NEW COMMISSIONS / GRANTS :
* SAN FRANCISCO GAY & LESBIAN FREEDOM ORCHESTRA - March 2009 Commissioned work for the bay area ensemble. In the orchestra's relentless
commitment to diversity and tolerance, the commissioning of a straight composer :)
Premiere: March 2009. Roberto Gonzales, Music Director and Conductor
* KREMLIN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA (Moscow, Russia) - Oct 2008
New work, PROVENCE, for soprano and chamber orchestra (on text of Vladimir
Nabokov): premiere with Chamber Orchestra Kremlin, and soprano Julia Kogan,
in Moscow. October 2008. Subsequent commercial CD recording at Moscowfilm studios
* ARTS COUNCIL OF INDIANAPOLIS Individual Creative Renewal Grant
Selected from hundreds of statewide individual artist applications, this $7500 grant is
for composition, WW II - related research and travel (Poland, Germany, Japan) . . .
* * * Summer 2007 through Fall, 2008 * * *
Schelle's 2008/09 Arts Council of Indianapolis Creative Renewal Grant has helped fund extended travels to Tokyo (for research, and study with the eminent Japanese composer Hifume Shimoyama), Hiroshima and Eastern Europe, including DACHAU, culminating in a major new multi-media work: WWII: The Pacific Theatre - concert music
and documentary.
* NEW YORK STATE COUNCIL FOR THE ARTS GRANT - 2007 / 2008
$18,000 grant for 2007/08 grant to support various projects and activities as Composer
in Residence with the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, the MCO at Keuka College (upstate New York), and New York City including: three Composer in Residence appointments for the MCO: 1st residency - Finger Lakes (NY) Summer Music Festival (June 2007); Premieres of two new works written during the June 2007 residency for the 10 player resident chamber ensemble; 2nd residency - Keuka College (July, 2007), performance of GODZILLA with the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra chamber ensemble, Michael Schelle, piano . . . and 3rd residency - Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, NYC, November 2007.
*** Grant also supports: performances new (2006) orchestration of Struwwelpeter (1991 tenor cycle) Jan 2007, and 5-movement Midwestfunkenmusik (2006/07), Merkin Hall, NYC, May 2007, Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, new commissioned chamber ensemble pieces: The Viola the Wind Swept Away (2007), No Child Left Behind (2007), AND commercial recording of an All-Schelle CD (Manhattan Chamber Orchestra) of Godzilla,Prayer (solo cello and winds), Midwestfunkenmusik and Struwwelpeter – scheduled for October/November 2008, New York City.
* THE INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF CONTRABASSOONISTS
Henry Skolnick (St. Louis), President
CONSORTIUM COMMISSION for 2008 through 2009
Consortium of over twenty (20) American and European orchestras.
New 20 - 25 minute Concerto for Contrabassoon and Orchestra by Michael Schelle
Multiple 'premieres' begin in October 2009 . . .
* MANHATTAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA - 2007 Midwestfunkenmusik:
Composer in Residence for the MANHATTAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA (2006 - 08)
I. Buckeye Zombies, II. Illillinoise, III. Michigan Militia, IV. Threnody for the Victims
of Indiana . . . premiere: 17 May 2007, Merkin Hall, New York City. Commercial CD
recordings of four works (including Struwwelpeter, Prayer, Godzilla), October, 2007,
NYC. Funded by grants from the New York State Council for the Arts and the NEA.
