Gregory Spears
| Gregory Spears | |
|---|---|
| Born | Virginia |
| Residence | New York, New York |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Eastman School of Music, Yale University, Princeton University |
| Occupation | composer |
| Website |
www |
Gregory Spears is an American composer of instrumental and operatic works that blend aspects of romanticism, minimalism, and early music.[1] Among his best known works are the opera Paul’s Case and Requiem on New Amsterdam Records.[2]
Background
Spears grew up in Virginia. He attended Eastman School of Music, received a master's degree at Yale University, and earned his PH.D. at Princeton University.[3] He studied with Hans Abrahamsen and Per Nørgård while a Fulbright Scholar at the Royal Danish Academy of Music.[4]
Style
Spears’ music often draws on earlier musical styles processed through contemporary minimalist techniques.[5]
Heidi Waleson describes Spears’ compositional style in her Wall Street Journal review of the opera O Columbia: “Mr. Spears writes brilliantly for vocal ensembles. Starting with neoclassical-style clarity, he builds textured, complex musical structures that sound old and new at the same time, and his skillful text settings use minimalist-like repetition to give Mr. Vavrek's pointed, thoughtful words even more power and emotional specificity.”[6]
Steve Smith, in his New York Times review of the opera Paul's Case, based on the Willa Cather short story of the same title, describes the score: “Mr. Spears’s elegantly spare music, with its gamelan-redolent modes and clockwork repetitions, Baroque vocal fillips, intricately woven ensembles and dramatically placed dissonances, further infuses the tale with a sense of ritual and inevitability.”[7]
David Patrick Stearns, in his Philadelphia Inquirer review of Spears' Requiem, describes his musical influences: "Spears intersperses the swan myth with the requiem text, much of it reflecting lyrical Baltic influences of Arvo Pärt, but with a young composer's restlessness. The swan's song is speculatively re-created with otherworldly vocal ornaments. The piece also contains counterpoint that echoes 16th-century madrigals as well as a modern sense of theatrical timing that keeps your ears on edge until the last note."[8]
Selected works
Opera
- Fellow Travelers, world premiere at Cincinnati Opera, Libretto by Greg Pierce, 2016[9]
- O Columbia, commissioned by Houston Grand Opera, Libretto by Royce Vavrek, 2015[6]
- Paul's Case, world premiere at UrbanArias, Libretto by Kathryn Walat, 2013[10]
- Wolf in Skins, work-in-progress with choreographer and librettist Christopher Williams[11]
- The Bricklayer, commissioned by Houston Grand Opera, Libretto by Farnoosh Moshiri, 2012[12]
Chorus and Orchestra
- A New Sanctus, Benedictus, and Agnus Dei for the Mozart Requiem, commissioned by Seraphic Fire and the Firebird Chamber Orchestra, 2013[13]
Large Chamber Ensemble
- Virginiana, commissioned by The Damask Ensemble and New Vintage Baroque, 2015[14]
- Requiem, commissioned by Christopher Williams Dances and released by New Amsterdam Records, 2010[8]
Small Chamber Ensemble
- Our Lady, written for Ryland Angel and The Sebastian Chamber Players, 2011[15]
- Buttonwood, commissioned by the JACK Quartet, 2010[16]
References
- ↑ "Profile Gregory Spears". New Music USA. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
- ↑ "Spears Requiem — New Amsterdam Records". New Amsterdam Records. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
- ↑ "Gregory Spears 02 MM wins Carlos Surinach Commission - Yale School of Music". Yale School of Music. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
- ↑ website= Schott Music. "Schott Music - Gregory Spears - Profile". Retrieved 2015-11-24.
- ↑ Ross, Alex (2014-02-03). "The Opera Lab - The New Yorker". newyorker.com. The New Yorker. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
- 1 2 Waleson, Heidi (2015-09-28). "‘O Columbia’ and ‘Sweeney Todd’ Reviews - WSJ". wsj.com. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
- ↑ Smith, Steve (2014-01-10). "Prototype Presents Operatic Version of ‘Paul’s Case’ - The New York Times". nytimes.com. The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
- 1 2 Stearns, David Patrick (2011-11-13). "New Recordings - philly-archives". articles.philly.com. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
- ↑ "Home Cincinnati Opera". cincinnatiopera.org. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
- ↑ Catlin, Roger (2013-04-22). "Skillful singers bring a short story to life in UrbanArias ‘Paul’s Case’ - The Washington Post". washingtonpost.com. The Washington Post. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
- ↑ Stearns, David Patrick (2013-01-21). "Beasts of a musical wild - philly-archives". articles.philly.com. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
- ↑ Waleson, Heidi (2012-03-19). "The Bricklayer - Houston Grand Opera - A Glimpse Behind the Wall - Opera Review by Heidi Waleson - WSJ". wsj.com. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
- ↑ Fleshler, David (2013-11-16). "South Florida Classical Review - Seraphic Fire's premiere of complete Mozart Requiem effectively blends old and new". southfloridaclassicalreview.com. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
- ↑ Prisco, Jaime (2015-02-19). "New Vintage Baroque, Damask Ensemble Tour". classicalite.com. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
- ↑ "PSNY: Gregory Spears - Our Lady". eamdc.com. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
- ↑ "PSNY: Gregory Spears - Buttonwood". eamdc.com. Retrieved 2015-11-24.