Short bio Dan Welcher
Full biography Dan Welcher
Dan Welcher is an American composer, conductor, and music educator, born on March 2, 1948, in Rochester, New York. He is one of the most-played composers of his generation , and his compositions range from symphonic, wind ensemble, choral, operatic, and chamber music works. He has been awarded prizes and grants, including a Guggenheim Fellowship.
Welcher is also a music educator, and from 1990 to 1993, he was the Composer in Residence for the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra. He has also taught at several universities and conservatories, including the University of Texas at Austin, where he was a professor of composition until March 2, 2020, when he resigned following allegations of sexual harassment that violated the university's policies.
Welcher's compositions have been performed by numerous orchestras, ensembles, and soloists worldwide, including the New York Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. He has also written two operas, Della's Gift, which premiered in Austin in 1987 and A Christmas Carol based on the famous story by Charles Dickens.
Despite the allegations against him, Dan Welcher's contributions to contemporary classical music cannot be overlooked. His music has been praised for its cleverness, masterful use of color, and innovative ideas, and he has left a lasting impact on the world of classical music.
Compositions featuring Dan Welcher
| # | Name | Duration | Genre | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upriver, for band | 14:31 min | Band Music | 2010 |
| 2 | Arietta, for cello & piano | 3:17 min | Chamber Music | 2006 |
| 3 | The Moerae, fantasy for flute, oboe, bassoon, & piano | 10:38 min | Chamber Music | 2005 |
| 4 | Another Rag for Rags, for violin & piano | 4:04 min | Chamber Music | 2001 |
| 5 | Songs Without Words, 5 mood pieces for wind ensemble | 17:12 min | Band Music | 2000 |
| 6 | Symphony No. 3 for Band ("Shaker Life") | 18:39 min | Band Music | 1997 |
| 7 | All the Words to All the Songs, for flute & piano | 7:25 min | Chamber Music | 1996 |
| 8 | Spirit Realms, for flute & percussion | Chamber Music | 1996 | |
| 9 | Phaedrus, for clarinet, violin & piano | 15:52 min | Chamber Music | 1995 |
| 10 | Dante Dances (Danzi d'Inferno), for clarinet & piano | 13:42 min | Chamber Music | 1995 |
| 11 | Zion, for band (from Three Places in the West) | 10:16 min | Band Music | 1994 |
| 12 | Concerto for piano & orchestra (Shiva's Drum) | Concerto | 1993 | |
| 13 | Violin Concerto | 26:43 min | Concerto | 1993 |
| 14 | String Quartet No. 2 ("Harbor Music") | 11:43 min | Chamber Music | 1992 |
| 15 | Tsunami, for cello, percussion & piano | 11:03 min | Chamber Music | 1991 |
| 16 | Haleakala: How Maui Snared the Sun, for narrator & orchestra | 22:37 min | Miscellaneous (Classical) | 1991 |
| 17 | Concerto for clarinet | 14:50 min | Concerto | 1989 |
| 18 | Castle Creek Fanfare | 1:28 min | Chamber Music | 1989 |
| 19 | High-Tech Etudes for piano | Keyboard | 1988 | |
| 20 | Chameleon Music, for percussion ensemble | 10:13 min | Chamber Music | 1988 |
| 21 | Firewing: The Flame and the Moth, for oboe & 2 percussionists | 11:21 min | Chamber Music | 1987 |
| 22 | Reversible Jackets: Exercises in Conjugal Counterpoint, for flute & clarinet | 6:28 min | Chamber Music | 1987 |
| 23 | White Mares of the Moon, for flute & harp | 8:40 min | Chamber Music | 1986 |
| 24 | Pachel's Bells for piano | 4:46 min | Keyboard | 1986 |
| 25 | Prairie Light: 3 Texas Watercolors of Georgia O'Keefe | 14:20 min | Miscellaneous (Classical) | 1985 |
| 26 | Evening Scenes, 3 poems of James Agee for tenor voice & ensemble | 15:04 min | Vocal Music | 1985 |
