Curriculum Vitae
Karim Al-Zand Associate Professor of Composition and Theory Rice University, Shepherd School of Music–MS 532 6100 Main St., Houston TX 77005-1892 tel.: (713) 348-3740 | email: [email protected] | web: www.alzand.com
EDUCATION Ph.D. 2000 Harvard University Music B.Mus. 1993 McGill University Theory and Composition/Piano Concentration; high honors
EMPLOYMENT Associate Professor of Composition and Theory (2009–present) Rice University, Shepherd School of Music, Houston TX Assistant Professor of Composition and Theory (2002–2009) Rice University, Shepherd School of Music, Houston TX Visiting Assistant Professor of Composition and Theory (2000–2002) Rice University, Shepherd School of Music, Houston TX
AWARDS & HONORS 2011 Arts and Letters Award in Music (American Academy of Arts and Letters) awarded to acknowledge a composer as an “artist who has arrived at his/her own voice” 2007 Rudolph Nissim Prize, ASCAP special distinction awarded for City Scenes 2006 Louisville Orchestra Competition Prize awarded for The Seventh Voyage of Sindbad National Association of Teachers of Singing, Art Song Competition second prize awarded for The Secret of Your Heart San Francisco Art Song Competition for Composers finalist for The Sky With All Its Stars National ArtSong Competition, American Composers Forum and The Schubert Club awarded for The Secret of Your Heart 2005 American Modern Ensemble Composition Competition awarded for The Secret Of Your Heart San Francisco Art Song Competition for Composers finalist for The Secret Of Your Heart Long Island Arts Council, Second International Composition Contest finalist for Variations for viola and piano 2003 Sackler Prize in Music Composition, University of Connecticut awarded $20,000 prize and commission 2003 Prize for Excellence in Chamber Music, Tampa Bay Composers Forum awarded second prize for String Quartet No. 2 ‘Etudes’ 2000 Annual ASCAP Plus Awards –present Karim Al-Zand c.v., p. 2
COMMISSIONS
2017 Ensemble United Berlin, Dietrich Henschel, baritone: Die Mistel: [Premiere December 2018]
2016 Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music: The Prisoner; commissioned by Diane and Dick Klein; Cristian Macelaru, cond. Jonathan Lemalu, baritone; Premiere August 12, 2017
2015 Shepherd School of Music: Ring the Bells at Break of Day; commissioned for the 40th anniversary of the Shepherd School of Music; Premiere December 6, 2016
2015 Music in Context: Stomping Grounds; commissioned through funds from Houston Arts Alliance; Premiere October 25, 2015 2014 River Oaks Chamber Orchestra: Cicada; Premiere October 28, 2014
2014 Musiqa and Houston Cinema Arts Society: Cinderella; commissioned through funds from New Music USA; Premiere January 10, 2015 2013 Chintimini Music Festival: Canticle and Caprice; commissioned through funds from New Music USA; Premiere June 29, 2014 2013 River Oaks Chamber Orchestra: That Cuckoo Who Sang; Premiere October 23, 2013
2013 Museaux Trio: Studies in Nature; commissioned through funds from Portland State University; Premiere Fall, 2014 2013 Apollo Chamber Players: Fantasy on Bulgarian Rhythms; commissioned through funds from Houston Arts Alliance; Premiere September 22, 2013 2012 River Oaks Chamber Orchestra: These Days of Springtime; Premiere October 30, 2012 2012 Exorior Duo: Duo for flute and cello; Commissioned through funds from Memorial University, Newfoundland; Premiere March 3, 2012 2011 River Oaks Chamber Orchestra and Houston Chamber