Z. Randall Stroope
Encyclopedia
Z. Randall Stroope a renowned American composer
, conductor
, and lecturer
, has written over 95 pieces; among his most-famous works are the Lamentations of Jeremiah, The Pasture, I Am Not Yours, and Inscription of Hope. His compositions sell more than 200,000 copies each year. In the United States, his compositions are standard repertoire for advanced high school, honors, and university choral ensembles.
and his doctorate in conducting at Arizona State University
. In an electronic publication, Stroope states that even though he had dabbled in composition since the age of ten, it was not until he wrote The Cloths of Heaven, and Inscription of Hope, that he began to gain recognition. He states, “I was quite fortunate to have written some works that found great attraction across the country. That sort of catapulted my career compositionally. I was soon being asked to write pieces and conduct those works with the groups that commissioned them. Through conducting, you learn about what works in composition. Both aspects of my career took hold, and I’ve never looked back. I’m busier today than I’ve ever been.”
In addition to composing music and guest conducting, Stroope serves as the Associate Professor of Conducting and Director of Choral and Vocal Studies at Oklahoma State University. He also heads the Oklahoma State University Concert Chorale and Chamber Choir. Previous to OSU, Stroope held similar positions at Rowan University
in Glassboro, New Jersey.
and Normand Lockwood
, mentors of Stroope, are well-respected American composers. Effinger's Little Symphony No. 1 and Four Pastorales, arguably his most recognizable pieces, are performed by many ensembles across the U.S. and abroad. Normand Lockwood won the prestigious Prix de Rome
, a scholarship given the select students within the arts, which allowed him to study in Rome
.
Both Effinger and Lockwood were students of Nadia Boulanger
, a student of Gabriel Fauré
. Fauré was one of the greatest French composers of the twentieth century. Nadia Boulanger, became one of the most influential music theory teachers of the twentieth century, one of her first pupils being American composer Aaron Copland
. Stroope credits Boulanger for his mentors' support of his creativity saying, “Efficiency of writing would be the main thing I took from my studies with Effinger. Boulanger didn’t try to replicate herself through her students; she let them be successful in their own way. As a result, Lockwood and Effinger were very open to different styles of music in my writing. It wasn’t a cookie cutter approach to composition.”
Morten Lauridsen
, a colleague and friend of Stroope, is the professor of composition at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music
and has been for more than thirty years. From 1994 to 2001 he held the position the composer-in-residence at the Los Angeles Master Chorale
. Lauridsen, composer of works such as O Magnum Mysterium
, Sure on this Shining Night, and Les Chansons des Roses, was named "American Choral Master" by the National Endowment for the Arts
. In 2007, President Bush
awarded him the National Medal of Arts
in a White House
ceremony. The National Medal of Arts is the highest award given to artists and arts patrons by the United States government. While Stroope taught at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey, Lauridsen held a residency and The Rowan University Concert Choir performed Lauridsen's works. During the concert, Morten Lauridsen was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Rowan University. Since then, Stroope and Lauridsen have continued to engage in collaborative projects. In November 2010, Lauridsen held a residency at the Oklahoma State University similar to that at Rowan University.
, Gwyneth Walker
, John Rutter
and Morten Lauridsen. In this book, Stroope speaks on his experiences with composing, strategies for composing and instructing young composers. Stroope reveals that it is easy for him to write difficult and technically challenging multi-voiced pieces, but writing a simple four-part voiced SATB piece takes him much longer. Stroope recalls his mentor, Normand Lockwood, saying, “You must always write with the essence in mind. It is easy to write with a lot of notes. But it takes a master to say the same with only a few notes, where every note counts.”
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, conductor
Conductor
Conductor or conduction may refer to:In science:* Electrical conductor, a material allowing the flow of electric current* Electrical conduction, the movement of charged particles through an electrical conductor...
, and lecturer
Lecturer
Lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, lecturer is a position at a university or similar institution, often held by academics in their early career stages, who lead research groups and supervise research students, as well as teach...
, has written over 95 pieces; among his most-famous works are the Lamentations of Jeremiah, The Pasture, I Am Not Yours, and Inscription of Hope. His compositions sell more than 200,000 copies each year. In the United States, his compositions are standard repertoire for advanced high school, honors, and university choral ensembles.
