MICHAEL SCHELLE
(b. 1950, Philadelphia) is Composer in Residence, Distinguished Professor of Music, and founder / director of the notorious JCFA Composers Orchestra (new music ensemble) at the School of Music, Butler University, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
. . . Manhattan Chamber Orchestra (X5), Columbus Pro Musica, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Cleveland Chamber Symphony, South Shore Chamber Orchestra, New World Chamber Orchestra, Indiana Opera Theatre, the Greenwich (CT) Orchestra and Chorus, Kentucky Youth Orchestra, the Albuquerque Youth Symphony (five orchestras), the Wisconsin Youth Symphony, the Oklahoma All-State Symphony, the Virginia All-State Orchestra . . . .
. . . New York Group for New Music (NYC), Western Wind Ensemble (Seattle), XTET (Los Angeles), ISIS (Dallas), Voices of Change (Austin, TX), Michiana New Music Ensemble, Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, Ronen Chamber Ensemble, many other professional orchestras, university orchestras, symphonic bands, professional new music ensembles, chamber ensembles, choirs and soloists (instrumental and vocal) . . .
In October 2008 Schelle's commissioned new work, PROVENCE (for soprano and chamber orchestra, on Vladimir Nabokov texts) will premiere in Moscow, Russia with the CHAMBER ORCHESTRA KREMLIN, Julia Kogan, soprano - with subsequent commercial CD release . . . Mosfilms, Inc.
Schelle has received significant composition grants, awards and commissions from dozens of national / international organizations including the National Endowment for the Arts, the Rockefeller Foundation (NYC), American Symphony Orchestra League (NYC), Welsh Arts Council (Cardiff, Wales, UK), Organization of American States (OAS), International Percussive Arts Society, American Pianists Association (1996, Hammerstein - commissioned as the required etude for the 12 semi-finalists), Barlow Endowment for Music Composition (UT), International Brotherhood of Contrabassoonists, the New York State Arts Council (2007), the Holcomb Research Foundation, the Great Lakes Arts Alliance, ASCAP Music Foundation, Arts Midwest, Meet The Composer, Inc. (NYC), Hudson Research Institute, Dow Chemical Co., the Bratnober Foundation (Seattle), BMI, NPR, APR, and the New England Foundation for the Arts. In 1996 Schelle received the Mid-American Conference CBDNA consortium commission (When Hell Freezes Over
- double concerto for bass clarinet, bari sax and large symphonic wind
ensemble) for performances by 11 member university bands across the midwest.
In addition to the above, he has received significant regional grants (and recognition) from the Indiana Arts Commission (3 master artist fellowships), the Arts Council of Indianapolis (three $7500 Creative Renewal grants), the Indiana State Orchestra Consortium (15 member orchestras), Indianapolis Museum of Art, the Indianapolis Suzuki String Institute, the Indiana Humanities Council (keynote address speaker), and Indianapolis magazine. Schelle's 2008/09 Indianapolis Arts Council Creative Renewal Grant has helped fund extended travels to Tokyo (for study with the eminent Japanese composer Hifume Shimoyama), Hiroshima, and Eastern Europe, culminating in a major multi-media work about WWII: The Pacific Theatre - concert music, documentary music, etc.
Schelle's composition prizes include First Prize in the Society of Composers, Inc., San Diego, CA, the Barlow (UT) Composition Prize, First Prize in the 1987 Inter-American Competition for New Orchestral Works (San Jose, Costa Rica), First Prize in the first (1985) Music in the Mountains International Competition for New Orchestral Works (NY), the Delius (FL) Composition Prize, First Prize: Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble / Harvey Gaul Competition, and 2X a Pulitzer Prize nominee (1988 for Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra; and 1995 for Spirits (orchestra).
Schelle was named Distinguished Composer of the Year by the Music Teachers National Association during the 1990 MTNA national conference (Witchita, KS: First Prize (nationally) for his three movement chamber ensemble work Musica Magnetizarre (originally commissioned by Indiana University) and, on 31 December 2001, the Indianapolis Star newspaper selected the Indiana Historical Society performance of Schelle's 3 movement violin concerto, Play Us Chastity on Your Violin (featuring Rumanian superstar silver-medal violinist Livru Prunaru, Schelle conducting) as the No. 1 Classical Music Event of 2001 in the City of Indianapolis.
Schelle is a frequent featured Guest Composer at colleges, universities and new music festivals across the country including recent extended residencies and "All-Schelle" concerts at the University of Southern California (USC), the University of Kansas, Washington State University, Louisiana State University, Illinois Wesleyan University, Bowdoin College (Maine), Sam Houston State University, Kent State University, the University of Massachusetts, Millikin University, Eastern Michigan University, Capital University (OH) X3, Bowling Green State University (OH) School of Music, Purdue University, LeMoyne College (NY) & St. Mary's College (IN)
He has 5X been Composer in Residence (extended residencies) with the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra (2005 - 2009), the Fort Smith (AR) Symphony Orchestra (1997/98, 2003/04), the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, the Albuquerque (NM) Youth Symphony Organization (see below), the Spoleto USA Festival (Charleston, SC), the Wolf Trap Center for the Performing Arts (Virginia), ICAM (Institute of Contemporary American Music) Hartford, and 2X at the MacDowell Artists Colony (NH). Durinig summer 2007: Schelle is Guest Composer at the Interlochen Arts Academy, and 'Composer in Residence' (with support from a New York State Arts Council grant) for the 2007 Finger Lakes (upstate NY) Summer Music Festival w/the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra.
(Schelle's Maine Coon cats FLOYD and KATIE (RIP)
await his return from many, many trips)
Schelle has recently completed a 2 year appointment as Composer in Residence with the Albuquerque Youth Symphony Program (Dale Kempter, music director). Selected from over 100 international applicants, Schelle was commissioned to write five (5) new orchestral works for various New Mexico orchestras, all premiered during April / May 2006 at the Popejoy Center for the Performing Arts, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.
During the summers of 1994 - 2001 Schelle lived in the Los Angeles area working with his alter-ego part-time creative passion - movie music - composing / ghost-writing on several low-budget Hollywood films and completing his critically-acclaimed 450-page film music book, THE SCORE (published by Silman-James Press, Los Angeles) which was released internationally in 2000.
He is the featured composer in the award-winning 65' documentary Extreme Orchestra!: Opening Night (2005 - Miasma Film Group, Dallas), which recently received its premiere public screening at the Hot Springs Film Festival (AR) and has since been screened at numerous prestigious film festival across the country including those in New York City, Portland (OR), Seattle, and Dallas.
Raised in the shadows of New York City (Bergen County, NJ), Schelle's degrees are from Villanova University (theatre), Butler University, the Hartt School of Music / University of Hartford (CT), and a PhD from the University of Minnesota. His teachers have included Aaron Copland (private), Arnold Franchetti, Eric Stokes and Dominick Argento. His works are published by MMB Music (St. Louis), Indiana University Press, European American Music, Moon of Hope Press (choral), American Composers Edition (NYC), and commercially recorded by CRS (Philadelphia) and Albany Records.
MICHAEL SCHELLE
Composer in Residence / Distinguished Professor of Music
JCFA School of Music - Butler University
4600 Sunset Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46208 USA
W: (317) 940 9642 H: (317) 288 0344 C: (317) 345 7730 FAX: (317) 940 9658
e-mail: mschelle@butler.edu
( MARY CLAIRE, FLOYD and KATIE (still RIP) . . . await his return, again . . . )