CURRENT  /  RECENT
COMMISSIONS  /  PROJECTS 

2020 - 2024






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HARANBANJŌ
ハランバンジョー
commissioned by
Kristen Yeon-Ji Yun, cello
Phoenix Park-Kim, piano
for various performances across the US in 2024



* * *


January 2023


Prize is a commission for a new work to be
premiered during the SBSO's 2023/24 season
"The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse"
Premiere:  February 10, 2024  



* * *


大 晟 钟


The Asian Cultural Symphony Orchestra of the USA
Dennis Friesen-Carper, conductor
Jianyun Meng, project director - Confucius Institute
New Work for Dasheng / Bianzhong bells and orchestra
"Escape from Xishuangbanna"
Premiere:  December 29, 2022
Carnegie Hall (Main Stage), New York City




亚洲文化乐团





* * *


Chamber Orchestra of Sarasota
Robert Vodnoy, music director and conductor
Commissioned work:
The Sixth Dimension of Light
March 22/23, 2022, Sarasota, FL



* * *


Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra 
Premiere, Dayton, OH  :  October 17, 2021
Commissioned work:  TRAPPED LIKE RATS



commissioned by the Dayton
Philharmonic Orchestra in response to:


Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra
Premiere, Dayton, OH  :  October 20, 2019
New work:  VIRUS
( written summer 2019, BEFORE Covid-19 happened !! )


* * *

Two New Works:  commissioned for Tokyo to New York
Thomas Piercy, clarinet and chamber ensemble

1. The Tragic Paradigm of Mi$-T's Misguided Expectations
Bargemusic  -  Brooklyn, NY  :  October 25, 2019

2. In the Shame of Her Own Silence
National Opera Center, NYC
March and September 2021


* * *


New Work:  Back Cove Music Festival
Music for Eight Pianos
Premiere, Portland, Maine  :  January 16, 2020
New work:  Psalm of These Days


New Work:  commissioned for pianist R. Kent Cook
Premiere, IWU, Bloomington, IL  :  March 2021
New work:  Ulterior Motives


New Work:  commissioned by the
Indiana University New Music Ensemble
Premieres:  Bloomington, IN  :  March 5, 2020
Indianapolis, IN  :  April 21, 2020
New work:   Summit at San Quentin


New Work:  commissioned by the Butler University Bands
Premiere:  Indianapolis, IN  :  April 26, 2020
New work:  A Far Cry from Fairview


New Work:  Trinity University (TX) Wind Ensemble
Premiere, San Antonio, TX  :  May 2021
New work:  Hangover Hotel


New Work:  Pi Kappa Lambda Board of Regents
International Music Honor Society commission
Premiere: Miami, FL (CMS national conference)  :  October 2020
New work:  Papa Hemingway's Polydactyls


New Work:  University of the Pacific (CA) Chamber Winds
Premiere:  April 2021




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PROJECTS   2014 - 2019







One of the 250 composers invited to participate in a massive international project celebrating the 250th anniversary of the birth of Beethoven (1770-1827). Beethoven 250 was conceived and organized by famed German pianist Susanne Kessel.  All pieces published in multiple volumes / collections, Editions Musica Ferrum, London UK.

My contribution is  ALBERTI BOMBARDIER  (2018)



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THE EISENSTEIN MUMMERS  (2018)

written for the "Bang on a Roomful of Teeth All Stars"
 - tenor saxophone, 3 accordions, tuba, piano, percussion, viola, cello, doublebass -

VIDEO:  Premieres:  April and  September - 2018, Indianapolis



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TOKYO TO NEW YORK

"Chords That Rhyme with Your Eyes" (2017) commissioned
and premiered by Thomas Piercy for his prestigious
"Tokyo to New York" concert series
(an annual series of concerts in New York and Tokyo)
World premiere:  18 November 2017
Tenri Cultural Center
43 W. 13th Street
H
ell's Kitchen / Manhattan, NYC

(premiere: March 2019)
 for hichiriki, piano, percussion, accordion, doublebass, 3 male voices





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Commissioned for Studio in Bloom (Indianapolis)
(flute, bass clarinet, harp, cello)

Performances:  April 2018, March 2019.
Studio recording:  summer 2019





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BURY THE HATCHET  (2017)

commissioned for the  Corona Guitar Kvartet   -   Copenhagen, Denmark

Performances  :  Denmark and Europe, 2017 / 18


Also, a new piece for the Gantriis-Zimmer Guitar Duo
(two members of the CGK)

VORSICHTIG   (2017), for guitar duo



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2018 : Two new pieces for violinist   KELLY SOHYOUNG LEE


2018, 2019 performances : Indianapolis, Oberlin, Korea, etc.
Studio recordings coming soon ...



