Thomas H. Wells (born January 8, 1945 in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

) is an American composer,

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational h ...

, and arts-organization administrator.

Biography

Thomas Wells began his formal composition studies at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,07 ...

in 1960 with Kent Kennan and

Clifton Williams Clifton Curtis Williams Jr. (September 26, 1932 – October 5, 1967), was an American naval aviator, test pilot, mechanical engineer, major in the United States Marine Corps, and NASA astronaut, who was killed in a plane crash; he never went in ...

. He received his

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 pre ...

(1966) and

D.M.A. The Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) is a doctoral academic degree in music. The DMA combines advanced studies in an applied area of specialization (usually music performance, music composition, or conducting) with graduate-level academic study in su ...

(1969) degrees from that institution, studying with Hunter Johnson. Wells founded the University of Texas Electronic Music Studio in 1967 and served as its director until 1975. He was accepted in

Karlheinz Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th-century classical music, 20th and early 21st-century ...

's Composition Studio in Darmstadt in 1968, and participated in the project '' Musik für ein Haus''. Wells joined the faculty of the

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

School of Music in 1976, and continues to teach there as Professor of Composition and Director of the Sound Synthesis Studios."Thomas Wells – Professor and Area Head, Composition"
Ohio State University School of Music In addition, he has served as guest professor and artist in residence at the

University of Novi Sad The University of Novi Sad ( sr, Универзитет у Новом Саду, Univerzitet u Novom Sadu; hu, Újvidéki Egyetem) is a public university in Novi Sad, Serbia. Alongside nationally prestigious University of Belgrade, University of ...

(Serbia), Johannes Gutenberg University (Mainz), and Ball State University. His works have been performed throughout the U.S., Europe, Japan, and Korea, and by orchestras and ensembles such as the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Spokane Symphony, Columbus Symphony, and the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble. He has received grants and commissions from the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

Ohio Arts Council The Ohio Arts Council (OAC) is an agency serving the U.S. state of Ohio. History Established in 1965, its mission is to "foster and encourage the development of the arts and assist the preservation of Ohio's cultural heritage." Each year it awar ...

, Ohio Humanities Council,

Pennsylvania Council on the Arts The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA) is an agency serving the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Its mission is to strengthen the cultural, educational, and economic vitality of Pennsylvania's communities through the arts. This mission is paired wit ...

, and the Texas Commission on the Arts. Wells received the Governor's Award in the State of Ohio for Outstanding Individual Artist in 1990. He hosted the 1984 Society of Composers National Conference ( Frank Zappa, keynote speaker), and the 1989

International Computer Music Conference The International Computer Music Conference (ICMC) is a yearly international conference for computer music researchers and composers. It is the annual conference of the International Computer Music Association (ICMA). History In 1986, the Inst ...

, both at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. He is active in the 1500-member Society of Composers, serving as its president from 2002 to the present.

Musical style and influences

Wells' instrumental music is strongly influenced by Varèse, Stockhausen, electroacoustic music, and

spectral music Spectral music uses the acoustic properties of sound – or sound spectra – as a basis for composition. Definition Defined in technical language, spectral music is an acoustic musical practice where compositional decisions are often inform ...

. When he was 18, Wells met Karlheinz Stockhausen and hearing that composer's electroacoustic music for the first time marked the foundation of Wells' aesthetics in that medium.

Selected compositions

*''Tango Orillero'' for piano (2011) 4' *''Souvenirs/Resolutions'' for trumpet ensemble (2011) 10' *Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Saxophone Octet (2010) 14' *''Premonitions'' for alto saxophone, computer-generated sounds (2010) 13' *''Mersenne's Dream'' for alto saxophone, computer-generated sounds (2009) 11' *''Sechs Trakl Gesänge'' for tenor, chorus, orchestra (2008) 45' *Concerto for Flute and Chamber Orchestra (2005) 30' *''Ehlecatl'' for flute solo (2003) 7' *''Riflessioni for Chamber Orchestra'' (2003) 12' *''Voces Intimae'', electroacoustic music (2003) *''Kisa'', electroacoustic music (2002) 8' *''Aus tiefer Not'' for clarinet solo (2001) 7' *''Adieu'' for wind ensemble (1999) 14' *''Into Darkness'', electroacoustic music (1997) 7' *''Threnos'' for saxophone quartet, percussion (1997) 12' *Concerto for Piano and Chamber Orchestra (1992) 28'

Discography

*Thomas Wells. 1987. ''11.2.72, Electronic Music''. CRI (LP), SD443 *Thomas Wells. 2002. ''Echoes from the Southern: A Ragtime Overture''. ''ProMusica: Live at the Southern''; ProMusica Chamber Orchestra of Columbus (CD 2001).

References

Sources *

External links