Nathan Currier
Nathan Currier (born 1960, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania) is an American composer.
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[edit] Biography
Coming from a musical family, composer Nathan Kind Currier is son of composer Marilyn Currier (1931) and brother of composer Sebastian Currier (1959).
His principal teachers were David Diamond, Joseph Schwantner, Bernard Rands, Stephen Albert and Frederic Rzewski. He studied at the Juilliard School, where he received the Doctorate in 1989. During the 2007-2008 academic year, he served as a visiting faculty member at the McIntire Department of Music at the University of Virginia.[1]
[edit] Awards
- 1999 Academy Award from The American Academy of Arts and Letters, a lifetime achievement award
- 1995 Rome Prize for Composition from the American Academy in Rome
- 2008 International Sackler Prize for Music Composition
- 2008-2009 Fellowship at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities.
[edit] Interrupted Oratorio Premiere
Currier has been involved in some controversy concerning the abruptly terminated premiere of his environmental oratorio Gaian Variations, which took place at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, on April 21, 2004. The work focuses on Gaia Theory, a scientific theory of James Lovelock, and the composer spent years writing the large work for chorus, orchestra and soloists. During the premiere the Brooklyn Philharmonic suddenly stopped, claiming that it was headed into overtime.[2] Currier, who now gives talks on climate change for Al Gore’s The Climate Project, had felt that the urgency of climate change gave the topic such importance that he used personal funds to prevent cancellation of the concert when neither the Brooklyn Philharmonic nor another organization, Earth Day Network, raised the money needed. The music critic of the New York Times said that the composer “seemed unable to end the work,” claimed that the texts were “pseudoscientific,” and harshly criticized the composition.[3] Currier was given a pro bono lawyer through Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts shortly after the performance, but the Executive Vice President and Director of the Hess Oil Company, J. Barclay Collins II, also a client of the same firm and Chairman of the Board of the Brooklyn Philharmonic, complained to the law firm, and Currier lost legal representation. On the New York Times Arts Beat Blog, oil executive Collins (who retired in January 2010 from the petroleum company) also was quoted as saying that Currier’s lawsuit is “totally without merit.”[4] Since 2008 Currier has been represented by Alex T. Roshuk, and the case was filed in Supreme Court of the State of New York Kings County in 2009.[5][6]
[edit] References
- ^ "Academic Faculty — McIntire Department of Music, U.Va". Artsandsciences.virginia.edu. http://artsandsciences.virginia.edu/music/people/faculty/academic/cct/NathanCurrier.html. Retrieved 2010-07-21.
- ^ Allan Kozinn (May 4, 2004). "A Critic's Diary". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/04/arts/critic-s-diary-a-week-for-youth-cello-and-adventurous-spirits.html?pagewanted=1.
- ^ Allan Kozinn, A Critic's Diary: New York Times, May 4, 2004
- ^ "Brooklyn Philharmonic Cancels Concerts", DANIEL J. WAKIN, New York Times Arts Beat Blog, April 17, 2009
- ^ "Losing his composure!", The Brooklyn Paper, Mike McLaughlin, April 14, 2009
- ^ "Composer’s Lawsuit Looms Over Cash-Strapped Brooklyn Philharmonic", The Brooklyn Eagle, Samuel Newhouse, 04-27-2009
[edit] External links
- http://www.presser.com/Composers/info.cfm?Name=NATHANCURRIER
- http://nathankindcurrier.com
- www.gaianvariations.com
- "Nathan Currier", University of Virginia
- http://www.sacklercompositionprize.uconn.edu/
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