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  • Multiple Orchestra Consortium


AND THEN THEY JUST DISAPPEAR INTO THE NIGHT  (2016)

commissioned for the

Detroit Symphony Orchestra
Detroit Symphony Youth Orchestra
Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra
Butler Symphony Orchestra
Capital University Conservatory Symphony

VIDEO


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  • Multiple Orchestra Consortium 


RESILIENCE :  Double Concerto for Viola, Cello and Orchestra  (2015)

Honoring the 70th / 75th Anniversary of the End of World War II

1. Dachaulieder
2. Rising Sun, Fallen Sky
3. Blast of Silence


Fort Smith (AR) Symphony Orchestra
, Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra
Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, South Shore Orchestra (Chicago), others

VIDEO
            


Fort Smith (AR) Symphony Orchestra premiere of "Resilience" :  September 2015
L > R :  John Jeter (FSSO Music Director and conductor), Michael Schelle (composer),
John McManus (award-winning WW2 author), Joshua DeVries (cello), Alaina Rae (viola)



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  • Butler University School of Music / Jordan College of the Arts

ARTSFEST 2015


Butler University ARTSFEST 2015 : "Outlaws and Outsiders"
commission for a new music theater work

THE END OF AL CAPONE

30:00 mono-drama / mono-opera for singer / actor and ten chamber players
PremiereArtsfest 2015

American premiere  -  Indianapolis  -  April  2015
European premiere  -  Warsaw, Poland  -   May  2019



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  • Ronen Chamber Ensemble / Cathedral Arts, Inc.



THE WOLVES OF PARNASSUS

WORLD PREMIERE:   12 MAY 2015

"The Wolves of Parnassus howls with conviction from the very start.  Schelle's wolves are
pack animals and predators upon musical order, particularly in the first and last movements.
They are reminders that in addition to being sacred to Apollo, Parnassus also was regarded
as having a strong connection to Dionysus, a god after Schelle's own heart
."

Jay Harvey, Upstage        complete review here



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MYSTIC MOURNING  (2014)
- for solo violin and chamber ensemble -
Commissioned for violinist Larry Shapiro

"Composer Michael Schelle creates a world within which each person can 
measure soft memories and gain release from shards of harsh remorse, and we 
are soaring into space beyond human ken, a soul freeing itself into lightness."


Rita Kohn, NUVO Newsweekly


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  • Greater Hartford Arts Council
2013 Greater Hartford (CT) Arts Council grants to support a 10-day residency and the composition of a new 30:00 piece for the combined forces of the Hartford Independent Chamber Orchestra and (vs) the Generous New Music Ensemble.  THROUGH THE BRIGHT LIGHTS OF HELL  was premiered (2X) during the ambitious  "New Music Hartford 1913 / 2013"  festival :  October 11 - 21, 2013

         




  • New York State Council for the Arts
        

$25,000 New York State Arts Council grant to support various projects & activities as Composer in Residence with the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra and the Finger Lakes Chamber Music Festival, NYC and upstate New York


  • League of American Orchestras, Inc.  
       

$25,000 grant for five (5) new orchestral works as Composer in Residence for the great state of New Mexico. Michael Schelle was selected - by the League of American Orchestras - for the Music Alive: New Partnerships initiative, which fosters new relationships between composers and orchestras. Eight (8) extended trips to / residencies in New Mexico and five (5) different orchestra-commissioned world premieres during the period, sponsored by the League of American Orchestras, Inc. and MUSIC ALIVE / Meet the Composer, Inc.


  • College Band Directors National Association
2011/2013 : CONSORTIUM COMMISSION THE END OF THE WORLD, a new work for symphonic band
/ symphonic wind ensemble, 'inspired' by the 2011 Japan earthquakes and tsunami, the Mayan calendar, and the Nostradamus doomsday prophecy for
the end of the world on 21 December 2012. 35 CBDNA university bands participating in the consortium include Michigan, Eastman, Texas, Kansas, Indiana, Florida, Minnesota, Illinois, SUNY, New Mexico, Michigan State, Kansas State, Butler University, Trinity, etc. . . .  see:  The End of the World


                  




  • South Shore Orchestra (Chicago)
2013 : Commission for a new cello concerto
SUN-WUKONG
(2013)  was premiered in November 2013, and then included on the SSO's 8-concert tour throughout China (Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, etc.) - December 2013 / January 2014.
Troy Webdell, conductor, Joshua DeVries, cello.






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                 THE EXORCISM OF THE SUGAR PLUM FAIRY

  •  Midwest Orchestra Consortium

2012/2013 : ORCHESTRA CONSORTIUM COMMISSION : The Exorcism of the Sugar Plum Fairy. Consortium orchestras include the Detroit Symphony, Dayton Philharmonic, Nashville Symphony, Tulsa Symphony, Missouri Symphony, Fort Smith (AR) Symphony, Alabama Symphony Orchestra (Birmingham), Toledo Symphony, South Shore Orchestra (Chicago), Albuquerque Youth Symphony, Illinois Wesleyan Civic Orchestra, and others  . . .

LISTEN HERE:   THE EXORCISM OF THE SUGAR PLUM FAIRY


                  

                

N.B. all the theater, ballerina dancing, costuming, smoke, fading lights, falling snow (or equivalent),

etc. are described / indicated in the score . . .  and highly recommended !!




