetry is associated with the writings of the metaphysical poets, and he is recognised as "one of the foremost British devoti ...

*''Dickinson Madrigals, Book 2'' (1983) for SSAA; poems by Emily Dickinson *''Dickinson Madrigals, Book 1'' (1980) for SSAA; poems by Emily Dickinson *''Twelve New Hymns'' (1980) for SATB; lyrics b
Gary Bachlund
*''Garden Abstract'' (1976) for SSSAAA (2 sopranos, 2 mezzo-sopranos, 2 altos); poem by

Hart Crane Harold Hart Crane (July 21, 1899 – April 27, 1932) was an American poet. Provoked and inspired by T. S. Eliot, Crane wrote modernist poetry that was difficult, highly stylized, and ambitious in its scope. In his most ambitious work, '' The Brid ...

*''Three Clouds'' (1975) for mixed chorus; lyrics by Roger Bourland (For large-scale choral works, see ''Cantatas'' below)

Chamber music

*''Four Poets'' (2005) for string quartet *''Emily'' (2005) for string quartet, bass, and banjo *''Four Painters'' (2001) for violin, viola, cello, piano *''Stories We Tell'' (1998) for four cellos *''American Baroque'' (1992) for violin, cello, piano *''Three Arias'' (1989) for viola or cello and piano *''Recent Dreams'' (1989) for horn, violin, piano *''Aesop, the Peasant'' (1987) for speaker, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano; texts b
V.A. Kolve
*''Serenade No.2: Paintings'' (1986) for violin, cello, piano, flute, clarinet in Bb *''Saxophone Quintet'' (1984) for soprano saxophone, string quartet *''Montana Suite'' (1984) for string quartet *''Dances from the Sacred Harp'' (1983) for flute, alto fl. in G, piccolo, clarinet in Bb, piano, violin, viola, cello, percussion *''Nostos'' (1982) for flute, alto flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, soprano saxophone, alto saxophone *''Stone Quartet'' (1982) for soprano sax, viola, cello, and piano *''Cantilena'' (1981) for flute, soprano sax, or clarinet in Bb and organ *''Three Dark Paintings'' (1981) for strings, soprano sax, viola and piano *''The Death of Narcissus'' (1980) for piano, strings, and wind ensemble *''Beowulf Trio'' (1979) for flute, violin, cello *''Personae'' (1978) for cello, bass (in solo tuning) *''Seven Pollock Paintings'' (1978) for flute, clarinet, soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, tam tam, violin, viola, cello, bass

Songs

Keyboard music

Composer for Motion Pictures and TVIMDB entries for Roger Bourland
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References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bourland, Roger 1952 births 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers American male bloggers American bloggers American male classical composers Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni New England Conservatory alumni American LGBT composers LGBT classical composers Living people UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music faculty 21st-century American composers 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians