Joel Thome
Encyclopedia
Joel Thome is the conductor and artistic director of Orchestra of Our Time. A Grammy Award
recipient, Thome has been acclaimed internationally as an accomplished conductor and composer of classical and contemporary orchestral music, as well as a strikingly effective conductor of opera
and other music/theater works. His conducting credits include many prominent and international orchestras. He has worked with such noted artists as pianists Vladimir Feltsman
and Lorin Hollander, violinist Jaime Laredo
, Metropolitan Opera
singers Florence Quivar
and Roberta Alexander. His modern opera performances include the Weill/Brecht Threepenny Opera
with the Opera Company of Boston
and the Thomson/Stein Four Saints in Three Acts
at Carnegie Hall
.
For thirteen years, Thome led the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico in concerts of classical and contemporary works. He has also conducted the Israel Chamber Orchestra
, Group L'Itineraire in Paris, Brooklyn Philharmonic
, the Orquestra Municipal of Caracas and the Milwaukee Symphony, and has been a regular guest conductor of the Monday Evening Concert Series in Los Angeles.
A composer and conductor of many disciplines, Thome conceived and conducted Zappa's Universe at the Ritz Theatre in New York City, and provided critically acclaimed arrangements of Frank Zappa
's wide ranging repertoire for symphony orchestra, rock musicians, classical soloists and a capella singers. Thome's Polygram/Verve recording of Zappa's Universe received a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental in 1994
. Thome conducted a sold-out program of the Music of Frank Zappa and Edgard Varèse
at the Great Performers Series in Avery Fisher Hall
at Lincoln Center, and conducted the Seattle and Oregon Symphony Orchestras in An Evening of the Music of Frank Zappa
.
Thome as served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Bronx Museum of the Arts
, Mexican Institute for Culture in New York, Erick Hawkins Foundation for Modern Dance, and on the Board of Directors of the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function. His collaborations with visual artists include Alexander Calder
, Françoise Gilot, David Hockney
and Red Grooms
. He has also collaborated with film-maker Robert Fulton, and choreographer, Anna Sokolow
. Thome has held a number of prestigious positions in academe and for some years was Head of Music at Carnegie Mellon University
. He is currently Professor of Composition at SUNY Purchase where he has taught, among others, electronic composer and musician Dan Deacon
.
's Pierrot Lunaire for Vox) and Satyavan Dream Twilight for World Sound.
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
recipient, Thome has been acclaimed internationally as an accomplished conductor and composer of classical and contemporary orchestral music, as well as a strikingly effective conductor of opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
and other music/theater works. His conducting credits include many prominent and international orchestras. He has worked with such noted artists as pianists Vladimir Feltsman
Vladimir Feltsman
Vladimir Feltsman is a Russian American classical pianist.Feltsman debuted with the Moscow Philharmonic at age 11. He studied at the Moscow Tchaikovsky, Moscow, and Leningrad Vladimir Feltsman is a Russian American classical pianist.Feltsman debuted with the Moscow Philharmonic at age 11. He...
and Lorin Hollander, violinist Jaime Laredo
Jaime Laredo
Jaime Laredo is a violinist and conductor. Currently the conductor and Music Director of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, he began his musical career when he was five years old. In 1948 he came to North America and took lessons from Antonio DeGrass...
, Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
singers Florence Quivar
Florence Quivar
Florence Quivar is an American operatic mezzo-soprano who is considered to be "one of the most prominent singers of her generation." She has variously been described as having a "rich, earthy sound and communicative presence" as "always reliable" and as "a distinguished singer, with a warm, rich...
and Roberta Alexander. His modern opera performances include the Weill/Brecht Threepenny Opera
The Threepenny Opera
The Threepenny Opera is a musical by German dramatist Bertolt Brecht and composer Kurt Weill, in collaboration with translator Elisabeth Hauptmann and set designer Caspar Neher. It was adapted from an 18th-century English ballad opera, John Gay's The Beggar's Opera, and offers a Marxist critique...
with the Opera Company of Boston
Opera Company of Boston
The Opera Company of Boston was an American opera company located in Boston, Massachusetts that was active during the late 1950s through the early 1990s. The company was founded by American conductor Sarah Caldwell in 1958 under the name Boston Opera Group. At one time, the touring arm of the...
and the Thomson/Stein Four Saints in Three Acts
Four Saints in Three Acts
Four Saints in Three Acts is an opera by American composer Virgil Thomson with a libretto by Gertrude Stein. Written in 1927-8, it contains about 20 saints, and is in at least four acts...
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....
.
