Composer Josh Levine travels in from Oberlin College to present his music

We’re looking forward to hosting prominent Oberlin-based composer Josh Levine for a lecture and discussion later this month on Wednesday, March 27th, when he will present his music and share his recent projects. Levine has enjoyed an exciting and productive career as a composer, and won awards, prizes, and fellowships from a wide variety of international festivals and competitions, including the Bourges International Electroacoustic Music Competition (Premier Prix and special jury prize), Darmstadt Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik (Stipend Prize), both the Gluck and Weill Fellowships for Composers at the University of California, San Diego, a lengthy composer residency at the Foundation Patiño/Republic of Geneva in Switzerland, and many more.

More information about Josh Levine’s work and career can be found in his biography, included below:

Josh Levine

“American composer Josh Levine (b. 1959 in Corvallis, Oregon) trained in Switzerland as a classical guitarist before studying composition there with Balz Trümpy. Further studies took him to the Paris Conservatory (1985-86 with Guy Reibel) and IRCAM (1994-95). After several years working in Europe as a freelance composer and guitarist, he earned his Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego, where his thesis adviser was Brian Ferneyhough. From 2000 to 2008, he lectured in composition, electronic music, and music theory at San Francisco State University and has also taught composition at UC San Diego and Stanford University. Currently he is Assistant Professor of Composition at the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music.

           

“Josh Levine’s tape composition, Tel, received First Prize at the Bourges International Electroacoustic Music Competition in 1987 and a Euphonie d’0r in 1992. His music has been commissioned and performed internationally by prominent new music soloists and ensembles, including Magnus Andersson, Aiyun Huang, Marcus Weiss, Jürg Wyttenbach, the Arnold-Huang-Rosenkranz trio, Calliope Duo, Ensemble Contrechamps, Les Solistes de l'Ensemble Intercontemporain, and the Ensemble Intercontemporain under David Robertson. Numerous other excellent musicians have performed his music in venues ranging from IRCAM and the Cité de la Musique in Paris to Merkin Hall in New York, and from festivals in Melbourne and Los Angeles to World New Music Days in Stockholm.

“In addition to his composing and work as an educator, Josh Levine has long been active as a guitarist in new music ensembles. He participated in many concerts and broadcasts with the noted Swiss ensembles Contrechamps and the Ensemble der IGNM-Basel, and, more recently, performed as soloist with the Nouvel Ensemble Contemporain. He has also played concerts with members of the sfSound Group (San Francisco), SONOR (San Diego) and in the Akoe quartet for improvised music.”

Below is a video of a great performance of Josh Levine’s work, Breathing ritual (Inflorescence V), commissioned for the soundSCAPE faculty trio, and premiered at the 2012 soundSCAPE festival in Maccagno, Italy, by soprano Tony Arnold, percussionist Aiyun Huang, and pianist Thomas Rosenkranz. More of Levine's music can be heard on his website.

Link to this post here.