* BUTLER UNIVERSITY / HOLCOMB RESEARCH FOUNDATION, INC. 2006/07, 2007/08 - Individual Faculty Artist grants (awarded in university-wide competition) for composition
* * *
PRINCIPAL RECENT PERFORMANCES / NEWS:
* SAN FRANCISCO GAY & LESBIAN FREEDOM ORCHESTRA - March 2009
Roberto Gonzales, Music Director and Conductor
Premiere of a new commissioned work (see above, New Commissions)
* FORT SMITH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA (Arkansas) - February 2009
Guest Composer for performances of VOX HUMANA (2005) - FSSO Earquake Series
John Jeter, Music Director and Conductor
* INDIANAPOLIS CHAMBER ORCHESTRA - November 14, 15, 2008
Performances of SPIDER BABY (1996) : Indiana State University Annual Contemporary Music Festival (11/14), and ICO subscription series concert at the Indiana State Historical Society Theatre (11/15). Kirk Trevor, conductor
* KREMLIN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA: Moscow, Russia - October, 2008
Guest Composer for the Premiere of a new commissioned work (see above, New Commissions) in Moscow, Russia. On texts of Vladimir Nabokov; Julia Kogan, soprano
* DAYTON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA - October 2008, Guest Composer
Neal Gittleman, Music Director and Conductor
Performance of EXTRACTION ON NO. 8 (2005) at the Dayton Schuster Arts Center
* MANHATTAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA - 29 May 2008 - Guest Composer
NYC premiere of The Viola the Wind Swept Away (2007) for viola & chamber orchestra Merkin Concert Hall, New York City
* LE MOYNE COLLEGE (Syracuse, NY) - April 2008 - Guest Composer
Residency including performances of GODZILLA (1996) with the LeMoyne College Professional New Music Ensemble, Andrew Russo, music director, Michael Schelle, piano
* BUTLER UNIVERSITY SYMPHONIC BAND/WIND ENSEMBLE - 6 April 2008
Performance of Schelle's PRAYER (2004) for solo cello w/ winds, percussion, harp & piano. Clowes Memorial Hall for the Performing Arts, Indianapolis, IN
* BUTLER UNIVERSITY SYMPHONIC BAND/WIND ENSEMBLE EUROPEAN TOUR
March 2008 - program included Schelle's PRAYER (2004) for solo cello w/ winds, percussion, harp & piano - multiple performances in Prague, Vienna, Luxemberg and Amsterdam
* MANHATTAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA - @ Upstate NY, Keuka College
Premiere of IN SECRET for viola and chamber ensemble Nov 18, 2007
* DAYTON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA - October 28, 2007 - 3 PM
Neal Gittleman, Music Director and Conductor . . .
Performance of VOX HUMANA at the Dayton Schuster Center for the Performing Arts
* SOUTH SHORE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA / Chicago - June 3, 8, 2007
Performances of SPIDER BABY (chamber orchestra) and BLUE PLATE SPECIAL
(for tuba alone with auxialliary percussion). Troy Webdell, music director / conductor.
* COMPOSER IN RESIDENCE: MANHATTAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
FINGER LAKES SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVAL: June 4 - 18, 2007, Finger Lakes -
upstate New York. Premieres of two (2) new chamber works composed during the residency: NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND (2007) for 11 chamber players, and
THE VIOLA THE WIND SWEPT AWAY (2007) for solo viola with piano, bass clarinet,
cello and percussion.
* NEW YORK STATE COUNCIL FOR THE ARTS GRANT - 2007 / 2008
$22,000 grant for 2007/08 grant to support various projects and activities as Composer in Residence with the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, the MCO at Keuka College (upstate New York), and New York City including: three Composer in Residence appointments for the MCO:
1st residency - Finger Lakes (NY) Summer Music Festival (June 2007); Premieres of two new works written during the June 2007 residency for the 10 player resident chamber ensemble;
2nd residency - Keuka College (July, 2007), and
3rd residency - Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, NYC, November 2007.
*** Grant also supports: performances new (2006) orchestration of Struwwelpeter (1991 tenor cycle) Jan 2007, and 5-movement Midwestfunkenmusik (2006/07), Merkin Hall, NYC, May 2007, Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, AND commercial recording of an All-Schelle CD (Manhattan Chamber Orchestra) of Godzilla, Midwestfunkenmusik, Prayer (solo cello and winds) and Struwwelpeter – scheduled for October/November 2007, New York City.
* ARTS COUNCIL OF INDIANAPOLIS Individual Creative Renewal Grant
Selected from hundreds of statewide individual artist applications, this $7500 grant is
for composition, WW II - related research and travel (Poland, German, Japan) . . .
* * * Summer 2007 - Fall, 2008 * * *
* MANHATTAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA - 17 May 2007, New York City
Concert will include the NYC premiere of Schelle's MIDWESTFUNKENMUSIK
(Buckeye Zombies, Illillinoise and Threnody for the Victims of Indiana).