Choir; G. F. Handel’s Messiah: The Pre-Game Show (a theatrical work for children); Premiere December 3, 2011 2011 River Oaks Chamber Orchestra: Longing and Loss; Premiere October 25, 2011 2010 Musiqa: BeatBox (for Musiqa ReMix children’s show); commissioned with funds from National Endowment for the Arts; Premiere December 7, 2010 2010 Ensemble Pi: Swimmy based on the children’s picture book by Leo Lionni; Premiere March 13, 2010 2010 Beausejour Trio: Quelques Fleurs Premiere July 23, 2010. Commissioned by ArtsNB (New Brunswick, Canada) 2008 River Oaks Chamber Orchestra: Visions from Another World; commissioned through funds from the Cultural Arts Councils of Houston and Harris County; Premiere October 11 & 12, 2008 2008 Renée B. Fisher Piano Competition: Two Pattern Preludes, compulsory piece for Elementary/Middle School Division; Premiere May 16, 2009 2007 Laguna Beach Music Festival: The Art of Conversation (for the Enso String Quartet); Premiere March 29, 2007 2006 The Fischer Duo: Tableau and Details for ensemble’s 30th anniversary. Premiere October 26, 2006 2005 James Dunham & Ben Kamins: Three Character Pieces; Premiere March 6, 2006 2004 Scott Smithline: My Heart, the Bird of the Wilderness as part of “Valentine’s Day Commissions,” a fundraiser for Musiqa; Premiere February 14, 2004 2003 The Sackler Composition Prize: Concertino for Trumpet for soloist James Ackley. Premiere March 27, 2004 2003 Wreckhouse Winds: Four Fables for Atlantic Canada Tour; Premiere October 23, 2003 2002 Orchestra X Houston: The Seventh Voyage of Sindbad a tone poem for orchestra; Premiere March 30, 2003 Karim Al-Zand c.v., p. 3
WORK LIST (2008–2017)
2017 █ The Prisoner orchestra, bass voice soloist; 28 minutes commissioned by the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music
█ Visions from Another World (transcription for sinfonietta) flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone, percussion, piano, harp, strings; 13 minutes
█ Capriccio No. 6 violin; 2 minutes for Apollo Chamber Players 10th anniversary season
2016 █ Luctus Profugis string orchestra; 6 minutes
█ Ring the Bells at Break of Day orchestra flute, harp, viola; 6 minutes commissioned by the Rice University for the 40th Anniversary of the Shepherd School of Music
2015 █ Stomping Grounds clarinet, violin, piano; 16 minutes
commissioned by Music in Context with funds from the Houston Arts Alliance █ Tarantella piano; 5 minutes commissioned by Calogero Di Liberto █ Pattern Preludes, Book 4 piano; 10 minutes
2014 █ Cinderella (score for the Lotte Reiniger 1922 silent film) flute, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, percussion, string quartet; 13 minutes collaboration with Houston Cinema Arts Society, through funds from New Music USA █ Studies in Nature (after illustrations of Ernst Haeckel) flute, harp, viola; 12 minutes commissioned by the Museaux Trio █ Canticle and Caprice violin, viola, cello; 8 minutes commissioned by the Chintimini Music Festival through funds from New Music USA 2013 █ Fantasy on Bulgarian Rhythms string quartet; 8 minutes commissioned through funds from the Houston Arts Alliance █ Hollows and Dells viola, piano; 12 minutes █ Paganini Reverie piano; 5 minutes commissioned by Christopher Janwong McKiggan
█ El Martillo 3 percussionist; 3 minutes 2012 █ Orange Torches Against the Rain (poems of flowers and rain on texts by Amy Lowell) mezzo-soprano, piano; 14 minutes Karim Al-Zand c.v., p. 4
WORK LIST (2008–2017) CONT.