| 27 | Brass quintet | 4:04 min | Chamber Music | 1981 |
| 28 | Songs (7) on Poems of e.e. cummings for medium high voice & piano | 24:21 min | Vocal Music | 1981 |
| 29 | Partita, for horn, violin & piano | 19:42 min | Chamber Music | 1979 |
| 30 | Abeja blanca, for mezzo-soprano, English horn & piano | 14:00 min | Vocal Music | 1978 |
| 31 | Woodwind Quintet No. 2 | 18:12 min | Chamber Music | 1977 |
| 32 | Concerto Da Camera for bassoon & orchestra | 24:13 min | Concerto | 1975 |
| 33 | Sonatina for solo piano | 10:01 min | Keyboard | 1972 |
| 34 | String Quartet No. 1 | 24:51 min | Chamber Music | - |
| 35 | Circular Marches, for band | 9:00 min | Band Music | - |
| 36 | String Quartet No. 3 ("Cassatt") | 24:06 min | Chamber Music | - |
| 37 | Symphony No. 4, for wind ensemble ("American Visionary") | 19:01 min | Band Music | - |
| 38 | The Bequest, for soprano & chamber ensemble | 5:27 min | Vocal Music | - |
| 39 | Minstrels of the Kells, for wind ensemble | 25:21 min | Band Music | - |
| 40 | Blues and Toccata on the Name Benny Goodman | 10:29 min | Miscellaneous (Classical) | - |
| 41 | Mill Songs: Metamorphoses (4) after Schubert for oboe & bassoon | 15:11 min | Chamber Music | - |
| 42 | Vox Femina, for soprano & chamber ensemble | 22:23 min | Vocal Music | - |
| 43 | Go Slow, My Soul, for voice & piano | 2:21 min | Vocal Music | - |
| 44 | Zephyrus, for flute & string trio | 16:27 min | Chamber Music | - |
| 45 | Four Places in the West, for wind ensemble | 34:39 min | Band Music | - |
Albums featuring Dan Welcher
| # | Сover | Name album | Year | Music label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Hesketh, Patterson, Welcher, Alkema, Grainger, North Texas Wind Symphony, Eugene Migliaro Corporon – Symphonic Excursions(CD, Stereo) | 2002 | Klavier Records |
| 2 |  |
William Bolcom, Daniel Welcher, Paul Kantor – Music Of William Bolcom And Dan Welcher(CD, Album) | 2002 | Equilibrium |
| 3 |  |
Donald Grantham, Dan Welcher, Kent Kennan - Chamber Soloists Of Austin – Music By: Donald Grantham, Dan Welcher, Kent Kennan(CD, Album) | 2001 | Gasparo |
| 4 |  |
The New World Symphony Orchestra, Dan Welcher – White Mares Of The Moon(CD, Stereo) | 2001 | Composers Recordings Inc. (CRI) |
| 5 |  |
The Core Ensemble / Ross Bauer, Peter Lieuwen, Marjorie Merryman, Judith Shatin, Marilyn Shrude, Dan Welcher – Bending The Light(CD, Album) | 1999 | New World Records |
| 6 |  |
Dan Welcher, David Maslanka, Blake Wilkins, Michael Hennagin, SoundStroke, Richard C. Gipson – Twilight Offering Music(CD, ) | 1996 | Albany Records |
| 7 |  |
Dan Welcher, Bil Jackson, Honolulu Symphony • Donald Johanos, Richard Chamberlain – Haleakala: How Maui Snared The Sun / Prairie Light: Three Texas Watercolors Of Georgia O'Keeffe / Clarinet Concerto | 1992 | Marco Polo |
| 8 |  |
Summit Brass, Joseph Schwantner, Gunther Schuller, Donald Erb, Dan Welcher, John Cheetham, David Sampson (6), John Stevens (8) – American Tribute (Monumental Brassworks By American Composers)(CD, ) | 1991 | Summit Records (3) |
| 9 |  |
Dan Welcher / Robert Xavier Rodríguez, The Louisville Orchestra, Akira Endo, Lawrence Leighton-Smith – The Visions Of Merlin / Favola Boccaccesca(LP, Album, Stereo) | 1989 | First Edition Records |
| 10 |  |
Norman Dello Joio, Leonard Slatkin, Dan Welcher, Francis Fuge, Jorge Mester, The Louisville Orchestra – Homage To Haydn / Concerto For Flute And Orchestra | 1975 | First Edition Records |
| 11 |  |
Samuel Barber / Dan E. Welcher / Hunter Johnson (2), The Louisville Orchestra, Jorge Mester – Prayers Of Kierkegaard, Op. 30 / Dervishes: Ritual Dance-Scene For Full Orchestra / Past The Evening Sun(LP, Stereo) | - | First Edition Records |
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