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Gregory Spears

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Gregory Spears
Born
Virginia
NationalityAmerican
Alma materEastman School of Music, Yale University, Princeton University
Musical career
Occupationcomposer
LabelsFanfare Cincinnati, New Amsterdam Records
Websitewww.gregoryspears.com

Gregory Spears is an American composer of instrumental and operatic works that blend aspects of romanticism, minimalism, and early music.[1] Among his best known works are the operas Fellow Travelers and Paul's Case, as well as his Requiem.[2]

Early life and education

Spears grew up in Virginia. He attended Eastman School of Music, received a master's degree at Yale University, and earned his Ph.D. at Princeton University.[3] He studied with Hans Abrahamsen and Per Nørgård while a Fulbright Scholar at the Royal Danish Academy of Music.[4]

Career

His opera Fellow Travelers, adapted from the novel of the same name by Thomas Mallon with a libretto by Greg Pierce, premiered at Cincinnati Opera on June 17, 2016[5] and has since then been produced across the United States and has garnered many positive reviews. Anthony Tommasini in The New York Times wrote: "Originality in the arts is a vague and overhyped virtue. Few works are completely original. All creative artists borrow from others, both masters they revere and contemporaries they may be in competition with. Still, originality just comes through sometimes, as the composer Gregory Spears demonstrates in his personal, boldly quirky score for the wrenching, and sadly timely, opera Fellow Travelers."[6] And John von Rhein wrote in the Chicago Tribune: "Spears is unusually sensitive to the irregular cadences of American speech, and his setting of words to music is masterly... "Fellow Travelers" is one of the most accomplished new American operas I have encountered in recent years."[7] Since its world premiere, it has received over 13 productions[8] by companies such as Lyric Opera of Chicago,[9] Prototype Festival,[6] Minnesota Opera,[10][11] Florida Grand Opera,[12] Boston Lyric Opera,[13] Des Moines Metro Opera,[14] Virginia Opera,[15] Arizona Opera,[16] and more.

His latest opera Castor and Patience was commissioned for Cincinnati Opera's 100th anniversary season with an original libretto by Tracy K. Smith.[17] The world premiere was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic from 2020 to July 2022. The opera received a Critic's Pick[18] from The New York Times and was also named in The New York Times Best Classical Music Performances of 2022.[19] Zachary Woolfe in his review for The New York Times describes the work: "The agonies and pleasures of Castor and Patience,... are like those of a less densely orchestrated Puccini. As in Tosca, La bohème or Madama Butterfly, unabashedly, even shamelessly effusive vocal lines draw us poignantly close to characters in a rending situation: here, a Black family riven by disagreement over whether to sell part of a precious plot of land."[18]

Gregory Spears and Tracy K. Smith's upcoming opera The Righteous is commissioned by Santa Fe Opera and will make its world premiere there in summer 2024.[20]

He currently teaches composition at State University of New York at Purchase.[21]

Style

Spears' music often draws on earlier musical styles processed through contemporary minimalist techniques.[22]

The New York Times's Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim described his opera Fellow Travelers: "But what makes Fellow Travelers such a satisfying operatic experience is the old-fashioned combination of a swift-flowing and deft libretto and gorgeous music."[23] Alex Ross in The New Yorker elaborates: "The harmony is largely tonal, but it is anti-Romantic in effect, tending instead toward a decorous neo-Baroque sensibility. Voices and instruments often perform courtly pirouettes against sustained chords and even pulses. The atmosphere is one of hushed disclosure: the music implies more than it says. What emerges is a potently ambiguous sound world that conveys human warmth and chill in equal measure. Above all, it is a transparent medium in which singing actors can speak instead of shout."[24]

Heidi Waleson described Spears' compositional style in her Wall Street Journal review of the opera O Columbia: "Mr. Spears writes brilliantly for vocal ensembles. Starting with neoclassical-style clarity, he builds textured, complex musical structures that sound old and new at the same time, and his skillful text settings use minimalist-like repetition to give Mr. Vavrek's pointed, thoughtful words even more power and emotional specificity."[25]

Steve Smith, in his New York Times review of the opera Paul's Case, based on the Willa Cather short story of the same title, described the score: "Mr. Spears's elegantly spare music, with its gamelan-redolent modes and clockwork repetitions, Baroque vocal fillips, intricately woven ensembles and dramatically placed dissonances, further infuses the tale with a sense of ritual and inevitability."[26]

