Born in Cleveland, Ohio, and receiving his Bachelor’s of Music Degree from Eastman, and Master’s and Doctorate Degrees from The Juilliard School, Eric Ewazen has written many chamber works for brass, winds, percussion and increasingly strings, piano, and voice that have become standards of the repertoire. His music in all genres—including orchestra, wind ensemble and chorus—has been performed around the world with great acclaim. Distinguished soloists and chamber ensembles performing his music include players as diverse as percussionist Evelyn Glennie, the American Brass Quintet, and the Ahn Trio; trombonists Charles Vernon, Joseph Alessi, Ronald Barron, Christian Lindberg, Nitzan Haroz, David Taylor and James Lebens; clarinetists Franklin Cohen and Larry Combs; flutists Elizabeth Rowe, Mindy Kaufman, Julius Baker and Jan Gippo; trumpet players Chris Gekker, David Bilger and Philip Smith; among many others from major symphonies around the world, including the Vienna Philharmonic, the Berlin Symphony, the Concertgebouw, the Paris Opera Orchestra, the London Philharmonic, and noted players from major symphonies and orchestras in every state of the U.S.
Recent orchestral performances of Ewazen's music include major symphonies such as the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, the National Repertory Orchestra in Colorado, the Alabama Symphony, the Anchorage Symphony, the Boise Philharmonic, the West Virginia Symphony, the Calgary (CA) Symphony, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Orchestre National de Lille in France, the Birmingham (U.K.)Philharmonic, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Valladolid and the Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife in Spain, the Prague Chamber Orchestra, the Thailand Philharmonic, and the Moment Musicale Orchestra of Taiwan. His music for wind ensemble has been performed by all the major service bands in the U.S., including the USMA Band (which premiered his work commissioned for the 200th anniversary of West Point in Carnegie Hall), the U.S. Army Band, Marine Band, Navy Band, Army Field Band and U.S. Coast Guard Bands.
He has been a guest composer at conservatories, colleges and universities, doing residencies (so far) in 47 of the 50 U.S. States, and overseas at conservatories such as McGill and Laval Universities in Canada, the Birmingham (U.K.) Conservatory, the Paris Conservatoire, the Zagreb Conservatory, the Matera (Italy) Conservatorio, the Conservatories in Tenerife and Salamanca, Spain, the Lisbon Conservatory in Portugal, Saratov Conservatory in Russia, the Showa and Senzoku Gakuen Conservatories in Japan, Mahidol University in Bangkok, the Sydney, Brisbane, Hobart, and Australian National University in Australia, Rio de Janeiro, Joao Pessoa and Recife Conservatories in Brazil, and at festivals such as the Festival of Wind Instruments in Jeju (Korea), WASBE (Singapore), Jonkoping Brass Festival (Sweden), and the Southeast Asian Brass Festival in Bangkok and all major Summer music Festivals in the U.S., including Tanglewood, Aspen and the Music Academy of the West.
His music can be heard on over 60 commercially released CDs, and over 400 Youtube clips.
He received his Bachelors of Music Degree from the Eastman School of Music and Masters and Doctorate Degrees from The Juilliard School, where he has been a member of the faculty since 1980. His teachers have included Samuel Adler, Milton Babbitt, Warren Benson, Eugene Kurtz, Gunther Schuller and Joseph Schwantner. He was Composer-in-Residence with the St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble, and Vice-President of the League of Composers - International Society of Contemporary Music.
For the 2011-12 season, he has been commissioned to write a Concerto Grosso for Three Trombones and Orchestra for the Buffalo Philharmonic and the Virginia Symphonies, with JoAnn Falletta. The Virginia Symphony will also be performing his “Hymn for the Lost and the Living,” an In Memoriam to 9/11, orchestrated by Otto Werner Mueller, on the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Three solo CDs of his music will be released in 2011, all on Albany Records: one devoted to his chamber music for flute, performed by Marya Martin with the Bridgehampton Chamber Musicians; another to his trumpet music, featuring Chris Gekker, Nathaniel, and James Lebgens; and a third devoted to his music for wind ensemble, featuring the University of Memphis Wind Ensemble.
For more information, please visit www.ericewazen.com
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