Lewis Nielson (born 1950) is an American composer. Until 2012, he served as chair of the composition department at Oberlin Conservatory of Music.[1]

Lewis Nielson
Born(1950-09-26)September 26, 1950
Alma materUniversity of Iowa
OccupationMusical composer
Years active1977–present

Early life and education

edit

Nielson spent his childhood in Washington, D.C., but moved with his family to London at age 9. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London, Clark University in Massachusetts and the University of Iowa, where he received his Ph.D. in music theory and composition in 1977.[2] During his youth, Nielson played guitar in a garage rock band.[3]

Career

edit

He served as a professor of music composition for 21 years at the University of Georgia while directing the University of Georgia Contemporary Chamber Ensemble.[4] His works have been performed by the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Slovak Orchestra of Bratislava, the Musique Expérimentale de Bourges, and the American Composer's Orchestra at such venues as the Moscow International House of Music, the Smithsonian Institution and the National Gallery of Art and at a number of international events including the World Saxophone Congress, the American Society of University Composers and the Society of Composers, and I Seminario Nacional Pesquisa em Performance Musical in Brazil.[5]

He has received a Fulbright-Hays Grant from the French government, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Ibla Foundation in Sicily and the International Society of Bassists. In 2000, he joined the faculty at Oberlin Conservatory.

Nielson won honorable mention in the International Society of Bassists’ Composition Competition 2000 for his Duo Concertant (Danger Man), a work for double bass and percussion.


Discography

edit

Lewis Nielson: Axis (Mode Records, 2015)[6]

Lewis Nielson: The Twittering Machine: Ecritures (Centaur Records, 2008)[7]

Vortex: Music by Lewis Nielson (ACA Digital, 2000)[8]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Lewis Nielson Bio".
  2. ^ "2007 MID-CAREER ARTIST AWARD FOR MUSIC". Cleveland Arts Prize. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  3. ^ Molleson, Kate (2015-07-16). "Lewis Nielson: Axis CD review – squeak, bounce, grunt and shimmer". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
  4. ^ "Lewis Nielson". New Music USA. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
  5. ^ "Lewis Nielson". clevelandartsprize.org. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
  6. ^ "Lewis Nielson - AXIS". www.moderecords.com. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
  7. ^ "Music of Lewis Nielson. Violin Concerto". www.centaurrecords.com. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
  8. ^ "Vortex - Music By Lewis Nielson - Aca Digital: CM20041 | Buy from ArkivMusic". www.arkivmusic.com. Retrieved 2020-04-07.