Primosch, James

Primosch, James , American composer, teacher, and pianist; b. Cleveland, Oct. 29, 1956. He studied composition with Bain Murray and Rudolph Bubalo at Cleveland State Univ. (B.A., 1978), and then with George Crumb, Richard Wernick, George Rochberg, and Ralph Shapey at the Univ. of Pa. (M.A., 1980), during which time he also received private instruction in piano from Lambert Orkis. He completed his composition training with Mario Davidovsky and Chou Wen-Chung at Columbia Univ. (D.M.A., 1988). In 1984 he won the Tanglewood Prize in composition at the Berkshire Music Center, in 1985 he held a Guggenheim fellowship and was awarded the Charles Ives Scholarship of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and in 1988 he was in residence at the MacDowell Colony in Peterborough, N.H. In 1988 he became an asst. prof. of music at the Univ. of Pa., where he was made an assoc. prof. of music in 1994 and where he was chairman of the music dept. from 1996 to 1998, and again in 1999–2000. In 1991–92 he held an NEA fellowship. Primosch was awarded the Cleveland Arts Prize in 1992 and held the Goddard Lieberson fellowship of the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1993. In 1994 he served as composer-in-residence at the Marlboro (Vt.) Festival. He held a Pew Fellowship in the Arts in 1996. In 1999 he won the Elise Stoeger Prize of the Chamber Music Soc. of Lincoln Center in N.Y. In addition to teaching and composing, Primosch has been active as a pianist, particularly in contemporary music settings.

Works

ORCH .: Dappled Things (1986); Chamber Sym. (1990); Some Glad Mystery (1992); Five Meditations (1993). CHAMBER: Variations for Violin (1981); Aria for Oboe and Tape (1982); Five Miniatures for 9 Instruments (1982); 3 string quartets (1983, 1991, 1999); Icons for Clarinet, Piano, and Tape (1984); Septet (1985); Fantasy-Variations for Violin, Cello, and Piano (1991); Secret Geometry for Piano and Tape (1993); Sacra Conversazione for 6 Players and Tape (1994); Dream Journal for 2 Pianos, Percussion, and Tape (1996); Piano Quintet (1996). KEYBOARD: Eighty-Eight: Homage to Gottschalk for 44 Pianos, 176-Hands (1996); solo piano pieces; organ works. VOCAL : the mystery of stillness for Chorus and Percussion, after e.e. cummings (1979); The Cloud of Unknowing, cantata for Woman’s Voice and Chamber Orch. (1987); Three Sacred Songs for Voice and Piano (1989); Four Sacred Songs for Soprano or Mezzo-soprano and 6 Players (1990); Weil Alles Unsagbar Ist for Soprano, Flute, Violin, Cello, and Piano, after Rilke (1990); Fire-Memory/River-Memory for Chorus and Orch., after Denise Levertov (1997); Songs and Dances from “The Tempest” for Soprano, Baritone, and Medieval and Renaissance Instruments, after Shakespeare (1998); Holy the Firm for Soprano and Piano (1999).

—Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire