Eric Ewazen [
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Eric Ewazen was born in 1954 in Cleveland, Ohio. Receiving a B.M. At the Eastman School of Music, and M.M. and D.M.A. degrees from The Juilliard School, his teachers include Milton Babbitt, Samuel Adler, Warren Benson, Joseph Schwantner and Gunther Schuller. He is a recipient of numerous composition awards and prizes. His works have been commissioned and performed by many soloists, chamber ensembles and orchestras in the U.S. and overseas. His works are recorded on Summit Records, d'Note Records, CRS Records, New World, Clique Track, Helicon, Hyperion, Cala, Albany and Emi Classics. Two of his solo CD's featuring his chamber music are available on Well-Tempered Productions. Three additional solo CD's, one featuring his orchestral music, another his music for low brass instruments, and a third, his music for string orchestra, are available on Albany Records. A sixth solo CD of his music for percussion is available on Resonator Records.
New World Records has released his concerto for brass quintet, "Shadowcatcher" with the American Brass Quintet and The Juilliard Wind Ensemble, conducted by Mark Gould of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. Individual works of Eric Ewazen have recently been released by the Ahn Trio, Julie Giacobassi of the San Francisco Symphony, Charles Vernon of the Chicago Symphony, Koichiro Yamamoto of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Ronald Barron of the Boston Symphony, Doug Yeo of the Boston Symphony, Steve Witser of the Cleveland Orchestra, Joe Alessi and Philip Smith of the New York Philharmonic, the Horn Section of the New York Philharmonic, the Summit Brass Ensemble and the American Brass Quintet.
His music is published by Southern Music Company, International Trombone Association Manuscript Press, Keyboard Publications, Manduca Music, Encore Music, Triplo Music, and Brass Ring Editions. Recent works include "Legacy" commissioned for the Bi-Centennial of West Point and performed by the USMA Band in Carnegie Hall and "Flight", commissioned by the USAF Heritage of America Band at Langley AFB, VA, celebrating the 100th anniversary of powered flight. Recent premieres of his Orchestral and Wind Ensemble works have been given by the Charleston (SC) Symphony, West Virginia Symphony, Orquesta Sinfonica de Tenerife in Spain, Orquesta Sinfonica Carlos Chavez in Mexico City, Orchestre de la Garde Republicaine in Paris, the Jeju Music Festival Wind Ensemble in Korea and the Moment Musicale Orchestra of Taiwan. Recent Wind ensemble premieres include his Bassoon Concerto for the University of Florida, a Euphonium Concerto (for Robert Grechesky and the Butler University Wind Ensemble), “Visions of Light” for Joseph Alessi and the Indiana University Wind Ensemble. He was also commissioned to write a Trumpet Concerto, "Danzante", for Allen Vizzutti by CBDNA which was premiered in Reno, NV in March, 2004 by the Intercollegiate Wind Ensemble. In January “Southern Landscapes” was premiered by the University of Georgia Wind Ensemble at the GMEA in Savannah. Orchestral performances of Mr. Ewazen's music have recently been given by the Juilliard Symphony, Stow Chamber Orchestra (OH), Flower Mound Chamber Orchestra (TX), Birmingham (UK) Philharmonic, Illinois Symphony, Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon Le'Zion, Honolulu Symphony, Mankato (MN) Symphony and the Everett (WA) Symphony. He has been a guest at almost 100 Universities and colleges throughout the world in recent years including, Curtis, Eastman, Peabody, Indiana U., UCLA, U. of Texas, U. of Hawaii, Birmingham (UK) Conservatory, the Conservatory of Santa Cruz (Spain) and Boston Conservatory. During the past season, he has been a guest at Appalachian State U., Tenn. Tech. U., Murray State, U. of MI, Emory University, Laval University in Quebec, U. of GA, U. of Washington in Seattle, Rutgers, Butler U., University of Northern Iowa, Brevard College, U. of MI and Cal. Poly Tech. Also during the past season, his music has been performed by the Orchestre National de Lille in France, the Milano Classica Sinfonica in Italy, the Brisbane Philharmonic in Australia, South Arkansas Symphony, Stow Chamber Orchestra, the Midland-Odessa Symphony, and in June he will be a guest at the 2005 International Trumpet Guild Festival, held at Mahidol University in Bangkok, Thailand, where his Rhapsody for trumpets and orchestra will be premiered by the Bangkok Philharmonic.
