Welcher Dan
Welcher Dan
Welcher, Dan, American composer, conductor, and teacher; b. Rochester, N.Y., March 2, 1948. He studied bassoon and composition (with Adler and Benson) at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester (B.Mus., 1969). Following further training in composition with Ulehla and Flagello at the Manhattan School of Music in N.Y. (M.M., 1972), he pursued postgraduate studies in electronic music at the Aspen (Colo.) Music School (summer, 1972). He was a bassoonist in the Rochester Phil. (1968-69) and the U.S. Military Academy Band at West Point, N.Y. (1969-72), and then was 1st bassoonist in the Louisville Orch. (1972-78). From 1972 to 1978 he also taught at the Univ. of Louisville. In 1976 he became a member of the artist faculty at the Aspen Music Festival, where he served each summer until 1993. In 1978 he joined the faculty of the Univ. of Tex. at Austin, where he was made a full prof, in 1989. In 1985-86 he was a visiting assoc. prof, at the Eastman School of Music. From 1980 to 1990 he was asst. conductor of the Austin Sym. Orch. He served as composer-in-residence of the Honolulu Sym. Orch. from 1990 to 1993.
Works
dramatic: Opera: Delia’s Gift (1986; Austin, Tex., Feb. 1987). ORCH.: Episodes (1970; Buffalo, Jan. 1971); Flute Concerto (Louisville, April 1974); Concerto da camera for Bassoon and Small Orch. (1975); Dervishes: Ritual Dance-Scene (1976; Louisville, April 1977); The Visions of Merlin (1980); Prairie Light: 3 Texas Watercolors of Georgia O’Keejfe (1985; Sherman, Tex., March 1, 1986); Arches: An Impression for Concert Band (1985); The Yellowstone Fires for Wind Ensemble (1988); Castle Creek, fanfare-overture (Aspen, Colo., July 7, 1989); Clarinet Concerto (Honolulu, Oct. 15, 1989); Haleakala: How Maui Snared the Sun for Narrator and Orch. (Honolulu, Sept. 15, 1991); Bridges, 5 pieces for Strings (1991); 2 syms.: No. 1 (1992; Honolulu, April 4, 1993) and No. 2, Night Watchers (Flagstaff, Ariz., Nov. 9,1994); Violin Concerto (Aspen, Colo., July 2,1993); Piano Concerto, Shiva’s Drum (1993-94; Round Top Festival, Tex., June 11, 1994); Zion for Wind Ensemble (1994; Boulder, Colo., Feb. 24, 1995; also for Orch., 1999); Bright Wings (1995); Spumante (1997). CHAMBER: Nocturne and Dance for Trumpet and Piano (1966); Elizabethan Variations for 4 Recorders (1968); 3 wind quintets (1972, 1977, 1986); Violin Sonata (1974); Trio for Violin, Cello, and Piano (1976); Partita for Horn, Violin, and Piano (1980); Fantasy: In Memoriam Anwar Sadat for Carillon (1982); Brass Quintet (1983; N.Y., Feb. 1984); Quintet for Clarinet and Strings (N.Y., April 1984); Hauntings for Tuba Ensemble (1986); Listen Up! for Wind Quintet (1986); White Mares of the Moon for Flute and Harp (1986); 2 string quartets: No. 1 (1987; N.Y., May 11,1988) and No. 2, Harbor Music (Cleveland, Oct. 28, 1992); Firewing: The Flame and the Moth for Oboe and Percussion (1987); Chameleon Music for 10 Percussionists (San Antonio, Nov. 1988); Stigma for Contrabass and Piano (N.Y., June 1989); Zephyrus for Flute, Violin, Viola, and Cello (1990); Tsunami for Cello, Percussion, and Piano (1991); Phaedrus for Clarinet, Violin, and Piano (1995); Dante Dances for Clarinet and Piano (1996); Spirit Realms for Flute and Percussion (1996); piano pieces. VOCAL: Black Riders for High Voice and Chamber Ensemble (1971); Abeja Blanca for Mezzo-soprano, English Horn, and Piano (1978); Vox Femina for Soprano and Ensemble (1984); Evening Scenes: 3 Poems of James Agee for Tenor and Ensemble (1985; Dallas, Jan. 1986); Tickets for a Prayer Wheel for Baritone and Viola (1997); JFK: The Voice of Peace, oratorio (1998); Canticles of the Sun for Chorus (2000).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire