Role

:

Composer  

Birth

:

April 22, 1932 in Chicago, IL

Death

:

July 2, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Period

:

Contemporary

Genre

:

Chamber

 

 

Concerto

 

 

Orchestral

 

Michael Colgrass was a Canadian-American composer, percussionist, and educator who was born on April 22, 1932, in Chicago, Illinois. He was the son of a jazz musician and grew up in a musical family. Colgrass began playing the drums at a young age and later studied percussion at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City. After completing his studies, Colgrass worked as a percussionist with various orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Opera. He also played with jazz musicians such as Benny Goodman and Dizzy Gillespie. However, Colgrass was more interested in composing music than performing it, and he began to focus on his career as a composer in the 1960s. Colgrass's early works were influenced by the avant-garde music of the time, and he experimented with new techniques and sounds. His first major composition, "Variations for Four Drums and Viola," was written in 1962 and showcased his innovative approach to percussion music. The piece was performed at the Tanglewood Music Festival and received critical acclaim. In the 1970s, Colgrass began to incorporate elements of world music into his compositions. He traveled to India and studied with the renowned sitar player Ravi Shankar, which had a significant impact on his music. Colgrass's interest in world music can be heard in works such as "As Quiet As" (1974), which features a solo marimba accompanied by a gamelan ensemble. One of Colgrass's most famous works is "Winds of Nagual" (1985), a concerto for two percussionists and orchestra. The piece was inspired by the writings of Carlos Castaneda and explores the idea of shapeshifting. "Winds of Nagual" has been performed by orchestras around the world and is considered a masterpiece of contemporary percussion music. Colgrass continued to compose music throughout his life and received numerous awards and honors for his work. In 1978, he won the Pulitzer Prize for Music for his composition "Déjà vu," which was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic. He also received a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Fulbright Scholarship, and was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In addition to his work as a composer, Colgrass was also a respected educator. He taught at the University of Toronto, the Manhattan School of Music, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He wrote several books on music education, including "My Lessons with Kumi" (2002), which chronicles his experiences teaching music to a young girl in Japan. Michael Colgrass passed away on July 2, 2019, at the age of 87. He left behind a legacy of innovative and influential music that continues to inspire musicians and audiences around the world.

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