In July he will be a guest at the WASBE (World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles) in Singapore, where his music will be performed by the University of Florida. During the 2005-2006 season, the Alabama Symphony will be premiering a song cycle for Soprano and Orchestra, the U. of NC-Pembroke will be premiering a new work for chorus and wind ensemble, and there will be concerts of his music in the Loire Valley in France in April, 2006. He has been lecturer for the New York Philharmonic's Musical Encounters Series, Vice-President of the League of Composers--International Society of Contemporary Music, and Composer-In-Residence with the Orchestra of St. Luke's in New York City. He has been a faculty member at Juilliard since 1980.
James Stephenson [
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James Stephenson's music is the complete package: a fresh and energizing sound scape that delights the audience while maintaining integrity and worthwhile challenges for the performing musicians. This rare combination has rewarded Stephenson with ongoing commissions and projects. Current collaborations include a concerto for Branford Marsalis with Rodney Mack; a work for the Houston Symphony,; a concerto for the Philadelphia Orchestra's principal trombonist, Nitzan Haroz; a piano/trumpet concerto for Lisa Leonard and Marc Reese; and a new work for the Bozeman Symphony.
Stephenson's music has been performed by many of today's leading orchestras, including the Cleveland Orchestra, the symphonies of Houston, Atlanta, Detroit, Baltimore, Oregon, Jacksonville, the Rochester Philharmonic, Florida Orchestra, and the Naples Philharmonic. His music has been conducted by such notables as Gustavo Dudamel, Jorge Mester, Fabio Mechetti and Thomas Wilkins. His symphonic arrangements have been performed by almost every leading orchestra in the U.S. A diverse sampling of individuals who have performed Stephenson's works would include Pinchas Zukerman, Denyce Graves, Jennifer Frautschi, the Chicago Symphony String Quartet, Empire Brass members Marc Reese, Mark Hetzler and Greg Miller, and even the Pointer Sisters and 98 Degrees. Stephenson's music appears on many artists' recordings, including those of Jouko Harjanne, Eric Berlin, Richard Watson, the Christy Quartet, Musicians-out-of-the-Box and his own, Colors, released in 2002.
Stephenson's commitment to music for young audiences resulted in his landmark educational work: Compose Yourself! This interactive and informative introduction to the symphony orchestra has been performed over 125 times nationwide since its 2002 premiere.
Increasingly in demand for his passionate work with young musicians, Stephenson has appeared as resident composer at many festivals, including the Las Vegas Music Festival, the Southern Illinois Music Festival, and most recently he was featured at Lynn University's Contemporary Music Festival in Boca Raton, FL and the St. Barts (French West Indies) Music Festival. A similar highlight of 2007 involves three brass conferences in three weeks, one of which being ITG's National Conference, including two world premieres, and a showcase of Stephenson's brass compositions.
Stephenson studied at the New England Conservatory of Music, where he earned his Bachelor of Music with distinction in trumpet performance. His wife, Sally, is a performing violinist, and they have four children.
For a complete listing of Stephenson's works, written for many genres, please browse this website.
Michael Davis
Mike Davis is currently pursuing his D.M.A. in Wind Conducting at Texas Christian University and is a conducting student of Bobby R. Francis. Prior to attending TCU, Mr. Davis pursued his Master of Music Degree with emphasis in Wind Conducting with Dr. Jack Delaney at Southern Methodist University. His Bachelor’s Degree in Music with Honors is from The University of Texas at Austin. Mr. Davis has twenty years of teaching experience in the public school system in Texas from Murchison Middle School in Austin, Texas to Parkhill Junior High School in Richardson Texas, and most recently at Coppell High School in Coppell Texas as Associate Director of Bands.
Active as a composer and arranger, Mr. Davis has received several commissions from SMU’s Meadows Wind Ensemble – most recently arrangements for wind ensemble for their acclaimed concert in 2009, “Elvis has Left the Building,” and The Wooden Angel Concert, an original five movement work for orchestral winds and percussion, which will receive its premier this year. The Plano based trombone choir, Slideshow, performs the premier of his Cathedral Music for double trombone choir, soprano, harp and percussion in this concert. Also this semester at TCU, a student quintet will perform his UTopia Fanfare for brass quintet.
Mr. Davis’s professional affiliations include Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Bandmasters Association, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Pi Kappa Lambda, the International Trumpet Guild, and ASCAP.