(2012) █ Duo flute, cello; 12 minutes commissioned by Memorial University, Newfoundland, Canada █ Twelve Tanka baritone, oboe, viola, cello; 10 minutes 2011 █ Longing and Loss (2 tanka by Izumi Shikibu) soprano, viola, cello, oboe; 3 minutes commissioned by River Oaks Chamber Orchestra █ Capriccio No. 5 violin; 2 minutes █ G. F. Handel’s Messiah: the post-game show (a theatrical work for young audiences) actor, SATB choir, baritone, tenor, chamber orchestra; 45 minutes commission by River Oaks Chamber Orchestra and Houston Chamber Choir █ The Spinning Ballerina (based on an illustration by J. J. Grandville) chamber orchestra: 1111 1100; pno, hp, 2 perc, 2 vln, vla, vc, cb; 6 minutes █ Fanfare 3 6 trumpets; 2 minutes 2010 █ Swimmy (based on the children’s book by Leo Lionni) narrator, clarinet, piano, violin, cello; 6 minutes commissioned by Ensemble π █ Quelques Fleurs clarinet, cello, piano; 12 minutes commissioned by Beauséjour Trio █ Beat Box clarinet, trumpet, piano, percussion; 5 minutes commissioned by Musiqa with funding from the NEA █ Fanfare 2 (for McMurtry College dedication) 6 trumpets; 2 minutes 2009 █ Cabinet of Curiosities clarinet, piano; 15 minutes international consortium commission of 20 clarinetists █ Pattern Preludes, Book 3 piano; 9 minutes █ Capriccio violin; 3 minutes 2008 █ Visions from Another World (after illustrations of J. J. Grandville) chamber orchestra: 2*22*2 2110; hp, harpsichord, 3 perc, strings; 12 minutes commissioned by River Oaks Chamber Orchestra
█ Two Preludes piano; 4 minutes commissioned by Renée B. Fisher Piano Competition █ Pattern Preludes, Book 2 piano; 10 minutes Karim Al-Zand c.v., p. 5
GRANTS 2014 New Music USA, Project Grant 2014 Houston Arts Alliance, Individual Artist Grant 2013 New Music USA, Project Grant 2010 Meet the Composer; MetLife Creative Connections Grant 2008 Individual Artist Grant/Fellowship, Houston Arts Alliance 2007 Grant to Professional Musicians, Canada Council for the Arts 2003 Jory Copying Assistance Program, American Music Center 2002 Brown Grant for Innovative Teaching, Rice University 2002– Awards for Musiqa include: 5 Consecutive NEA Art Works Grants; 2013 CMA/ASCAP Award for present Adventurous Programming; 2012 CMA Commissioning Grant; Aaron Copland Fund for Music; (see www.musiqahouston.org)
RECORDINGS
█ Visions from Another World River Oaks Chamber Orchestra; recording August 2017, to be released Spring 2018, Naxos
█ [Chamber Works] in progress (to include Orange Torches Against the Rain, Canticle and Caprice, Cinderella, Quelques Fleurs, Luctus Profugis, Studies in Nature) Albany Records
█ Museaux Trio TROY 1581 Albany Records; (Studies in Nature) Museaux Trio: Sidney Carlson (fl), Denise Fujikawa (hp), Brian Quincey (vla))
█ Paganimania TROY 1543, Albany Records (Paganini Reverie) Christopher Janwong McKiggan (pno)
█ Connections Guild GMCD 7414 (Hollows and Dells) Ivo-Jan van der Werff, (vla) Simon Marlow (pno) █ Tagoriana Albany Records TROY1503 (Tagore Love Songs) Aidan Soder (mezzo), Paul Busselberg (bar), Calogero Di Liberto (pno) █ European Folkscapes Novana NV5941 (Fantasy on Bulgarian Rhythms) Apollo Chamber Players █ The Art of Conversation: Karim Al-Zand, Chamber Music Vol. 2 Albany Records TROY 1406 (includes Imaginary Scenes, Capriccios, Art of Conversation, Variations); various performers █ New American Piano Music Albany Records TROY1288; (Pattern Preludes (books 2 & 3) Ryan Fogg (pno) █ Karim Al-Zand: Chamber Music Albany Records TROY113, 2009 (Pattern Preludes (book 1), Lamentation on The Disasters of War, Leila; Duet, Tableau and Details); various performers █ Tromba Mundi MS 1320 MSR Classics, (Fanfare) Tromba Mundi Trumpet Ensemble █ Musings Society of Composers, Inc. CD CPS-8787 Capstone Records, (Four Fables) Michelle Cheramy (fl), Maiko Sasaki (cl), Kana Mimaki (pno) █ Portraits Society of Composers, Inc, Performers Series. CD CPS-8787 Capstone Records. (The Sky With All Its Stars) Robert Best (bar), Elvia Puccinelli (pno) Karim Al-Zand c.v., p. 6
OTHER MUSICAL ACTIVITIES Musiqa Co-Founder, Member of Artistic Board (2001–present); Houston TX Musiqa is a contemporary music organization presenting a four-concert season, educational outreach concerts, workshops and other events. (www.musiqahouston.org) Lecturer and coordinator of Music Theory AP (Advanced Placement) Courses, Rice University Summer Academy for High School Teachers, Glasscock School of Continuing Education; 2007–2008t American Festival for the Arts, composition & theory faculty member (summer 2006, 2010) Houston TX Jury Member for 2012 Rome Prize, American Academy in Rome.
