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Harold
Farberman
Founder
and Artistic Director
Harold
Farberman was born on November 2, 1929, on New York City's Lower
East Side. Coming from a family of musicians (his father was the
drummer in a famous 1920s klezmer band led by Schleomke Beckerman;
his brother was also a drummer), it was inevitable that he would
pursue music as a career. After graduating from the Juilliard
School of Music on scholarship in 1951, Farberman became the youngest
member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) when he joined its
percussion section.
With
a performer's knowledge of percussion instruments and a dissatisfaction
with their conventional treatment by most composers, Farberman
became an early advocate for the use of percussion sonorities
as a major voice in compositional structures. During his twelve-year
tenure with the BSO, Farberman earned a master's degree in composition
from the New England Conservatory of Music. His very first work,
Evolution, written in 1954 for soprano, French horn, and
seven percussionists, is scored for over one hundred percussion
instruments and has been recorded four times, once by Leopold
Stokowski.
After
hearing Evolution in 1955, Aaron Copland invited Farberman
to study composition with him at Tanglewood. In 1956 his Quartet
for Flute, Oboe, Viola and Cello received first prize in the
New England Composer's Competition with Walter Piston as head
of the jury. In 1957 Greek Scene, a trio for mezzo soprano,
piano, and percussion, was chosen to represent the United States
in an International Composer's Symposium held in Paris. Within
the next few years a growing interest in his music led to several
commissions and awards.
During
the summer that Farberman studied composition with Copland, he
was also one of three active conductors in Maestro Eleazar de
Carvalho's conducting class, and in 1963 Farberman left the Boston
Symphony to embark on a conducting career that has earned him
an international reputation. He has been music director of the
Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Oakland, California symphonies,
and principal guest conductor of the Denver Symphony and the Bournemouth
(Great Britain) Sinfonietta. Farberman has been a frequent guest
conductor and recording artist of major orchestras, including
the London Symphony, Royal Philharmonic, BBC, Stockholm Philharmonic,
Swedish Radio, Danish Radio, Hessischer Rundfunk, and Hong Kong
Philharmonic.
For
his dedication to the music of Charles Ives through performance
and recordings, Farberman was awarded the Ives Medal. He is the
founder of the Conductors
Guild and also created the Conductors Institute, the premiere
training ground for young conductors from around the world. His
text The Art of Conducting Technique is published by Warner
Brothers.
Like
Farberman the conductor, the music of Harold Farberman is well
traveled and has been heard in numerous international venues.
Albany Records released four CDs featuring works written by Harold
Farberman, and his Cello Concerto was premiered by the
American Symphony Orchestra in November 2000 at Lincoln Center's
Avery Fisher Hall. Among his many works that have received awards
and commissions are:
- An opera for Lincoln Center for the opening of the Julliard
Opera Theater.
- Symphonies for the Oakland Symphony Orchestra, Oakland, California;
Denver Symphony Orchestra and Colorado Springs Symphony Orchestra,
Colorado; Concordia Symphony Orchestra, New York; and Bournemouth
Sinfonietta, England.
- Chamber works for the Kroumata (Sweden) Chamber Ensemble,
Stuttgart (Germany) Chamber Ensemble, and the Lenox String Quartet.
- Music for dance performances for the Murray Lewis Company
and the Emily Grankel Dance Drama Company.
- Music for the Academy Award–winning film The Great
American Cowboy (1974).
- Commissions from PBS New York, Channel 13.
- Grants from National Endowment of the Arts, Colorado Arts
Council, New York State Arts Council.
Links:
The
Conductors Guild
Harold
Farberman, Biographical Information
FACULTY
Harold Farberman | Leon Botstein | Karen Lynne Deal |
Alexander Farkas | Guillermo Figueroa |
Jennifer Hidgon | Apo Hsu | Eduardo Navega
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