Ernie Stires
Encyclopedia
Ernest Stires was an American
composer, musician, and mentor. His jazz-based classical music has been performed both throughout the United States and abroad.
Stires was born in Alexandria, Virginia
, to a family of musicians. His grandparents were the mezzo-soprano
Louise Homer
and the American art song
composer Sidney Homer
, while his cousin was the composer Samuel Barber
. He was educated first at the Episcopal High School
in Alexandria and then at Harvard and Dartmouth
, finally graduating from Trinity College
in Connecticut. After service as a U.S. Navy pilot in World War II, Stires worked as a television advertising executive, first for NBC
in California and then later for CBS
in Boston. Although he had begun improvising jazz on the piano while still a small child, he did not devote himself to music as a career until 1962 when he studied composition with Nicolas Slonimsky
and Francis Judd Cooke
.
He moved to Vermont
in 1967 where he was an administrator for the Vermont Symphony Orchestra
and the Bennington Composers Conference and one of the founding members of the Consortium of Vermont Composers. He also worked as a volunteer teaching basic music theory and composition to young musicians in his community. Amongst his students were Trey Anastasio
, a member of the band Phish
, film composer/guitarist John Kasiewicz
, and Jamie Masefield of the Jazz Mandolin Project
. Stires' electric guitar concerto, Chat Rooms, was written expressly for Anastasio who premiered it in 2001 with the Vermont Youth Orchestra under Troy Peters, an event covered on national television. In 2004, his violin concerto was premiered at Carnegie Hall
in New York in a performance by the Vermont Youth Orchestra with Ruotao Mao, first violinist of the Amabile Quartet, as the soloist.
Ernie Stires died in Vermont on May 4, 2008 at the age of 82.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
composer, musician, and mentor. His jazz-based classical music has been performed both throughout the United States and abroad.
Stires was born in Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
, to a family of musicians. His grandparents were the mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
Louise Homer
Louise Homer
Louise Homer was an American operatic contralto who had an active international career in concert halls and opera houses from 1895 until her retirement in 1932. After a brief stint as a vaudeville entertainer in New England, she made her professional opera debut in France in 1898...
and the American art song
Art song
An art song is a vocal music composition, usually written for one voice with piano or orchestral accompaniment. By extension, the term "art song" is used to refer to the genre of such songs....
composer Sidney Homer
Sidney Homer
Sidney Homer was a classical composer, primarily of songs.Born in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, in 1864 , he was the youngest child of deaf parents. He attended Phillips Academy, Andover, in the Class of 1884, but did not attend college. He married contralto Louise Dilworth Beatty in 1895...
, while his cousin was the composer Samuel Barber
Samuel Barber
Samuel Osborne Barber II was an American composer of orchestral, opera, choral, and piano music. His Adagio for Strings is his most popular composition and widely considered a masterpiece of modern classical music...
. He was educated first at the Episcopal High School
Episcopal High School (Alexandria, Virginia)
Episcopal High School , founded in 1839, is a private boarding school located in Alexandria, Virginia. The Holy Hill's campus houses 435 students from 30 states, the District of Columbia and 17 different countries...
in Alexandria and then at Harvard and Dartmouth
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
, finally graduating from Trinity College
Trinity College (Connecticut)
Trinity College is a private, liberal arts college in Hartford, Connecticut. Founded in 1823, it is the second-oldest college in the state of Connecticut after Yale University. The college enrolls 2,300 students and has been coeducational since 1969. Trinity offers 38 majors and 26 minors, and has...
in Connecticut. After service as a U.S. Navy pilot in World War II, Stires worked as a television advertising executive, first for NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
in California and then later for CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
in Boston. Although he had begun improvising jazz on the piano while still a small child, he did not devote himself to music as a career until 1962 when he studied composition with Nicolas Slonimsky
Nicolas Slonimsky
Nicolas Slonimsky was a Russian born American composer, conductor, musician, music critic, lexicographer and author. He described himself as a "diaskeuast" ; "a reviser or interpolator."- Life :...
and Francis Judd Cooke
Francis Judd Cooke
Francis Judd Cooke was an American composer, organist, cellist, pianist, conductor, choir director, and professor.-Life:...
.
He moved to Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
in 1967 where he was an administrator for the Vermont Symphony Orchestra
Vermont Symphony Orchestra
The Vermont Symphony Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in, and supported in part by, the U.S. state of Vermont. It is a 501 corporation. It is one of the few, and the oldest, state-supported symphony orchestras in the United States....
and the Bennington Composers Conference and one of the founding members of the Consortium of Vermont Composers. He also worked as a volunteer teaching basic music theory and composition to young musicians in his community. Amongst his students were Trey Anastasio
Trey Anastasio
Trey Anastasio is an American guitarist, composer, and vocalist most noted for his work with the rock band Phish...
, a member of the band Phish
Phish
Phish is an American rock band noted for its musical improvisation, extended jams, and exploration of music across genres. Formed at the University of Vermont in 1983 , the band's four members – Trey Anastasio , Mike Gordon , Jon Fishman , and Page McConnell Phish is an American rock band...
, film composer/guitarist John Kasiewicz
John Kasiewicz
John Kasiewicz is an American guitarist and composer, notable as a member of the jazz/rock trio Raisinhill and ambient/folktronic duo 5turns25. He has also recorded and toured with Phish drummer Jon Fishman as members of the hard rock band J...
, and Jamie Masefield of the Jazz Mandolin Project
Jazz Mandolin Project
The Jazz Mandolin Project is led by mandolinist Jamie Masefield with a rotating cast of other musicians. Although not really a “jazz” band they are influenced by a variety of styles. Formed in 1993, the Burlington Vermont based, improvisational ensemble’s self-titled first album was released which...
. Stires' electric guitar concerto, Chat Rooms, was written expressly for Anastasio who premiered it in 2001 with the Vermont Youth Orchestra under Troy Peters, an event covered on national television. In 2004, his violin concerto was premiered at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
in New York in a performance by the Vermont Youth Orchestra with Ruotao Mao, first violinist of the Amabile Quartet, as the soloist.
Ernie Stires died in Vermont on May 4, 2008 at the age of 82.
External links
- Ernie Stires Tribute Page
- Audio interview with Ernie Stires, National Public Radio, Weekend Edition Sunday, December 20, 1998