WATCH THE VIDEO HERE:   THE EXORCISM OF THE SUGAR PLUM FAIRY




THE EXORCISM OF THE SUGAR PLUM FAIRY  was a  2012 consortium commission from 15 American orchestras including the Detroit Symphony, the Nashville Symphony, the Dayton Philharmonic, the Alabama Symphony (Birmingham), the Tulsa Symphony, the Albuquerque Youth Symphony and nine others.  The Exorcism of the Sugar Plum Fairy was originally intended as a creepy, spooktacular ‘new’ alternative to the standard predictable “Halloween Concert” fare (Night on Bald MountainIn the Hall of the Mountain KingDance MacabreMarch to the Scaffold from Symphony Fantastique, etc.), but the piece has quickly - and quite surprisingly –- graduated from “Halloween status” and already been scheduled to be part of various 2013/14 and 2014/15 season programs of youth concerts, “Halloween in April” concerts (cool!!), big orchestra Christmas / Holiday concerts (yes!!) and, amazingly, for two orchestras, as the opening piece for Classical Series Subscription concerts, sharing program space with the likes of Beethoven, Mozart, Bruckner, Stravinsky and Bartok (Yes !!). God Bless America and Halloween.



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  • Arts Council of Indianapolis
        $10,000 Creative Renewal grant for composition, research and study in Japan : 2009 / 2011

         
         


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       PRINCIPAL COMMISSIONS





        ORCHESTRAL

  • Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
  • Minnesota Orchestra
  • Detroit Symphony Orchestra
  • Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra
  • Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra
  • Kansas City Symphony Orchestra
  • Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra
  • Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra
  • Nashville Symphony Orchestra
  • Knoxville Symphony Orchestra
  • Fort Smith Symphony Orchestra
  • Indiana State Orchestra Consortium
  • South Shore Orchestra (Chicago)
  • Missouri Symphony Orchestra
  • Culver Military Academy Orchestra
  • Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
  • Manhattan Chamber Orchestra
  • Cleveland Chamber Symphony
  • Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra
  • Chamber Orchestra of Sarasota
  • St. Petersburg Philharmonic (Russia)
  • Kremlin Chamber Orchestra (Moscow)
  • Kammerorchester Basel (Switzerland)
  • Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional (Costa Rica)




      CHAMBER MUSIC

  • XTET (Los Angeles)
  • "Tokyo to New York" Chamber Music  (x4)
  • American Pianists Association
  • Ronen Chamber Ensemble (x3)
  • UQ (Urban Quartet of Phoenix)
  • Indiana Opera Theatre
  • Koenig Ensemble of London
  • Eastman New Music Group
  • Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble
  • Firenza New Music Festival (Italy)
  • ArtsFest 2015  (opera: The End of Al Capone)



      SYMPHONIC BAND / WIND ENSEMBLE
       CONSORTIUM COMMISSIONS


  • World Association for Symphonic Bands and Wind Ensembles (WASBE)
  • College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA)
  • Mid-America College Band Directors Association (MAC-BDA)       
  • Various university wind ensemble / consortium commissions


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       COMPOSITION AWARDS    (grants, prizes, awards and fellowships)


           National Endowment for the Arts

           American Music Center

           American Symphony Orchestra League, Inc.

           Rockefeller Foundation

           League of American Orchestras, Inc.

           The Welsh Arts Council (Cardiff, Wales)

           The Organization of American States  (OAS)

           International Percussive Arts Society

           American Composers Forum

           Eli Lilly Foundation Grant

           National Band Association :  2012 Revelli Composition Prize

           New York State Arts Council

           Pennsylvania Council on the Arts

           New England Foundation for the Arts

           Greater Hartford Arts Council

           AMC "Meet The Composer" Music Alive program

           Broadcast Music, Inc.

           SBSO Crossroads of America Composers Competition  (2023)

           Arts Midwest

           Pi Kappa Lambda (National Music Honor Society) Board of Regents  (2020)

           Minnesota State Arts Board

           Great Lakes Arts Alliance

           Barlow Endowment for Music Composition (Utah)

            

           American Pianists Association : 1998 commissioned etude for the 12 semi-finalists

           The Jerome Foundation

           Pew Charitable Trust

           Margaret Jory Fairbanks Fund

           Butler University / Holcomb Research Foundation : multiple faculty grants

           MacDowell Artists Colony, New Hampshire : extended residencies in 1977, 1989

           ASCAP "Morton Gould Award" for Young Composers (under age 30): 1978, 1979, 1980

           Wolf Trap Center for the Performing Arts (Vienna, VA) : Composer in Residence

           Music Teachers National Association Composition Prize : Composer of the Year

           Inter-American Music Festival Prize for New Orchestral Works  (Costa Rica)

           Delius Association Composition Prize

           Music in the Mountains Orchestral Composition Prize  (New York)

           Arts Council of Indianapolis :

                     $10,000  Creative Renewal Arts Fellowship: for composition (2009)
                     $7,500  Creative Renewal Arts Fellowship: for composition (2000)
             

          Indiana Arts Commission : Individual Artist Fellowship program ($5,000):  1986, 1991, 1997