BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES

Born in 1933

1959-65   Taught at Mills College

1961-65   Music Director for the Ann Halprin Dance Company
Co-Founder and Director of the SF Tape Music Center

1966   First Director of Music for the Vivean Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center

1967-68   Director of The Electric Circus in NY a Multimedia Disco tech

1966-69   Artist in Residence at NYU School of the Arts

1969   Joined team to plan Cal Arts
Started the Electronic Music Studio at Univ. of Pittsburgh

1970-74   Cal Arts opens
Became Associate Dean of Music

1974   Resigned as Associate Dean of Music at Cal Arts and became head of Composition

1979   Began working at IRCAM on the commission of "The Double Life of Amphibians"

1981   DAAD grant, lived in Berlin

1985   Residency at MIT. Conceived "Interactor"

Lives and works in USA

SELECTED WORKS

1958   Serenade 1 for Clar, Mandolin, Violin, Cello and Piano
Two Preludes for Piano

1959   Sonata fro Piano 4 hands. First performed in Aspen, Colorado

1961   Sound Blocks: an Heroic Vision for 2 Xylophones, violin, cello, 4 Lighting Flats and 2 Tape Recorders

1961-63   The 5 Legged Stool; Parades and Changes
Theatre Piece after Sonnet 47 of Petrarch (60 minutes) for Viola, Tape, Two Dancers and Light Show. Premiered at the San Francisco Tape Music Center in October, 1963

1963   "Play! No. 1" for WW Quintet, Piano, Tape and Film by Tony Martin. Premiered at the SF Tape Music Center

1964   "Play! No. 2" for Orchestra, Conductor and Tape. Premiered by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Composer conducting
"Mandolin" [touring version of Theatre Piece after Sonnet 47 of Petrarch] (14 minutes) for Viola, Tape and Light Show. Premiered at the San Francisco Tape Music Center in October, 1964

1965   "Play! No. 3" for Pianist/Mime, Tape, and 16mm Film by Tony Martin. Commissioned by Leonard Stein, and premiered by him at the Pasadena Art Museum, Pasadena, California in March, 1965
"Play! No. 4" for soprano, vibraphone, Cello, 4 "Game Players", 2 "Game conductors" and two 16mm Films by Tony Martin. Premiered at the University of Washington, Seattle, supervised by the composer, Spring, 1965

1966   Wrote Music for: The Caucasian Chalk Circle and Danton's Death

1967   "Silver Apples of the Moon". Commissioned by Nonesuch Records

1968   "The Wild Bull". Commissioned by Nonesuch Records

1969   "Touch". Commissioned by Columbia Records

1971   "Sidewinder". Commissioned by Columbia Records

1973   "Four Butterflies". Multi Media version

1974   "Two Butterflies" for Amplified Orchestra, 1232-3301, Timp, Perc (solo and tutti), Harp, Strings. Commissioned by the NEA for the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Premiered on April 17, 1975. Conducted by Zubin Mehta

1975   "Before the Butterfly" for Orchestra and 7 Amplified Instruments Soloists: Trumpet, Trombone, Percussion, Harp, Violin, Viola, Cello, 222-3221, Timp, Perc (3), Cel, Strings. A Bicentennial Commission by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Boston Symphony Orchestra. Premiered by the Los Angeles Philharmonic in April 1976. Conducted by Zubin Mehta
"Until Spring". Commissioned by Columbia Records. Ten [1963, revised 1976]. Fl, Ob, Tpt, Tbn, Perc (3), Pf, Va, DB

1977   "Two Life Histories" for Clarinet, male voice and an Electronic Ghost Score. Text: Greek mythology and Old Testament. Premiered by Marvin Hayes (voice) with the composer (cl.) at the Theater Vanguard, Los Angeles, in April, 1977
"Liquid Strata". Version for Piano and Electronic Ghost Score. Commissioned and premiered by Ralph Grierson at the Ojai Festival in May, 1977

1978   "Passages of the Beast" for Clarinet and Electronic Ghost Score. Commissioned by the International Clarinet Society
"Parallel Lines" for Piccolo, Electronic Ghost Score, and 9 Players. Ob/E.H., Cl/Bass Cl, Tpt, Tbn, Harp, Perc (2), Va, Vc. Commissioned by Lawrence Trott and the International Piccolo Society. Premiered at the Contemporary Music Festival, Valencia, California, in March, 1979. And premiered by Ramon Kireilis at the International Clarinet Congress, Toronto, in June, 1978
"The Wild Beasts" for Trombone, Piano, and Electronic Ghost Score. Commissioned by Miles Anderson. Premiered by Miles Anderson and Virko Baley at the Contemporary Music Festival, Valencia, California in March, 1978
"A Sky of Cloudless Sulfur". Commissioned by the J.B. Lansing Speaker Company

1979   "After the Butterfly" for Trumpet, Electronic Ghost Score, and 7 Players 2 Cl, 2 Tbn, 2 Vc, Perc. Commissioned by Mario Guarneri, premiered at the Monday Evening Concerts, Los Angeles, in October, 1979
"Place". 3333-5331, Timp, Perc (3), Harp, Celeste, Mandolin, Strings. Commissioned and premiered by the Oregon Symphony, Portland, in March, 1979. Conducted by Lawrence Smith
"The Last Dream of the Beast". Soprano, cello section, tape and ghost electronics. An aria from "The Double Life of Amphibians"