* INDIANA UNIVERSITY CHAMBER WINDS - 28 March 2007
Performance of PRAYER (2004) for cello and winds at the NATIONAL conference,
CBDNA (College Band Directors National Association) - University of Michigan,
Ann Arbor, MI. Indiana University Chamber Winds, Stephen Pratt, conductor
* GUEST COMPOSER, BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY (OH) - March 2007
* NOW FESTIVAL OF NEW MUSIC - CAPITAL UNIVERSITY (OH) - Feb 2007
Featured guest composer for five days - including seminars, masterclasses, lectures,
and performances of many pieces including GUTTERSNIPE, PRAYER and
CLIFFHANGER (all for symphonic band/wind enesmble), Schelle conducting,
and chamber music incl. Blue Plate Special, Gimme Shelter, and Subwoofer.
12 - 18 February 2007. Rocky J. Reuter, founder / director, NOW Festival
* MANHATTAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA - 28 January 2007, New York City
World premiere of the 2006 orchestration of Schelle's STRUWWELPETER (1991)
for tenor and chamber orchestra; Steven Stolen, tenor, Richard Clark, conductor. Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, Merkin Concert Hall, 3 PM - New York City.
* CARMEL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA - 19, 20 January 2007
Performance of SAMURAI (1999) at IMEA State Conference (Indiana Music
Educator's Association), Convention Center, downtown Indianapolis.
Andrew King, conductor. 19, 20 January 2007
* PURDUE UNIVERSITY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA - 10 December 2006
PSO subscription concert includes Michael Schelle's SAMURAI(1999) . . .
Purdue Symphony Orchestra, Andrew King, conductor. 10 December 2006, 2 PM
* 20 December 2006
COMMERCIAL RECORDING OF HOWL! - for release 2008
Ronen Chamber Ensemble
Details soon . . .
* RONEN CHAMBER ENSEMBLE, Circle Theatre, Indianapolis - 10 October 2006
10/10/06 Performance of Schelle's HOWL! (1986) featuring David Bellman, clarinet
Strange bedfellows Allen Ginsberg and Benny Goodman meet in this 16' chambe ensemble piece. The piece was originally commissioned for Ronen by the Cathedral Arts Society, Inc. and is one of the composer's most performed chamber works across the US and abroad including recent performances in London, Los Angeles (XTET), Detroit, Dallas, Austin, Honolulu, Houston, and in Merkin Hall (NYC) with the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra.
* FAENZA INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL (Italy) - July 2006
Michael Schelle's GODZILLA - July 17. 18, 2006 - Bologna, Italy
Michael Schelle, conductor - 8 concerts in five cities of the Romagna region
* MONTEVIDEO, URUGUAY - July 2006
La Orcquesta Filharmonica de Montevideo
With advertized public forum on Contemporary Music at the National Theatre, El Solis, presented by USA conductor Stanely DeRusha. Composers discussed included Schelle,
Adams, Corigliano, Higdon and Schwantner, giving excerpts of various orchestral scores.
Published subsequent article in SINFONICA music magazine followed.
* ALBUQUERQUE YOUTH SYMPHONY PROGRAM, INC. 2004- 2006
Composer in Residence (2004 - 2006) - seven (7) extended residencies in New Mexico
(funded by a generous grant from the American Symphony Orchestra League, NYC
World premiere(s) of 5 new orchestral works written (2004 - 2006) for 5 different orchestras,
Popejoy Performing Arts Center, University of New Mexico, April 2006
The five new works:
Ear Infection (Gloria Velasco, conductor)
Chrysalis (Marie Robertson, conductor)
Extraction on No. 8 (Byron Herrington, conductor)
Vox Humana (Sayra Siverson, conductor)
O Monstro do Brasil(The Beast of Brazil) (Amir Kats, conductor)
* UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY SYMPHONIC BAND - March / April 2006
Schelle's When Hell Freezes Over (1995) - double concerto for bass clarinet, baritone
sax and large symphonic band. Thomas Rohrer, music director and conductor
Multiple performances includinig USU and the Rocky Mountain Region CBDNA Festival
* THE HARTT SCHOOL OF MUSIC, Hartford, CT - March 2006
Michael Schelle: 2006 ICAM Guest Composer
Masterclasses, seminars, presentations, private lessons, etc.,and a performance
of Schelle's Prayer for solo cello, 13 wind instruments, piano, bass and percussion,
Esther Jenkins, cello - ICAM (Institue of Contemporary American Music) - March 2006