Biography
Stroope received his masters in voice performance at the University of Colorado (Boulder)University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
and his doctorate in conducting at Arizona State University
Arizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
. In an electronic publication, Stroope states that even though he had dabbled in composition since the age of ten, it was not until he wrote The Cloths of Heaven, and Inscription of Hope, that he began to gain recognition. He states, “I was quite fortunate to have written some works that found great attraction across the country. That sort of catapulted my career compositionally. I was soon being asked to write pieces and conduct those works with the groups that commissioned them. Through conducting, you learn about what works in composition. Both aspects of my career took hold, and I’ve never looked back. I’m busier today than I’ve ever been.”
In addition to composing music and guest conducting, Stroope serves as the Associate Professor of Conducting and Director of Choral and Vocal Studies at Oklahoma State University. He also heads the Oklahoma State University Concert Chorale and Chamber Choir. Previous to OSU, Stroope held similar positions at Rowan University
Rowan University
Rowan University is a public university in Glassboro, New Jersey, USA with a satellite campus in Camden, New Jersey. The school was founded in 1923 as Glassboro Normal School on a twenty-five acre tract of land donated by the town...
in Glassboro, New Jersey.
Mentors and contemporaries
Cecil EffingerCecil Effinger
Cecil Effinger was an American composer, oboist, and inventor.-Life:Effinger was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and resided in that state for most of his life...
and Normand Lockwood
Normand Lockwood
Normand Lockwood was an American composer born in New York, New York. He studied composition at the University of Michigan from 1921–1924, and then traveled to Rome and studied composition under Ottorino Respighi from 1925 to 1926, and during this time he also had composition lessons with Nadia...
, mentors of Stroope, are well-respected American composers. Effinger's Little Symphony No. 1 and Four Pastorales, arguably his most recognizable pieces, are performed by many ensembles across the U.S. and abroad. Normand Lockwood won the prestigious Prix de Rome
Prix de Rome
The Prix de Rome was a scholarship for arts students, principally of painting, sculpture, and architecture. It was created, initially for painters and sculptors, in 1663 in France during the reign of Louis XIV. It was an annual bursary for promising artists having proved their talents by...
, a scholarship given the select students within the arts, which allowed him to study in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
.
Both Effinger and Lockwood were students of 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...
, a student of Gabriel Fauré
Gabriel Fauré
Gabriel Urbain Fauré was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th century composers...
. Fauré was one of the greatest French composers of the twentieth century. Nadia Boulanger, became one of the most influential music theory teachers of the twentieth century, one of her first pupils being American composer Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career a conductor of his own and other American music. He was instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, and is often referred to as "the Dean of American Composers"...
. Stroope credits Boulanger for his mentors' support of his creativity saying, “Efficiency of writing would be the main thing I took from my studies with Effinger. Boulanger didn’t try to replicate herself through her students; she let them be successful in their own way. As a result, Lockwood and Effinger were very open to different styles of music in my writing. It wasn’t a cookie cutter approach to composition.”
Morten Lauridsen
Morten Lauridsen
Morten Johannes Lauridsen is an American composer. He was composer-in-residence of the Los Angeles Master Chorale and has been a professor of composition at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music for more than 30 years.-Biography:Lauridsen was born February 27, 1943, in...
, a colleague and friend of Stroope, is the professor of composition at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music
USC Thornton School of Music
The University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, founded in 1884 and dedicated in 1999, is one of the premier music schools in the United States...
and has been for more than thirty years. From 1994 to 2001 he held the position the composer-in-residence at the Los Angeles Master Chorale
Los Angeles Master Chorale
The Los Angeles Master Chorale is a professional chorus in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1964 by Roger Wagner to be one of the three original resident companies of the Music Center of Los Angeles County...
. Lauridsen, composer of works such as O Magnum Mysterium
O Magnum Mysterium
O Magnum Mysterium is a responsorial chant from the Matins of Christmas. A number of composers have reworked the chant into a contemporary setting; the settings by Byrd, Victoria, Gabrieli, Palestrina, Poulenc, Judith Bingham, Harbison, La Rocca, Mäntyjärvi, Pierre Villette, Morales, Lauridsen and...
, Sure on this Shining Night, and Les Chansons des Roses, was named "American Choral Master" by the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
. In 2007, President Bush
President Bush
President Bush may refer to one of the following Presidents of the United States:* George H. W. Bush, 41st President * George W. Bush, 43rd President and son of George H. W. Bush...
awarded him the National Medal of Arts
National Medal of Arts
The National Medal of Arts is an award and title created by the United States Congress in 1984, for the purpose of honoring artists and patrons of the arts. It is the highest honor conferred to an individual artist on behalf of the people. Honorees are selected by the National Endowment for the...
in a White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
ceremony. The National Medal of Arts is the highest award given to artists and arts patrons by the United States government. While Stroope taught at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey, Lauridsen held a residency and The Rowan University Concert Choir performed Lauridsen's works. During the concert, Morten Lauridsen was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Rowan University. Since then, Stroope and Lauridsen have continued to engage in collaborative projects. In November 2010, Lauridsen held a residency at the Oklahoma State University similar to that at Rowan University.
Compositions
- A Child is born in Bethleham
- American Christmas/American Rhapsody
- Amor de mi alma
- An American Te Deum
- An die Freude
- Cantus Natalis
- Caritas et Amor
- Chi la gagliarda
- Dies IraeDies IraeDies Irae is a thirteenth century Latin hymn thought to be written by Thomas of Celano . It is a medieval Latin poem characterized by its accentual stress and its rhymed lines. The metre is trochaic...
- Fanfare from Cantus Natalis
- Fanfare of the Kings
- Gaudete!
- Homeland
- How Can I Keep From Singing?
- I carry your heart with me
- Inscription of Hope
- I Will Lift Up My Eyes
- Invocation
- JoshuaJoshuaJoshua , is a minor figure in the Torah, being one of the spies for Israel and in few passages as Moses's assistant. He turns to be the central character in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Joshua...
- Lamentations of Jeremiah
- Lux AeternaEternal flameAn eternal flame is a flame or torch that burns day and night for an indefinite period. The flame that burned constantly at Delphi was an archaic feature, "alien to the ordinary Greek temple"....
- MagnificatMagnificatThe Magnificat — also known as the Song of Mary or the Canticle of Mary — is a canticle frequently sung liturgically in Christian church services. It is one of the eight most ancient Christian hymns and perhaps the earliest Marian hymn...
- May the Lord Bless you and Keep you
- My Little Lamb
- Opera Choruses: Set I
- Opera Choruses: Set II
- Opera Choruses: Set III
- Oraculo
- The Conversion of SaulSaul-People:Saul is a given/first name in English, the Anglicized form of the Hebrew name Shaul from the Hebrew Bible:* Saul , including people with this given namein the Bible:* Saul , a king of Edom...
- The Pasture
- There is no Rose
- Tu Solus
- What Shall we do will a Drunken Sailor
- Winter
Books
Stroope contributed to the book Composers on Composing along with composers such as René ClausenRené Clausen
René Clausen is an American composer, conductor of The Concordia Choir, and associate professor of music at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota...
, Gwyneth Walker
Gwyneth Walker
-Personal:Walker grew up in New Canaan, Connecticut and is a graduate of Pembroke College in Brown University and the Hartt School of Music and holds B.A., M.M., and D.M.A. degrees in music composition...
, John Rutter
John Rutter
John Milford Rutter CBE is a British composer, conductor, editor, arranger and record producer, mainly of choral music.-Biography:Born in London, Rutter was educated at Highgate School, where a fellow pupil was John Tavener. He read music at Clare College, Cambridge, where he was a member of the...
and Morten Lauridsen. In this book, Stroope speaks on his experiences with composing, strategies for composing and instructing young composers. Stroope reveals that it is easy for him to write difficult and technically challenging multi-voiced pieces, but writing a simple four-part voiced SATB piece takes him much longer. Stroope recalls his mentor, Normand Lockwood, saying, “You must always write with the essence in mind. It is easy to write with a lot of notes. But it takes a master to say the same with only a few notes, where every note counts.”
Awards and honors
- Australian-American Fulbright
- Douglas R. McEwen award for National Choral Excellence