Role

:

Composer  

Birth

:

1937 in Miles City, MT

Genre

:

Chamber

 

 

Keyboard

 

George Flynn is an American composer who was born on December 14, 1937, in Chicago, Illinois. He grew up in a musical family, with his father being a jazz pianist and his mother a singer. Flynn began playing the piano at a young age and later learned to play the trumpet and French horn. He attended DePaul University in Chicago, where he earned a Bachelor of Music degree in composition in 1960. After completing his undergraduate studies, Flynn went on to study composition with Robert Erickson at the University of California, San Diego. He earned his Master of Arts degree in composition in 1962 and his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in composition in 1965. During his time at UCSD, Flynn was exposed to the experimental music scene that was flourishing in California at the time. This experience had a profound impact on his compositional style, which is characterized by its use of extended techniques and unconventional instrumentation. Flynn's early works were heavily influenced by the serialist techniques of composers such as Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern. However, he soon began to incorporate elements of jazz and other popular music genres into his compositions. This can be heard in works such as "Jazz Suite" for piano (1961) and "Blues for Piano" (1962). In the 1970s, Flynn began to experiment with electronic music. He created a series of works that combined live performers with pre-recorded electronic sounds. One of his most notable works from this period is "American City: A Musicale" (1976), which was commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The piece is a multimedia work that combines live performers, pre-recorded sounds, and video projections to create a portrait of urban life in America. Throughout his career, Flynn has been interested in exploring the relationship between music and other art forms. He has collaborated with visual artists, dancers, and poets to create works that combine music with other forms of expression. One of his most notable collaborations was with the poet John Ashbery, with whom he created the opera "The Palace" (1995). Flynn's music has been performed by many of the world's leading orchestras and ensembles, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, and the Kronos Quartet. He has received numerous awards and honors for his work, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts grant, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters Music Award. In addition to his work as a composer, Flynn has also been an influential teacher and mentor to many young composers. He has taught at the University of California, San Diego, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Many of his former students have gone on to have successful careers as composers and performers. In conclusion, George Flynn is a highly respected American composer whose work has been characterized by its experimentalism and its willingness to explore the boundaries between different art forms. His music has been performed by many of the world's leading orchestras and ensembles, and he has been an influential teacher and mentor to many young composers. Flynn's legacy as a composer and educator is sure to continue to inspire future generations of musicians.

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