For thirteen years, Thome led the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico in concerts of classical and contemporary works. He has also conducted the Israel Chamber Orchestra
Israel Chamber Orchestra
The Israel Chamber Orchestra is an Israeli orchestra based in Tel Aviv-Jaffa. Primary funding comes from the Israel Ministry of Education and the Tel Aviv Jaffa Municipality....
, Group L'Itineraire in Paris, Brooklyn Philharmonic
Brooklyn Philharmonic
The Brooklyn Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, commonly known as the Brooklyn Philharmonic, is an American orchestra based in the borough of Brooklyn, in New York City...
, the Orquestra Municipal of Caracas and the Milwaukee Symphony, and has been a regular guest conductor of the Monday Evening Concert Series in Los Angeles.
A composer and conductor of many disciplines, Thome conceived and conducted Zappa's Universe at the Ritz Theatre in New York City, and provided critically acclaimed arrangements of Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
's wide ranging repertoire for symphony orchestra, rock musicians, classical soloists and a capella singers. Thome's Polygram/Verve recording of Zappa's Universe received a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental in 1994
Grammy Awards of 1994
The 36th Grammy Awards were held in 1994. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Whitney Houston is the Big Winner winning 3 awards including Record of the Year and Album of the Year.-Award winners:*Record of the Year...
. Thome conducted a sold-out program of the Music of Frank Zappa and Edgard Varèse
Edgard Varèse
Edgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse, , whose name was also spelled Edgar Varèse , was an innovative French-born composer who spent the greater part of his career in the United States....
at the Great Performers Series in Avery Fisher Hall
Avery Fisher Hall
Avery Fisher Hall is a concert hall, in New York City and is part of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts complex. It is the home of the New York Philharmonic, with a capacity of 2,738 seats.-History:...
at Lincoln Center, and conducted the Seattle and Oregon Symphony Orchestras in An Evening of the Music of Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
.
Thome as served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Bronx Museum of the Arts
Bronx Museum of the Arts
The Bronx Museum of the Arts is a cultural institution located in the New York City borough of The Bronx. The museum focuses on contemporary and 20th century works created by American artists, and it has hosted exhibitions of art and design from Latin America, Africa and Asia...
, Mexican Institute for Culture in New York, Erick Hawkins Foundation for Modern Dance, and on the Board of Directors of the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function. His collaborations with visual artists include Alexander Calder
Alexander Calder
Alexander Calder was an American sculptor and artist most famous for inventing mobile sculptures. In addition to mobile and stable sculpture, Alexander Calder also created paintings, lithographs, toys, tapestry, jewelry and household objects.-Childhood:Alexander "Sandy" Calder was born in Lawnton,...
, Françoise Gilot, David Hockney
David Hockney
David Hockney, CH, RA, is an English painter, draughtsman, printmaker, stage designer and photographer, who is based in Bridlington, Yorkshire and Kensington, London....
and Red Grooms
Red Grooms
Red Grooms is an American multimedia artist best known for his colorful pop-art constructions depicting frenetic scenes of modern urban life...
. He has also collaborated with film-maker Robert Fulton, and choreographer, Anna Sokolow
Anna Sokolow
Anna Sokolow was a Jewish American dancer and choreographer.-Training:...
. Thome has held a number of prestigious positions in academe and for some years was Head of Music at Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
. He is currently Professor of Composition at SUNY Purchase where he has taught, among others, electronic composer and musician Dan Deacon
Dan Deacon
Dan Deacon is an American composer and electronic musician based out of Baltimore, Maryland. Since 2003, Deacon has released eight albums under several different labels...
.
Compositions
Thome major compositions include Savitri Traveller of the Worlds (Pulitzer Prize nomination), the score for Picasso's play Catch Desire by the Tail; Book of Beginnings V for Benny Reitveldt (bassist for Miles Davis and Carlos Santana), and Time Spans, the first work to use actual radio signals from space.Recordings (as conductor)
His Recordings include the Thomson/Stein opera Four Saints in Three Acts (Nonesuch) which received Stereo Review's Recording of the Month and Recording of the Year, and a critically acclaimed recording of SchoenbergArnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg was an Austrian composer, associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School...
's Pierrot Lunaire for Vox) and Satyavan Dream Twilight for World Sound.
External links
- Art of the States: Joel Thome conducting Fire Fragile Flight (1973) by Lucia DlugoszewskiLucia DlugoszewskiLucia Dlugoszewski was a Polish-American composer, performer and inventor. She created over a hundred musical instruments, including the timbre piano, a sort of prepared piano in which hammers and keys were replaced with bows and plectra.-Background and early years:The daughter of Polish...