Thomas Oboe Lee

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Thomas Oboe Lee (born September 5, 1945 Beijing, China) is a Chinese American composer.[1]

Life

He and his family left Communist China in 1949, and lived in Hong Kong for ten years until 1959, when he moved to São Paulo, Brazil. He emigrated to the USA in the summer of 1966.

His musical education began in Brazil during the Bossa Nova craze. He performed as a jazz flutist with many illustrious Brazilian musicians, including the singer/song-writer Chico Buarque de Hollanda. He continued his music education in the United States at the University of Pittsburgh, the New England Conservatory of Music and Harvard University. He has been a professor of music at Boston College, since the fall of 1990.[2]

In 1981, he and five other composers from the New England Conservatory formed a composers group called "Composers in Red Sneakers." The group produced a number of successful concerts in the Boston-Cambridge area. Lee left the group in 1986 to live in Italy for a year when he won the 1987 Rome Prize Fellowship.

Lee's music has won many other awards and Fellowships: two Guggenheim Fellowship awards,[3] two National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships, two Massachusetts Artists Foundation Fellowships, the 1985 Charles Ives Fellowship from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters,[4] First Prize at the 1983 Friedheim Kennedy Center Awards for his Third String Quartet ... child of Uranus, father of Zeus, and recording grants from the Martha Baird Rockefeller Fund, and the Aaron Copland Fund for Music.

Works

Lee has composed over a hundred fifty works: eight symphonies, twelve string quartets, twelve concerti for various solo instruments, choral works, song cycles and scores of chamber music. Some of his early works, originally published by Margun Music Inc., have since been transferred to G. Schirmer Inc./Associated Music Publishers. The rest of his portfolio - orchestral, choral, a chamber opera, vocal and chamber music - is self-published under the moniker "Departed Feathers Music." His music has been recorded on Nonesuch, MCA Classics, Koch International Classics, BMG Catalyst, Arsis Audio, BMOP Sound, Northeastern and Gunther Schuller's GM Recordings, Inc. Lee's recordings can also be purchased as digital downloads at iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, Napster, and other online distributors.

His most popular work, "Morango ... Almost A Tango," written for and recorded by the Kronos Quartet,[5] has been used in dance by choreographers like Michael Tracy for Pilobolus (dance company), Jiri Kylian for the Netherlands Dance Theater, Danny Rosseel for the Royal Ballet of Flanders, Nicolo Fonte for the Pacific Northwest Ballet and Australian Ballet, Carolyn Carlson for the Cullberg Ballet of Sweden, Olivia Rosenkrantz for Tapage - a tap duo, et al. Additionally, "Morango ..." was used as a sound track for "Call It Sleep" - a documentary on Henry Roth.

Lee has recently ventured into the world of opera. His two-act chamber opera, "The Inman Diaries," (libretto by Jesse J. Martin) about the infamous Boston diarist Arthur Crew Inman was produced and premiered in Boston in 2007 by Intermezzo - The New England Chamber Opera Series. His on-going opera-in-progress is "Oscar Wilde ... An Opera in Two Acts."

In the summer of 2010, Mr. Lee embarked on a project to add a visual component to his music. These videos can be viewed on YouTube and Vimeo. Mr. Lee also has an android and iPhone app. Search under Thomas Oboe Lee.

List of works

  • Opus 1 'Aperture' (1974) string quartet
  • Opus 2 'The Mad Frog' (1974) oboe, bass clarinet in Bb and harp
  • Opus 3 'The Sensuous Gargoyle' (1975) violin and piano
  • Opus 4 'Piece For Viola' (1976) saxophone quartet
  • Opus 5 'Tennessee Sourmash' (1976) cello and piano
  • Opus 6 'Twenty-nine Fireflies, Book I, Four Pieces [i-iv]' (1977) solo piano
  • Opus 7 'Libelle ... "dragonfly"' (1977, withdrawn) solo harp
  • Opus 8 'After A Lecture By John Cage' (1978) solo piano
  • Opus 9 'Photograph 1920' (1978; rev. 1982) soprano, clarinet/bass clarinet in Bb, violin, viola and cello
  • Opus 10 'Octopus Wrecks' (1979; rev. 1981) 2 Bb trumpets, F horn, trombone, tuba and 3 double-basses
  • Opus 11 'Currie Cabot' (1980) viola and piano
  • Opus 12 'Departed Feathers' (1980) string quartet
  • Opus 13 'Phantasia For Elvira Shatayev' (1981) soprano and orchestra
  • Opus 14 'The Cockscomb' (1981) female voice, violin, Bb trumpet, double-bass, piano and 2 percussion
  • Opus 15 'The MacGuffin' (1982) Bb soprano/Eb alto sax and percussion
  • Opus 16 'White Pond ... Concord, Mass.' (1982) oboe and piano
  • Opus 17 'Third String Quartet ... child of Uranus, father of Zeus' (1982)
  • Opus 18 'Twenty-nine Fireflies, Book II, Seven Pieces [v-xi]'(1982–1986) solo piano
  • Opus 19 'The Gainsborough Five' (1983) 2 Bb trumpets, F horn, trombone and tuba
  • Opus 20 'Morango ... Almost A Tango' (1983) string quartet[5]
  • Opus 21 'Double Concerto' (1983–1984) 2 pianos and chamber orchestra
  • Opus 22 'Double "L" Triptych, opus 22' (1983) oboe solo, double string quartet and double-bass
  • Opus 23 'Hylidae ... The Tree Frogs' (1984) violin, double-bass and piano
  • Opus 24 'Cavatina Cavadini' (1991, replaces 1984 version) concert band
  • Opus 25 'Saxxologie ... A Sextet' (1984) six saxophones: 2 Bb soprano, 1 Eb alto, 2 Bb tenor and 1 Eb baritone
  • Opus 26 'Waltzes, opus 26 (1984, rev. 1994) flute, oboe, Bb clarinet, F horn and bassoon
  • Opus 27 'Harp Concerto (1985) harp solo and chamber orchestra
  • Opus 28 'Louie MCMLV' (1985 - pièce d'occasion) saxophone quartet
  • Opus 29 'String Trio' (1985) violin, viola and cello
  • Opus 30 'Six At The Top Means...' (1985) alt, ten, bari sax, 3 tpt, 2 tbn, piano, bass, drums and percussion
  • Opus 31 'Piano Sextet' (1985) flute, oboe, Bb clarinet, bassoon, F horn and piano
  • Opus 32 'Santa Cecilia ...' a Horn Trio (1986/1990 - pièce d'occasion) violin, F horn and marimba
  • Opus 33 'Marimolin' (1986) violin and marimba
  • Opus 34 'Harp Trio' (1986, withdrawn) flute, cello and harp
  • Opus 35 'Concertino' (1986) Bb trumpet solo, timpani and string orchestra
  • Opus 36 'String Quartet No. 5 ... Four Birthdays' (1987)
  • Opus 37 'Apples ... Six Dreams by Richard Kenney' (1987; rev. 1990) mezzo-soprano and piano
  • Opus 38 'Chôrinhos, opus 38' (1987) flute, oboe, Bb clarinet, violin, cello, piano and percussion
  • Opus 39 'Piano Quintet ... Apple Strudel' (1988) violin, viola, cello, double-bass and piano
  • Opus 40 'numina I ...' (1988; rev. 1994) solo trumpet
  • Opus 41 'numina V ... a Williams fanfare' (1988 - pièce d'occasion) 2 oboes, English horn in F and 2 bassoons
  • Opus 42 'Unmasked ... a chamber opera in one act' (1989–90, withdrawn)
  • Opus 43 'numina II ...' (1989; rev. 1990 - pièce d'occasion) two flutes, or recorders
  • Opus 44 'Marimolintoo' (1989–90) violin and marimba
  • Opus 45 'String Quartet on B-flat' (1989–1990; rev. 1993)
  • Opus 46 'Dark Angels' (1990; rev. 1994) viola and cello
  • Opus 47 'Hymnbook Resources Commission' (1990) vocal quartet: SATB
  • Opus 48 'Seven Jazz Pieces' (1990–91) string quartet
  • Opus 49 'I Never Saw Another Butterfly' (1991) mezzo-soprano, Bb clarinet and piano
  • Opus 50 'That Mountain' (1991; rev. 1992) lyric baritone, flute, Bb clarinet, violin, cello, piano and percussion
  • Opus 51 'Jana ... An American Overture' (1991 - withdrawn) orchestra
  • Opus 52 'Les Adieux à Dhu ... an Adagio' (1992 - pièce d'occasion) orchestra
  • Opus 53 'Poema de Natal' (1992, rev. 1996) mezzo soprano, Bb clarinet, trombone, piano and percussion
  • Opus 54 'Studio 54' (1992) flute, Bb clarinet, violin, cello and piano
  • Opus 55 'Four In One + 3' (1992 - pièce d'occasion) flute, oboe, cello and trap set
  • Opus 56 'Symphony No. 1 ... Fallen Angels' (1993; rev. 1995) orchestra
  • Opus 57 'Castor & Pollux' (1993; rev. 1996 - pièce d'occasion) flute, oboe, Bb clarinet and piano
  • Opus 58 'Tunesmith ... American Beauty Pageant' (1993) violin and piano
