Gustavus Music Colloquium SeriesOctober 14, 2011 at 3:30–4:30 p.m.
Doug Opel explores amalgamations of contemporary, rock, jazz, pop and electronica to develop a compositional language that is at once, dark and humorous, controlled and chaotic, classical and contemporary.
His music has appeared on the American Modern Ensemble's Powerhouse Pianists Concert Series, Vox Novus' 60x60 and Composer's Voice Concert Series, Keys to the Future's Spotlight on Four Hand Piano, Chicago's Pianoforte Salon Series, at the MATA Festival, the Aldeburgh Festival at the Britten-Pears School for Advanced Music Studies, the Scotia Festival of Music, by Vision of Sound, the ensemble Intersection, the Duquesne Contemporary Ensemble, and the Fort Wayne Philharmonic. Radio appearances include broadcasts by the CBC, WFMT/Chicago, WKCR's "Afternoon New Music" in New York City, WCNY's "Fresh Ink" in New York, WMBC's "art@radio" in Baltimore, WRTI's "Now is the Time" in Philadelphia, and on HEC-TV LIVE in St. Louis.
In 2003, he became one of seven composers to receive the Aaron Copland Award, a residency that allows composers to work uninterrupted and in privacy at Copland House - the last home of Aaron Copland - located in the Peekskills of New York. In 2008, Opel's "3 preludes to missing the point" (underwritten by the American Composers Forum with funds provided by the Jerome Foundation) was released on the Innova label as part of a larger collection of piano works commissioned, performed and recorded by pianist Nicola Melville. In 2009, he was selected as the The Definiens Project's C3 (Composer Commission Competition) winner. The resulting piece, "Soul Settings e- utilizing the poetry of Minnesota-based poet William Reichard - received its premiere in 2010 at the Fresno New Music Festival. In 2011, he composed "bodacious gaits e commissioned by pianist Robert Satterlee in memory of composer/mentor William Albright. His latest work "pop swatches efor Kronos Quartet cellist Jeffrey Ziegler and pianist Nicola Melville will be premiered this month at Gustavus Adolphus College. Opel's "Dilukkenjon efor two pianos, performed by pianist's Stephen Gosling and Blair McMillen is scheduled for release in 2012 on the American Modern Recordings label.
Opel holds a B.S. in music education from Ball State University (1990), an M.M. in
composition from the University of Michigan (1993) and a D.M. in composition from Indiana University (2002) where his primary mentors included respectively: composers Ernesto Pellegrini, David Foley and pianist Pia Sebastiani; composers Kamran Ince, George B. Wilson, William Albright and pianist Dickran Atamian and; composers Don Freund, Jeff Hass, Eugene O'Brien and Claude Baker. He has also studied with U.K. composers Oliver Knussen and Colin Matthews.
He currently resides on Long Island, New York.
This Colloquium Series was made possible by a Gustavus Adolphus College Sesquicentennial Mini-Grant.