Role

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Composer

Genre

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Avant-Garde

 

Carter Scholz is an American composer, born on September 3, 1953, in San Francisco, California. He grew up in a family of musicians, with his father being a jazz pianist and his mother a classical pianist. Scholz started playing the piano at a young age and showed a natural talent for music. Scholz attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he studied music composition with Andrew Imbrie and Olly Wilson. He also studied electronic music with John Chowning, who was a pioneer in the field of computer music. Scholz received his Bachelor of Arts degree in music from UC Berkeley in 1975. After graduating, Scholz worked as a freelance composer and musician in the San Francisco Bay Area. He composed music for dance companies, theater productions, and film scores. In 1980, he co-founded the electronic music group, The Hub, with John Bischoff, Tim Perkis, Chris Brown, and Scot Gresham-Lancaster. The Hub was known for their improvisational performances using custom-built electronic instruments. Scholz's early works were influenced by the minimalist music of composers such as Steve Reich and Philip Glass. His compositions often featured repetitive patterns and simple harmonic structures. One of his early works, "Piano Piece No. 1," was composed in 1974 and features a repeating pattern of six notes played in a rhythmic pattern. In the 1980s, Scholz began to incorporate more complex harmonic structures and extended techniques into his compositions. He also started to experiment with different forms of electronic music, including computer-generated sounds and live processing of acoustic instruments. One of his notable works from this period is "The Last Judgment," a large-scale work for orchestra and electronics that was premiered by the San Francisco Symphony in 1989. In the 1990s, Scholz continued to explore new forms of electronic music and began to incorporate elements of rock and jazz into his compositions. He also started to collaborate with other musicians and artists, including the poet Robert Hass and the visual artist Jim Campbell. One of his notable works from this period is "The Conversion of St. Paul," a multimedia work for choir, orchestra, and electronics that was premiered by the San Francisco Symphony in 1997. In the 2000s, Scholz continued to push the boundaries of electronic music and started to incorporate more improvisation into his compositions. He also began to explore the use of live video in his performances, creating a visual component to his music. One of his notable works from this period is "The Gates of Paradise," a multimedia work for choir, orchestra, and electronics that was premiered by the San Francisco Symphony in 2005. Scholz's music has been performed by many orchestras and ensembles, including the San Francisco Symphony, the Kronos Quartet, and the Bang on a Can All-Stars. He has also received numerous awards and honors for his work, including a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1990 and a Rome Prize in 1996. In addition to his work as a composer, Scholz is also a writer and science fiction author. He has published several novels and short stories, including "Palimpsests" and "Radiance." His writing often explores themes of technology, science, and the human condition. Overall, Carter Scholz is a composer who has pushed the boundaries of electronic music and explored new forms of multimedia performance.

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