LECTURES, PAPERS & MASTERCLASSES Composer in Residence Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, Santa Cruz, CA, August 6-12, 2017; participation in panels, open rehearsals, interviews, etc.
Lecture Demo: The Critique Model DeLange Conference IX: Teaching in the University of Tomorrow; Houston TX; October 13, 2014 Guest Composer Chintimini Chamber Music Festival; Corvallis OR; June 26–30, 2014 Guest Composer at NewFound Music St. John's Newfoundland, Canada, Memorial University, Jan. 26-28, 2012
On My Recent Music Lecture and Masterclass, University of Miami, Miami FL; April 16, 2009 “Damaged Romanticism” Pre-Concert Panel with Sarah Rothenberg, Terrie Sultan in Conjunction with the Blaffer Gallery; Houston TX; November 8, 2008 The Composers Project Pre-Concert Lecture, Westport Arts Center; Westport CT; June 20, 2008 Composer-in-Residence Composer-in Residence, Laguna Beach Music Festival/Laguna Beach Live; Laguna Beach CA; January15–20, 2008 On My Recent Music Guest Composer, Invited Lecture, Illinois Wesleyan University; Bloomington IL; March 16, 2007 On My Recent Music Guest Composer, Invited Lecture, Masterclass, Southwestern University; Georgetown TX; November 17, 2006 Composing “The Seventh Voyage of Sindbad” Guest Composer, Invited Lecture, 40th Festival of Contemporary Music; Indiana State University; Terra Haute IN; November 9, 2006 Pattern Preludes: Exercises in Compositional Design Convocation Lecture, University of South Dakota; Vermillion SD; September 21, 2006 On My Recent Music Visiting Composer Lecture, California State University; Bakersfield CA; March 11, 2005 Parizade and the Singing Tree Composer In Residence, Pre-concert Lecture, Portland Chamber Music Festival; Portland ME; August 26, 2004 Karim Al-Zand c.v., p. 7
UNIVERSITY SERVICE 2016 Undergraduate Faculty Speaker, orientation week, class of 2020
2016-2018 Member, Faculty Advisory Committee to the Office of Faculty Development
2010–2015 College Master, McMurtry College
2014-2018 Faculty Fellow, Center for Teaching Excellence
2012-2013 Member, Composition/Theory Search Committee, Shepherd School of Music
2012-2013 Member, Graduate Studies Committee, Shepherd School of Music
2010-2015 Member, Committee for the Undergraduate Curriculum
2008-2010 Member, Library Committee
2010 Member, Dean of Undergraduates Search Committee
2008 Sophia Meyer Farb Prize for Teaching
2008-present various recital, defense and oral exam committees, Shepherd School of Music
BIOGRAPHY The music of Canadian-American composer Karim Al-Zand (b.1970) has been called “strong and startlingly lovely” (Boston Globe). His compositions are wide-ranging in influence and inspiration, encompassing solo, chamber, vocal and orchestral works. From scores for dance, to compositions for young people, to multi-disciplinary and collaborative works, Al-Zand’s music is diverse in both its subject matter and its audience. It explores connections between music and other arts, and draws inspiration from varied sources such as graphic art, myths and fables, folk music of the world, film, spoken word, jazz, and his own Middle Eastern heritage. Al-Zand’s music has enjoyed success in the US, Canada and abroad and he is the recipient of several national awards, including the Sackler Composition Prize, the ArtSong Prize, the Louisville Orchestra Competition Prize and the “Arts and Letters Award in Music” from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He is a founding and artistic board member of Musiqa, Houston’s premier contemporary music group, which presents concerts featuring new and classic repertoire of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. In his scholarly work, he has pursued several diverse areas of music theory, including topics in jazz, counterpoint, and improvisation (both jazz and 18th century extemporization). Al-Zand was born in Tunis, Tunisia, raised in Ottawa, Canada and educated in Montreal (McGill University, BMus 1993) and Cambridge, Massachusetts (Harvard University, PhD 2000). Since 2000 he has taught composition and music theory in Houston at the Shepherd School of Music, Rice University.