Philip David Morehead
Encyclopedia
Philip David Morehead is the Head of Music Staff of the Lyric Opera of Chicago
, the Lyric Opera Center for American Artists, and the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center. His previous positions at the Lyric Opera of Chicago have included the Music Administrator and Chorus Master.
, and learned to play the piano at age 4. He attended Trinity School
in New York City, The Baylor School
in Chattanooga, Tennessee
, Swarthmore College
where he majored in French
, Harvard University
where he majored in musicology
and received an M.A.
, and the New England Conservatory of Music
where he majored in piano performance and received an M.M.
. He then studied for two years in Paris and in Fontainebleau
with Nadia Boulanger
. He later married Patricia Noonan of Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Prior to 1978, Morehead lived in Boston, Massachusetts, where he was the Musical Director of the New England Chamber Opera Group, where he conducted the American premieres of Busoni's Arlecchino and Handel's Imeneo
, the world premiere of Paul Earls' The Death of King Phillip, in addition to other works including Stravinsky's Mavra
and Menotti's The Medium
. He was also the Musical Director of the Newton Chamber Orchestra and the Brookline Symphony Orchestra. He was the assistant conductor of the Tanglewood
Festival Chorus, the rehearsal pianist for the Boston Symphony Orchestra
, and for seven years he was a member of the faculty of the Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood. He has performed as a pianist and harpsichordist, and played continuo with the Boston Symphony under Seiji Ozawa
, and Leonard Bernstein
.
Before he became a member of the Lyric Opera of Chicago
in 1981, he was Coordinator of the Orchestral Training Program at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. His previous positions in Canada included the conductorship of the Bach-Elgar Choir
in Hamilton, Ontario
. From 1984 to 1985 he conducted for the Canadian Contemporary Music Workshop concerts including the Canadian premiere of Bernd Alois Zimmermann
's Concerto for Oboe. From 1981 to 1985 he worked with Tulsa Opera in Tulsa, Oklahoma
. In Spring of 1983 he conducted student performances of Puccini's Madame Butterfly, and in 1984 he conducted the Spring production of Gilbert & Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance.
Morehead was the cover conductor for the Lyric Opera of Chicago
for Die Meistersinger, Jenůfa
, Der fliegende Holländer, Sweeney Todd
, Billy Budd
and others. He conducted performances of Die Fledermaus
and the premiere production of Anthony Davis's Amistad
and student performances of La traviata
, The Cunning Little Vixen
, and Carmen
. He also conducted performances of Rossini's Cinderella
for the Ryan Opera Center.
Morehead is also a free-lance pianist, harpsichord
ist, and conductor. His conducting includes performances of Boulez' Improvisations sur Malarmé for the Contemporary Chamber Players at the University of Chicago
and Gounod's Faust
at Illinois State University
. He is a member and Treasurer of CUBE, the Chicago-based chamber ensemble specializing in the performance of new music. With the CUBE ensemble he has performed as pianist in a wide variety of repertoire and has conducted the ensemble in world premieres of William Ferris An Eden Garden, and Sebastian Huydt's Three Serious Songs, Russ Grazier's Leaving, Arriving. Morehead currently resides in Chicago
, is married to Patricia Morehead, PhD. (composer) and has three adult children (James, Keren and Ian).
Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1952, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicolà Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria Callas's American debut in Norma...
, the Lyric Opera Center for American Artists, and the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center. His previous positions at the Lyric Opera of Chicago have included the Music Administrator and Chorus Master.
Biography
He was born in New York City in 1942, the son of writer Albert Hodges MoreheadAlbert Hodges Morehead
Albert Hodges Morehead, Jr. was a writer for The New York Times, a bridge player, a lexicographer, and an author and editor of reference works.-Early years:...
, and learned to play the piano at age 4. He attended Trinity School
Trinity School
-Australia:*Trinity College, Perth*Trinity Grammar School *Trinity Grammar School -Spain:*Trinity Language School, a private accredited Spanish language school in El Puerto de Santa Maria, Cadiz-United Kingdom:...
in New York City, The Baylor School
Baylor School
Baylor School is a private, coeducational prep school on the outskirts of Chattanooga, Tennessee. The school was founded in 1893 and since 1915 has been located on the same hillside site by the Tennessee River. The school went through several incarnations: moving from an all-male military academy...
in Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...
, Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,500 students. The college is located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia....
where he majored in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, 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...
where he majored in musicology
Musicology
Musicology is the scholarly study of music. The word is used in narrow, broad and intermediate senses. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture...
and received an M.A.
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
, and the New England Conservatory of Music
New England Conservatory of Music
The New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, is the oldest independent school of music in the United States.The conservatory is home each year to 750 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate studies along with 1400 more in its Preparatory School as well as the School of...
where he majored in piano performance and received an M.M.
Master of Music
The Master of Music is the first graduate degree in Music awarded by universities and music conservatories. The M.Mus. combines advanced studies in an applied area of specialization with graduate-level academic study in subjects such as music history, music theory, or music pedagogy...
. He then studied for two years in Paris and in Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the arrondissement of Fontainebleau...
with Nadia Boulanger
Nadia Boulanger
Nadia Boulanger was a French composer, conductor and teacher who taught many composers and performers of the 20th century.From a musical family, she achieved early honours as a student at the Paris Conservatoire, but believing that her talent as a composer was inferior to that of her younger...
. He later married Patricia Noonan of Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Prior to 1978, Morehead lived in Boston, Massachusetts, where he was the Musical Director of the New England Chamber Opera Group, where he conducted the American premieres of Busoni's Arlecchino and Handel's Imeneo
Imeneo
Imeneo is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The Italian-language libretto was adapted from Silvio Stampiglia's Imeneo. Handel had begun composition in September 1738, but did not complete the score until 1740...
, the world premiere of Paul Earls' The Death of King Phillip, in addition to other works including Stravinsky's Mavra
Mavra
Mavra is a one-act opera buffa composed by Igor Stravinsky, and one of the earliest works of Stravinsky's 'neo-classical' period. The libretto of the opera, by Boris Kochno, is based on Aleksandr Pushkin's The Little House in Kolomna. Mavra is about 25 minutes long, and features two arias, a...
and Menotti's The Medium
The Medium
The Medium is a short two-act dramatic opera with words and music by Gian Carlo Menotti. Commissioned by Columbia University, its first performance was there on 8 May 1946. The opera's first professional production was presented on a double bill with Menotti's The Telephone at the Heckscher...
. He was also the Musical Director of the Newton Chamber Orchestra and the Brookline Symphony Orchestra. He was the assistant conductor of the Tanglewood
Tanglewood
Tanglewood is an estate and music venue in Lenox and Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It is the home of the annual summer Tanglewood Music Festival and the Tanglewood Jazz Festival, and has been the Boston Symphony Orchestra's summer home since 1937. It was the venue of the Berkshire Festival.- History...
Festival Chorus, the rehearsal pianist for the Boston Symphony Orchestra
Boston Symphony Orchestra
The Boston Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1881, the BSO plays most of its concerts at Boston's Symphony Hall and in the summer performs at the Tanglewood Music Center...
, and for seven years he was a member of the faculty of the Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood. He has performed as a pianist and harpsichordist, and played continuo with the Boston Symphony under Seiji Ozawa
Seiji Ozawa
is a Japanese conductor, particularly noted for his interpretations of large-scale late Romantic works. He is most known for his work as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and principal conductor of the Vienna State Opera.-Early years:...
, and Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
.
Before he became a member of the Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1952, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicolà Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria Callas's American debut in Norma...
in 1981, he was Coordinator of the Orchestral Training Program at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. His previous positions in Canada included the conductorship of the Bach-Elgar Choir
Bach-Elgar Choir
The Bach-Elgar Choir is a community chorus of long standing in Hamilton, Ontario. The Choir is composed of accomplished amateur singers from Hamilton and neighbouring cities of Burlington, Oakville, Mississauga and Simcoe...
in Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
. From 1984 to 1985 he conducted for the Canadian Contemporary Music Workshop concerts including the Canadian premiere of Bernd Alois Zimmermann
Bernd Alois Zimmermann
Bernd Alois Zimmermann was a post-WWII West German composer. He is perhaps best known for his opera Die Soldaten which is regarded as one of the most important operas of the 20th century...
's Concerto for Oboe. From 1981 to 1985 he worked with Tulsa Opera in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
. In Spring of 1983 he conducted student performances of Puccini's Madame Butterfly, and in 1984 he conducted the Spring production of Gilbert & Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance.
Morehead was the cover conductor for the Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1952, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicolà Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria Callas's American debut in Norma...
for Die Meistersinger, Jenůfa
Jenufa
Jenůfa is an opera in three acts by Leoš Janáček to a Czech libretto by the composer, based on the play Její pastorkyňa by Gabriela Preissová. It was first performed at the Brno Theater, Brno, 21 January 1904...
, Der fliegende Holländer, Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as then antagonist of the Victorian penny dreadful The String of Pearls and he was later introduced as an antihero in the broadway musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and its film adaptation...
, Billy Budd
Billy Budd (opera)
Billy Budd is an opera by Benjamin Britten, from a libretto by E. M. Forster and Eric Crozier, was first performed at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London on 1 December 1951. It is based on the short novel Billy Budd by Herman Melville....
and others. He conducted performances of Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée.- Literary sources :...
and the premiere production of Anthony Davis's Amistad
Amistad
"Amistad" is a Spanish noun meaning "friendship". It may refer to:Ships* Amistad/Amitie, an 18th century schooner that transported Acadians from France to Louisiana....
and student performances of La traviata
La traviata
La traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La dame aux Camélias , a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The title La traviata means literally The Fallen Woman, or perhaps more figuratively, The Woman...
, The Cunning Little Vixen
The Cunning Little Vixen
The Cunning Little Vixen is an opera by Leoš Janáček, with a libretto adapted by the composer from a serialized novella by Rudolf Těsnohlídek and Stanislav Lolek, which was first published in the newspaper Lidové noviny.-Composition history:When Janáček discovered Těsnohlídek's...
, and Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
. He also conducted performances of Rossini's Cinderella
La Cenerentola
La Cenerentola, ossia La bontà in trionfo is an operatic dramma giocoso in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto was written by Jacopo Ferretti, based on the fairy tale Cinderella...
for the Ryan Opera Center.
Morehead is also a free-lance pianist, harpsichord
Harpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
ist, and conductor. His conducting includes performances of Boulez' Improvisations sur Malarmé for the Contemporary Chamber Players at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
and Gounod's Faust
Faust (opera)
Faust is a drame lyrique in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré from Carré's play Faust et Marguerite, in turn loosely based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust, Part 1...
at Illinois State University
Illinois State University
Illinois State University , founded in 1857, is the oldest public university in Illinois; it is located in the town of Normal. ISU is considered a "national university" that grants a variety of doctoral degrees and strongly emphasizes research; it is also recognized as one of the top ten largest...
. He is a member and Treasurer of CUBE, the Chicago-based chamber ensemble specializing in the performance of new music. With the CUBE ensemble he has performed as pianist in a wide variety of repertoire and has conducted the ensemble in world premieres of William Ferris An Eden Garden, and Sebastian Huydt's Three Serious Songs, Russ Grazier's Leaving, Arriving. Morehead currently resides in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, is married to Patricia Morehead, PhD. (composer) and has three adult children (James, Keren and Ian).
Editor
- New American Roget's College Thesaurus, ISBN 0451207165
- New American Crossword Puzzle Dictionary, ISBN 045121255X
- The New American Webster's Handy College Dictionary ISBN 0451181662
- Hoyle's Rules of Games, ISBN 0451204840
Author
- Dictionary of Music, The New American, ISBN 052593345X
- The Bloomsbury Dictionary of Music, ISBN 074751576X
- The Penguin Roget's College Thesaurus in Dictionary Form, ISBN 0670030163
External links
- Official biography
- Philip David Morehead at Center StageCenter StageCenter Stage is a 2000 American drama film, directed by Nicholas Hytner, about a group of young dancers from various backgrounds who enroll at the fictitious American Ballet Academy in New York City...
- Philip David Morehead at Baylor SchoolBaylor SchoolBaylor School is a private, coeducational prep school on the outskirts of Chattanooga, Tennessee. The school was founded in 1893 and since 1915 has been located on the same hillside site by the Tennessee River. The school went through several incarnations: moving from an all-male military academy...