King of Prussia, PA – At long last, a new edition of Barney Childs' avant-garde classic Sonata for Solo Trombone (494-00033 — $9.95) is now available. Since its birth 50 years ago, the Childs Sonata has previously only been available in manuscript with an unwieldy format. Now Tenuto’s new edition is beautifully engraved and laid out for easy performance. Dur.: 9’

Barney Childs was born in Spokane in 1926. He was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, and received a Ph.D. in English and music from Stanford University. Childs was largely self-taught in music until the early 1950s, when he studied at Tanglewood with Carlos Chavez and Aaron Copland and in New York with Elliott Carter. By the late '50s, his works were performed regularly in New York and elsewhere throughout the U.S. He won the Koussevitzky Award at Tanglewood in 1954 and had many MacDowell residencies. Childs taught English at University of Arizona from 1956 to 1965, when he became dean of Deep Springs College in California. From 1969 to 1971, he was composer-in-residence at Wisconsin College Conservatory in Milwaukee. In 1971, he began teaching literature and music at the University of Redlands, becoming a full professor in 1973 and a faculty researcher and lecturer in 1979. Childs was poetry editor of the journal “Genesis West” (1962-65) and an editor of “Perspectives of New Music.” He wrote many scholarly articles concerning his musical and aesthetic views, and with collaborated with composer Elliott Schwartz to edit the book “Contemporary Composers on Contemporary Music.” From 1964 through 1982, Childs ran Advance Recordings, a record company that championed the music of avant-garde composers. Childs’ compositions drew inspiration from many sources, from traditional concert music to the aleatory works of John Cage, and jazz. He was particularly noted for innovative and influential scores (such as TAKE FIVE for any five instruments) that invite performers to collaborate on the realization of the works, and in which indeterminacy and improvisation play a great role. His compositions include traditional types of works such as symphonies and concertos, chamber pieces for unusual groupings of instruments, and many solo works (often written specifically for renowned new music virtuosi such as bassist Bertram Turetzky). Barney Childs died in February 2000. To read more about Barney Childs, click here.

Offering music by today’s greatest composers and teachers, Theodore Presser Company is the leader in publishing educational and recital music. Theodore Presser Company is a full-range music publisher and distributes the music of over 30 publishers from around the globe, with a combined sales catalog that features over 60,000 available works. For more information about new publications from Theodore Presser Company or to locate a dealer near you, log on to www.presser.com or e-mail us at sales@presser.com. For review copies of the publications listed in this release, please contact Heidi Vanderlee at (212) 777-0900, ext. 230 or send an e-mail to hvanderlee@presser.com.