1980   "The First Dream of Light". Tuba and Electronic Ghost Score. Commissioned by Roger Bobo. Premiered at the Los Angeles Philharmonic Composer's Choice Series in February, 1980

1981   "Ascent Into Air". Chamber Ensemble and Computer. 2 Vc, Cl, Bass Cl, Tbn, Bass Tbn, 4 Percs, 2 Pfs, Computer. Commissioned by Mme. Pierre Schlumberger, Centre Georges Pompidou, and premiered by the Ensemble Intercontemporain. Conducted by Peter Eotvos at IRCAM in Paris, January 18-21, 1982
"A Fluttering of Wings" for String Quartet with or without an Electronic Ghost Score. Commissioned by the NEA for the Juilliard String Quartet. Premiered at the Library of Congress on October 14, 1982

1982   "An Arsenal of Defense". Solo Viola and Electronic Ghost Score. Commissioned and premiered by John Graham on November 7, 1982 at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music
"Axolotl". Version for Solo Cello and Electronic Ghost Score. Commissioned and premiered by Joel Krosnick at the Library of Congress on February 13, 1981
"Axolotl". Version for Solo Cello, an Electronic Ghost Score and Chamber Orchestra. 1020-0020, Perc (2), Harp, Piano, 8 Cellos, 4 Basses. Premiered at the Monday Evening Concerts, Los Angeles, on February 15, 1982

1983   "Trembling" for Violin, Piano, Tape, and Electronic Ghost Score. Commissioned by The Library of Congress

1984   "The Double Life of Amphibians". Chamber Orchestra, Two Male Singers, One Female Singer, Dancer, Electronics. Premiered at the Los Angeles Olympic Arts Festival, 1984. Director – Lee Brewer, Designer – Irving Petl in
"Return". Commissioned in honor of Haley's Comet

1985   "The Key to Songs". 2 Pianos, 2 Percs (mallet insts.), Va, Vc, Electronic Sounds. All instruments amplified. Commissioned by the Fromm Foundation

1986   "Hungers" with Ed Emshwiller for Keyboard, Mallets, Cello, Voice, Female Javanese dancer, Video, Lights, and Computer. Commissioned by the Los Angeles Festival and the Linz Ars Electronica Festival. Premiered at the Los Angeles Festival, 1986

1987   "In Two Worlds" (Saxophone Concerto) for Soloist doubling on Yamaha WX7 Computerized Wind Controller and Alto Saxophone, with Chamber Orchestra and Computer. Premiered by the Electric Orchestra conducted by Richard Gonsky with John Sampen, soloist, January 1988, Cambridge, England

1988   "And the Butterflies Begin to Sing". Chamber Ensemble and Computer. 2 Vn, Va, Vc, DB, MIDI keyboard, Computer. Commissioned by the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. First performance July 31, 1988 in Santa Fe, New Mexico

1989   "A Desert Flowers" for Orchestra and Computer. 1011-1111, Marimba, Perc (1), Piano, Strings, (or amplified solo strings)

1990-1993   "Jacob's Room". Opera for 1 Singer, Cello, and Computer. New Music Theater Festival, Philadelphia, Spring 1993

1992   "All My Hummingbirds Have Alibis" (25 minutes) for flute, cello, midi piano, midi mallets and computer. Premiered at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. Summer of 1992
"The Key to Songs". Concerto Version for Two Pianos, Orchestra, and Computer. Commissioned by Betty Freeman. The Los Angeles Philharmonic, April 1992

1993   "All My Hummingbirds Have Alibis" (CDROM)

1994   "Angel Concerto" [model for a telecommunication opera] for two singers and keyboard player. The opera takes place in three locations simultaneously. Each character is actually in a different location and the other two are "virtually" in that location. The premiere was in NY [the Kitchen], Santa Monica [the Electronic Cafe] and Santa Fe [Site Santa Fe]

1994-95   Making Music. A CD-ROM for Children

1996-97   Making More Music. A CD-ROM for Children

1997   "Intimate Immensity". A Media Poem [Interactive Technology] (80 minutes) Two, disclaviers, Two singers, Balinese Dancer and interactively controlled laser discs, computer sound and lights. World premier at Lincoln center Festival. Summer 1997

1998   "Echoes from the Silent Call of Girona" (25 Minutes) for String Quartet and CD-ROM. Commissioned for the: Southwest Chamber Music, Blair String Quartet, Chester String Quartet, Montclaire String Quartet. Premiered at Zipper Hall in Los Angeles, October 1998

1999-01   Gestures: CD-ROM. "It Starts With Colors": Surround Sound [Electronic]. Release of DVD Surround Sound [Mode]: Touch, A Sky of Cloudless Sulfur, It Starts with Colors
Messiah. String Orch, Voice, Electronics
"Echoes from the Silent Call of Girona". String Orchestra Version

AWARDS

Guggenheim Fellowship
Rockefeller Grants (3)
Meet the Composer (2)
American Academy of Arts and Letters Composer Award
Brandies Award
Deutcher Akademisher Austauschdienst Kunsterprogramm (DAAD), Composer in Residence in Berlin
Lifetime Achievement Award (SEAMUS at Dartmouth)
ASCAP: John Cage Award
ACO: Lifetime Achievement

LINK
http://www.mortonsubotnick.com