* BUTLER UNIVERSITY JCFA SCHOOL OF MUSIC FACULTY ARTIST RECITAL
MICHAEL SCHELLE, JCFA Composer in Residence - Eidson-Duckwall Recital Hall
Butler University, Indianapolis: 6 March 2006
Faculty and guest artists included Jay Hassler (NYC), Steven Stolen, Nancy Davis Booth,
Jon Craibel, Richard Auldon Clark, Loretta Contino, Todd Kaufmann, Jay Young, Catherine Bringerud, and David Murray. Program included:
Blue Plate Special, Swanwhite, Struwwelpeter, Subwoofer and Godzilla
* ILLINOIS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY SYMPHONIC WINDS - March 2006
Prayer for solo cello, 13 wind instruments, piano, bass and percussion
Steven Eggleston, conductor, Nina Gordon, cello
* MANHATTAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA - February 2006
Schelle's Prayer for solo cello, 13 wind instruments, piano, bass and percussion
Richard Auldon Clark, conductor, William Grubb, cello - Merkin Concert Hall, NYC
* HOT SPRINGS FILM FESTIVAL (Hot Springs, AR) - October 2005
World Premiere of the award-winning documentary
EXTREME ORCHESTRA! OPENING NIGHT (2004/2005)
(Dee Schore, Rene Guerrero - producers/directors)
This 65 minute film focuses on the intense 72 hours up to the downbeat of opening
night for the Fort Smith (AR) Symphony Orchestra, John Jeter, Music Director and Conductor.
Schelle's popular 1999 orchestral work, SAMURAI, originally commissioned
and premiered by the Dayton Philharmonic, is the featured music and the film includes
dozens of interviews, rehearsals, recording sessions, etc. with composer Michael Schelle
and conductor John Jeter. The film has been screened since at major film festivals in
Dallas and Seattle, and is being considered for commercial broadcast by Bravo, NPR/APR,
National Public Television and the A & E Channel.
* EVANSVILLE PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA - October 22, 23, 2005
Alfred Savia, music director and conductor
WRIGHT FLIGHT Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (2002) - Andrew Russo, piano
(Originally commissioned and premiered (2003) by the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra,
Neal Gittleman, music director and conductor, commercial recordinig: Albany Records)
* INDIANA UNIVERSITY SYMPHONIC WIND ENSEMBLE October 2005
Schelle's Prayer for solo cello, 13 wind instruments, piano bass and percussion
Stephen Pratt, conductor, Jonathan Ruck, cello - Auer Concert Hall, IU Bloomington
(Prayer (2004) was originally commissioned and premiered (April 2004) by Robert Grechesky,
music director of the Butler University Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble, in memory of
his Mom, written for (and premiered by) William Grubb, and funded in part by the Holcomb
Research Foundation and the Butler University Faculty Grants Program)
* DAYTON PHILHARMONIC ORCHSESTRA - October 2005
Schelle's Spider Baby (1997) and Samurai (1999); Neal Gittleman, conductor
New Center for the Performing Arts, Dayton, OH
* MANHATTAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA - May 2005
Schelle's Godzilla (1996) for clarinet, bass clarinet, tenor sax, piano, bass, percussion
Richard Auldon Clark, conductor - Schelle, piano. - Merkin Concert Hall, New York City
* AMERICAN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA LEAGUE, NYC - March 2005
Three day residency of meetings, brainstorming, presentations for 7 composers commissioned
for extended residency programs sponsored by the American Symphony Orchestra League and Meet the Composer Composers invited to participate included Michael Schelle, Jennifer Higdon, David Dzuby, Michael Daugherty . . . ASOL offices, New York City, NY - March 2005
* EASTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY (Detroit) - February 2005
Five (5) day residency as featured Guest Composer for EMU's New Music Festival.
Masterclasses, seminars, presentations, and several performances by EMU ensembles and faculty including Samurai (EMU orchestra), Guttersnipe (EMU Symphonic Band), many chamber works including Gimme Shelter, Hammerstein, Howl, Struwwelpeter . . .
* MANHATTAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA - January 2005
Schelle's Howl! for solo clarinet, flute, cello, piano and percussion
Richard Auldon Clark, conductor; Jay Hassler, clarinet. Merkin Concert Hall, NYC
* * *