Lewis Spratlan
Encyclopedia
M. Lewis Spratlan Jr. is an American music academic and composer of contemporary classical music
.
Born in Miami, Florida
, Spratlan played the oboe as a youth. He attended Yale University
and was a student of Mel Powell
and Gunther Schuller
. He was also a member of The Spizzwinks(?)
at Yale.
Spratlan joined the faculty of Amherst College
in 1970, and later held the Peter R. Pouncey chair in music. He retired in 2006 and now holds the title of Peter R. Pouncey Professor of Music, Emeritus, at Amherst. He also conducted the Amherst College Orchestra for several years.
Spratlan won the Pulitzer Prize
in Music in 2000 for a concert performance of Act II of his 3-act opera Life is a Dream
, which he began in 1975 and completed in 1978, originally on commission from the New Haven Opera. By the time Spratlan had finished the work, the New Haven Opera had ceased to exist and the opera was not staged. Act II of the opera received its first full performance at Amherst College in January 2000, and subsequently at Harvard University
. The Santa Fe Opera
accepted the score for production in its 2010 season, and the complete opera received its first full production there on 24 July 2010. Spratlan wrote his second opera, Earthrise, on commission from San Francisco Opera
.
Spratlan's music has been recorded/released commercially for Navona Records
, Albany Records, Opus One, and Gasparo. Architect, a chamber opera about the archicect Louis Kahn
, will be released by Navona Records
in 2012.
Contemporary classical music
Contemporary classical music can be understood as belonging to the period that started in the mid-1970s with the retreat of modernism. However, the term may also be employed in a broader sense to refer to all post-1945 modern musical forms.-Categorization:...
.
Born in Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
, Spratlan played the oboe as a youth. He attended Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
and was a student of Mel Powell
Mel Powell
Mel Powell was a jazz pianist and composer of classical music.Mel Epstein was born to Russian Jewish parents, Milton Epstein and Mildred Mark Epstein, and began playing piano as a child. He performed jazz professionally in New York City as a teenager...
and Gunther Schuller
Gunther Schuller
Gunther Schuller is an American composer, conductor, horn player, author, historian, and jazz musician.- Biography and works :...
. He was also a member of The Spizzwinks(?)
The Spizzwinks(?)
The Spizzwinks, whose name includes the parentheses and question mark, are an a cappella singing group of male students from Yale University. Founded in late 1913, the Spizzwinks are the oldest underclassman a cappella group in the United States, dating back to a first performance in early...
at Yale.
Spratlan joined the faculty of Amherst College
Amherst College
Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
in 1970, and later held the Peter R. Pouncey chair in music. He retired in 2006 and now holds the title of Peter R. Pouncey Professor of Music, Emeritus, at Amherst. He also conducted the Amherst College Orchestra for several years.
Spratlan won the Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
in Music in 2000 for a concert performance of Act II of his 3-act opera Life is a Dream
Life is a Dream (opera)
Life is a Dream is a three-act opera with music by Lewis Spratlan from an English-language libretto by James Maraniss which was based on the 1635 play Life is a Dream by Spanish playwright Pedro Calderón de la Barca...
, which he began in 1975 and completed in 1978, originally on commission from the New Haven Opera. By the time Spratlan had finished the work, the New Haven Opera had ceased to exist and the opera was not staged. Act II of the opera received its first full performance at Amherst College in January 2000, and subsequently at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. The Santa Fe Opera
Santa Fe Opera
The Santa Fe Opera is an American opera company, located north of Santa Fe in the U.S. state of New Mexico, headquartered on a former guest ranch of .-General history:...
accepted the score for production in its 2010 season, and the complete opera received its first full production there on 24 July 2010. Spratlan wrote his second opera, Earthrise, on commission from San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera is an American opera company, based in San Francisco, California.It was founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola and is the second largest opera company in North America...
.
Spratlan's music has been recorded/released commercially for Navona Records
Navona Records
Navona Records is an American independent record label based in the Seacoast region of New Hampshire owned by PARMA Recordings. Navona's sister companies via PARMA include the Ravello, Big Round, MMC, and Capstone Records label imprints, and the label is distributed by Naxos...
, Albany Records, Opus One, and Gasparo. Architect, a chamber opera about the archicect Louis Kahn
Louis Kahn
Louis Isadore Kahn was an American architect, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. After working in various capacities for several firms in Philadelphia, he founded his own atelier in 1935...
, will be released by Navona Records
Navona Records
Navona Records is an American independent record label based in the Seacoast region of New Hampshire owned by PARMA Recordings. Navona's sister companies via PARMA include the Ravello, Big Round, MMC, and Capstone Records label imprints, and the label is distributed by Naxos...
in 2012.
Compositions
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