David Crumb
David Crumb, an associate professor of composition and theory, joined the music faculty at the University of Oregon in 1997. In previous years, Crumb served as visiting professor at Duke University, UCLA, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, and West Chester University.
Crumb holds degrees in composition and cello from the Eastman School and a Ph.D. in composition from the University of Pennsylvania. He spent one year at the Rubin Academy in Israel studying composition and counterpoint with Russian-born composer Mark Kopytman. During these formative years he also studied composition with Samuel Adler, Chinary Ung, Jay Reise, Richard Wernick, Lukas Foss, Joseph Schwantner, and Stephen Albert.
Crumb has participated in the Tanglewood Music Festival (fellowship in composition), the Gamper Festival at Bowdoin College, Colorado College’s Annual New Music Festival, Bowling Green State University’s 21st Annual New Music & Art Festival, and the Music at the Anthology Festival. He has received numerous honors, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, an L.A. Composers Project 2 Prize, a National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors Composition Project prize, two ASCAP Foundation Grants to Young Composers, an ASCAP-Raymond Hubbell Award, 2 Meet the Composer Fund awards, a Vanguard Arts Associates Award (third prize), and a New England Reed Trio “Composition Competition” Award (third prize).
Recently he was selected to participate in Riverside Symphony’s International Composers Readings. He has received commissions from the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors, Temple University, the ASCAP Foundation in collaboration with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the NEOS trio, the Cumberland Valley Chamber Players, and the Dunn-Pennington Duo. In early 1997, Crumb was in residence at the Yaddo and MacDowell artist colonies, where he exchanged ideas with artists in other disciplines, including prominent writers and visual artists.
Selected Performances
Variations for Cello and Chamber Ensemble was first performed by Lynn Harrell and the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group on the Philharmonic’s Green Umbrella series (May 1993). In February 1999, the Orchestra 2001 performed and recorded Variations with Ulrich Boeckheler as soloist (released on the C.R.I. label). And in May 2000, the Cleveland Chamber Symphony performed this work with Regina Mushabak as soloist.
In June of 1991, Clarino, a work commissioned in honor of the Centennial of the Chicago Symphony, was premiered by the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Michael Morgan conducting.Since then, Clarino has been performed by the Baltimore Symphony, Zinman conducting (May 1997).
Other notable performers and presenters of Crumb’s works include the Parnassus Ensemble, the Pacific Contemporary Music Center Festival, the University of Oregon’s Festival of the Millennium, Capitol Composers Alliance, Chesapeake Chamber Players, Peabody Chamber Players, Voices of Change Ensemble, and the Abramyan Quartet. Crumb is published by Theodore Presser Co. and is a member of ASCAP.
