Stone, Carl

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Stone, Carl

Stone, Carl, innovative American composer and performer; b. Los Angeles, Feb. 10, 1953. He studied with Tenney and Subotnick at the Calif. Inst. of the Arts in Valencia (B.F.A., 1975). He served as music director of KPFK Radio in Los Angeles (1978–81) and as director of Meet the Composer/Calif, (from 1981); in 1985, was co-artistic director of the 7^th New Music America Festival. Among his awards are an NEA grant (1981–82), tour support awards from the Calif. Arts Council (1984–90), and annual ASCAP awards (from 1985); in 1989 he was funded by the Asian Cultural Council for 6 months’ residence in Japan. From 1992 to 1995 he served as president of the American Music Center. Stone composes exclusively electroacoustic music, often employing natural sounds and occasional fragments of familiar pieces, as in his Sonali (1988; Die Zauberflöte), Hop Ken (1987; Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition), and Shing Kee (1986; recording of a Japanese pop star singing a Schubert lied); Stone inscrutably manipulates his Macintosh computer in solo performances to create sensuous, playful, and often enigmatic real-time compositions. He is also an ethnic foods enthusiast (see J. Gold, “Carl Stone: Between Bytes,” in Los Angeles Times, Aug. 19, 1990), naming many of his pieces after favorite restaurants. He has performed extensively in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia, South America, and the Near East; among choreographers who have used his music are Bill T. Jones, Ping Chong, and Blondell Cummings. His Ruen Pair (1993) was created as part of a (Paul Dresher) consortium commission from the Meet the Composer/Reader’s Digest Fund; his untitled collaborative work with Kuniko Kisanuki for Electronics and Dancer (1995) was commissioned by the Aichiken Cultural Center in Nagoya, Japan. In 2000 he served as guest artistic director of the Other Minds Festival in San Francisco.

Works

tape : LIM (1975); Maneeya (1976); Sukothai (1979); Unthaitled (1979); Chao Praya (1980); A Tip (1980); Thoughts in Stone (1980); Woo Lae Oak (1980); Jang (1983). ELECTRONICS: Busobong (1980); Kuk II Kwan (1981); Green Card March (1981); Dong II Jang (1982); Vault, soundtrack (1982); Woo Lae Oak (1982); Hama (1983); Torung (1983); Fanfare for Pershing Square (1984); Ho Ban for Piano and Electronics (1984; also for Solo Piano, 1990); Spalding Gray’s Map of LA, soundtrack (1984); Mae Yao (in 2 parts; 1984; also for Electronics and Percussion, 1989); Rime (1984); Se Jong (1984); Shibucho (1984); Wave-Heat (1984); Everett & Jones (1985); Pho Bá;c (1985); Olia Heng (1986); Kappa (1986); Imae (1986); Samanluang (1986); Shing Kee (1986); Thanh My (1986); Vim (1986); Audible Structure (1987); Hop Ken (1987; also for Electronics and Percussion, 1989); Wall Me Do (1987); Amaterasu (1988); Amaterasu’s Dance (1988); Jang Toh (1988); Mae (1988); Nekai (1988); Sonali (1988); Zang (1988); Zhang Toh (1988); Gadberry’s (1989; also for Electronics and Percussion); Jakuzure (1989; also Jakuzure II for Koto and Electronics and Jakuzure III for Flute and Electronics, 1991); Keika (1989); Kokami (1989); Kong Joo (1989; also for Electronics and Percussion); She Gol Jib (1989); Chao Nue (1990); Mom’s (1990); Banteay Srey (1991); Janken Fon (1991); Noor Mahal (1991); Recurring Cosmos (in 2 parts; 1991; also as a soundtrack); Rezukuja for Bass Marimba and Electronics (1991); She Gol Jib for Flute and Electronics (1991); Dur-Pars, soundtrack (1993); Ruen Pair for Violin, Clarinet, 2 Keyboards, Marimba, Drums, and Computer (1993); Mae Ploy for String Quartet and Electronics (1994); Nyala for Electronics (1995); an untitled collaborative work (with Kuniko Kisanuki) for Electronics and Dancer (1995); Sudi Mampir for Electronics (1995); Wei-fun for Audio Samples and Computer-generated Images (1996); Music for the Noh Project for Electronics and Noh Musicians (1996).