David Patrick Stearns, in his Philadelphia Inquirer review of Spears' Requiem, described his musical influences: "Spears intersperses the swan myth with the requiem text, much of it reflecting lyrical Baltic influences of Arvo Pärt, but with a young composer's restlessness. The swan's song is speculatively re-created with otherworldly vocal ornaments. The piece also contains counterpoint that echoes 16th-century madrigals as well as a modern sense of theatrical timing that keeps your ears on edge until the last note."[27]

Selected works

Opera

Orchestra

  • Love Story, written for countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo and commissioned by New York Philharmonic, 2021[35][36]
  • Concerto for Two Trumpets and Strings, written for trumpeter Brandon Ridenour and commissioned by the BMI Foundation/Carlos Surinach Fund and Concert Artist Guild, 2019[37][38]
  • A New Sanctus, Benedictus, and Agnus Dei for the Mozart Requiem, commissioned by Seraphic Fire and the Firebird Chamber Orchestra, 2013[39]

Film score

Large chamber ensemble

  • The Neighboring Village (text by Franz Kafka), for choir and two recorders, commissioned by The Virginia Chorale, 2024[43]
  • The Tower and the Garden, for choir and string quartet, commissioned by The Crossing (choral ensemble), 2018[44][45]
  • Virginiana, on texts by Robert Bolling, commissioned by The Damask Ensemble and New Vintage Baroque, 2015[46]
  • Requiem, commissioned by Christopher Williams Dances and released by New Amsterdam Records, 2010[27]

Chamber ensemble

  • String Quartet No. 2, world premiere by Chatter at SITE Santa Fe, 2022[47]
  • The Census at Bethlehem, for cello and harpsichord, world premiere by Chatter at SITE Santa Fe, 2022[47]
  • Our Lady, written for Ryland Angel and The Sebastian Chamber Players, 2011[48]
  • Buttonwood, for string quartet, commissioned for performance by the JACK Quartet in 2010[49]

Solo piano

Voice and piano

References

  1. ^ "Profile Gregory Spears". New Music USA. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  2. ^ "Gregory Spears – Requiem". New Amsterdam Records (published June 2010). 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  3. ^ "Gregory Spears '02 MM wins Carlos Surinach Commission". Yale School of Music. August 10, 2015. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  4. ^ "Gregory Spears – Profile". Schott Music. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  5. ^ Fonseca-Wollheim, Corinna da (June 20, 2016). "Review: Gay Love in the Time of McCarthy". The New York Times. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  6. ^ a b Tommasini, Anthony (January 14, 2018). "Review: Risk-Taking New Opera Tells a Tragic 1950s Gay Love Story". The New York Times. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  7. ^ von Rhein, John. "Gay love story unfolds in McCarthy-era shadows". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  8. ^ "Fellow Travelers program book by Virginia Opera". January 23, 2023. Retrieved February 20, 2023 – via issuu.
  9. ^ "A gay love affair in '50s D.C. plays out to touching effect in Fellow Travelers". Chicago Tribune. March 18, 2018. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  10. ^ "Minnesota Opera's Fellow Travelers sings of love in a time of fear". Twin Cities. June 17, 2018. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  11. ^ "'Fellow Travelers' –". Minnesota Opera. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  12. ^ "South Florida Classical Review – FGO's compelling Fellow Travelers illuminates dark days of McCarthy era". southfloridaclassicalreview.com. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  13. ^ Madonna, A. Z. (November 14, 2019). "A poignant pair carries Boston Lyric Opera's faltering Fellow Travelers". The Boston Globe. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  14. ^ "Stirring Fellow Travelers Journeys to Des Moines". Opera Today. July 25, 2021. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  15. ^ "Trailblazing: Fellow Travelers hacks out a new path for opera". The Virginian-Pilot. February 3, 2023. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  16. ^ Burch, Cathalena E. (November 17, 2019). "There's much to like in Fellow Travelers, the latest big risk by Arizona Opera". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  17. ^ "Castor and Patience". Cincinnati Opera. May 31, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  18. ^ a b c Woolfe, Zachary (July 22, 2022). "Review: A New Opera Tells an Original Story With an Open Heart". The New York Times. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  19. ^ Woolfe, Zachary; Barone, Joshua (December 1, 2022). "Best Classical Music Performances of 2022". The New York Times. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  20. ^ "2024 World Premiere: The Righteous | Santa Fe Opera". www.santafeopera.org. June 22, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  21. ^ "Gregory Spears". www.purchase.edu. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  22. ^ Ross, Alex (February 3, 2014). "The Opera Lab". The New Yorker. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  23. ^ da Fonseca-Wollheim, Corinna (December 7, 2016). "The Best Classical Music of 2016". The New York Times. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  24. ^ Ross, Alex (January 15, 2018). "An Opera About Gay Life in D.C. in the Fifties". The New Yorker. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
  25. ^ a b Waleson, Heidi (September 28, 2015). "O Columbia and Sweeney Todd Reviews". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  26. ^ Smith, Steve (January 10, 2014). "Prototype Presents Operatic Version of Paul's Case". The New York Times. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  27. ^ a b Stearns, David Patrick (November 13, 2011). "New Recordings". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on December 6, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  28. ^ "2024 World Premiere: The Righteous | Santa Fe Opera". www.santafeopera.org. June 22, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  29. ^ "Home Cincinnati Opera". cincinnatiopera.org. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
  30. ^ von Rhein, John (May 9, 2016). "Lyric to premiere youth opera Jason". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  31. ^ "Home Cincinnati Opera". cincinnatiopera.org. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  32. ^ Catlin, Roger (April 22, 2013). "Skillful singers bring a short story to life in UrbanArias Paul's Case". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  33. ^ Stearns, David Patrick (January 21, 2013). "Beasts of a musical wild". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  34. ^ Waleson, Heidi (March 19, 2012). "The Bricklayer – Houston Grand Opera – A Glimpse Behind the Wall". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  35. ^ "Anthony Roth Costanzo Sings Berlioz". nyphil.org. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  36. ^ Woolfe, Zachary (February 4, 2022). "Review: At the Philharmonic, Enveloping and Harrowing Sincerity". The New York Times. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  37. ^ "EAM: World Premiere of Gregory Spears's Concerto for Two Trumpets and Strings". www.eamdc.com. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  38. ^ "The String Orchestra of Brooklyn: Music of Kline, Spears, and Eastman". Roulette. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  39. ^ Fleshler, David (November 16, 2013). "Seraphic Fire's premiere of complete Mozart Requiem effectively blends old and new". southfloridaclassicalreview.com. South Florida Classical Review. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  40. ^ "British Council Film: Macbeth". film-directory.britishcouncil.org. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  41. ^ Felperin, Leslie (March 8, 2018). "Macbeth review – full of sound and fury". The Guardian. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  42. ^ Findlay, Alison; Wray (June 30, 2017). "A Review of Macbeth (dir. Kit Monkman, 2017)". British Shakespeare Association. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  43. ^ "World Premiere of Gregory Spears's The Neighboring Village by the Virginia Chorale". Schott EAM. April 12, 2024. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  44. ^ Dobrin, Peter (December 11, 2018). "Rufus Wainwright, 'Glass Handel', 'Nezet-Seguin and DiDonato,' and more of Philly's best classical performances of 2018". www.inquirer.com. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  45. ^ Wild, Stephi. "The Crossing Releases 'The Tower and The Garden' Feat. Works By Gregory Spears, Joel Puckett, And Toivo Tulev". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  46. ^ Prisco, Jaime (February 19, 2015). "New Vintage Baroque, Damask Ensemble Tour". classicalite.com. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  47. ^ a b "EAM: Chatter Premieres Gregory Spears's The Census at Bethlehem and String Quartet No. 2 in Santa Fe and Albuquerque". www.eamdc.com. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  48. ^ "PSNY: Gregory Spears – Our Lady". eamdc.com. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  49. ^ "Gregory Spears – Buttonwood – string quartet". eamdc.com. PSNY, Project Schott New York. 2010. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  50. ^ "The 92nd Street Y Announces Seven Days An App-Delivered Music Experience Created by Acclaimed Composer Gregory Spears Available for Free". WBGO. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  51. ^ "Seven Days". 92nd Street Y. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  52. ^ "2018 Winners Of The New York International Piano Competition Announced At Awards Ceremony Held On Friday Night". broadwayworld.com. Broadway World. June 25, 2018. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
  53. ^ "Gregory Spears – Toccata (Wild Horses) – solo piano". eamdc.com. PSNY, Project Schott New York. 2012. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
  54. ^ "Interview: Composer Gregory Spears Unpacks Thoreau in Upcoming DC World Premiere". dcmetrotheaterarts.com. DC Metro Theater Arts. April 24, 2018. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
  55. ^ "Review – Walden delivers gripping concert for Vocal Arts". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  56. ^ Cristi, A. A. "Five Boroughs Music Festival Presents World Premiere of Five Borough Songbook, Volume II". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
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