  • Opus 59 'Sinfonietta' (1994 - withdrawn) orchestra
  • Opus 60 'Piano Trio No. 1' (1994; rev. 2000) violin, cello and piano
  • Opus 61 'Chôros, opus 61' (1994–95) violin or viola solo in seven movements
  • Opus 62 'Eurydice ... A Tone Poem for Cello and Orchestra' (1995) solo cello and orchestra
  • Opus 63 'La Chimera Fantastica' (1995; rev. 1996 - withdrawn) violin, viola and cello
  • Opus 64 'ART: arias & interludes ... Commedia dell'arte for String Quartet' (1996; rev. 1997)
  • Opus 65 'Trinca de Chôros' (1996 - pièce d'occasion) Bb clarinet solo in three movements
  • Opus 65a 'Canções e Sambinhas' (1996) cello and piano
  • Opus 66 'Visconti-Sforza Tarot Cards' ... Twenty-two salon pieces for two pianos, opus 66 (1996)
  • Opus 66a 'Eight Tarot Cards for Madam Rubio' (1997-version for two marimbas)
  • Opus 67 'Jack and the Blues' (1997) soprano and piano
  • Opus 68 'Tantric Psalms' (1997, rev. 1999) mezzo-soprano and string quartet
  • Opus 69 'Yo Picasso' (1997) Bb clarinet, viola, cello and piano
  • Opus 70 'Symphony No. 2 ... A Phantasmagorey Ballet' (1998) orchestra
  • Opus 71 'Forró' (1998) orchestra[6]
  • Opus 72 'The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa' (1998) mezzo-soprano and organ
  • Opus 73 'Pambarry Jam' (1998 - pièce d'occasion) piano solo
  • Opus 74 'EletRIC BARB' (1998 - pièce d'occasion) flute and double-bass
  • Opus 75 'VW in July' (1998 - pièce d'occasion) 2 flutes and piano
  • Opus 76 'Twenty-nine Fireflies, Book III, Seven Pieces [xii-xviii]' (1998, rev. 2000) piano solo
  • Opus 77 'Septet, opus 77 ... Variations on a Shaker Tune' (1998) flute, Bb clar., F Horn, violin, viola, cello and double-bass
  • Opus 78 'Love Songs' (1998) mezzo-soprano and piano
  • Opus 79 'Berkshire Country Day School Fugue' (1999 - pièce d'occasion) string quartet
  • Opus 80 'He Loves And She Loves' ... G. & I. Gershwin (1999 - pièce d'occasion) arr. for two pianos
  • Opus 81 'Children's Suite, opus 81' (1999 - pièce d'occasion) violin, cello, piano; or violin, Bb clarinet and piano
  • Opus 82 'Jubilatus' (1999 - pièce d'occasion) orchestra
  • Opus 83 'Waltzin' Isabella' (1999 - pièce d'occasion) Bb trumpet and piano
  • Opus 84 'Pastorale' (2000, rev. 2013) harp solo and orchestra
  • Opus 85 'Mass for the Holy Year 2000' (1999–2000) SATB soloists, SATB chorus and orchestra
  • Opus 86 'Summer Lilies' (2000) mezzo-soprano and piano
  • Opus 87 Symphony No. 3 ... Portraits in Jazz' (2000) orchestra
  • Opus 88 'Lux Aeterna I, II, III, IV & V' ... (2000–02, rev. 2010) a cappella SATB chorus
  • Opus 89 'Morning Bliss' (2000) mezzo-soprano and piano
  • Opus 90 'Flauta Carioca' (2000) flute solo and orchestra
  • Opus 91 'Symphony No. 4 ... War and Peace' (2000–01) soprano and orchestra
  • Opus 92 'Voilà!!! ... Seven movements for two violas' (2001) or violin and viola
  • Opus 93 'Hancock Shaker Village' (2001) mezzo-soprano and string quartet
  • Opus 94 'I've Got the Munchies' (2001, rev. 2004) violin, viola, bass clarinet in Bb and vibraphone
  • Opus 95 'Christmas Cantata' (2001, rev. 2004) mezzo-soprano solo, SATB chorus, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, organ and timpani
  • Opus 96 'Toccata, Adagio & Fugue' (2001) organ solo
  • Opus 97 'Fantasia for solo organ' (2001)
  • Opus 97a 'Chorale-Fantasy, opus 97a' (2003) organ solo
  • Opus 98 'Twenty-nine Fireflies, Book IV, Seven Pieces [xix-xxv]' ... (2002) piano solo
  • Opus 99 'Twenty-nine Fireflies, Book V, Four Pieces [xxvi-xxix]' ... (2002) piano solo
  • Opus 100 'Seven Steps To Heaven' (2002) 2 violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos and double bass
  • Opus 101 'Waltzes, opus 101' (2002) flute/alto flute and harp
  • Opus 102 'Stabat Mater' (2002) SATB chorus and organ
  • Opus 103 'The New England Transcendentalists: Emerson, Hawthorne, Louisa May Alcott & Thoreau' (2003) string quartet
  • Opus 103a 'Pater Noster' (2003) baritone and string quartet
  • Opus 104 'Mambo!!!' (2003) orchestra
  • Opus 105 'Symphony No. 5 ... Utopia Parkway' (2003) orchestra
  • Opus 106 'Brocktonian Two-Step' (2003 - pièce d'occasion) orchestra
  • Opus 107 'Clarinet Concerto ... Sounds of the Islands' (2003) clarinet solo and orchestra
  • Opus 108 'Bellaboola, opus 108' (2004 - pièce d'occasion) solo trumpet in Bb
  • Opus 109 'Symphony No. 6 ... The Penobscot River' (2004) SATB chorus and orchestra
  • Opus 110 'Flowers of Terezín' (2004) for children's chorus - SSA chorus and piano
  • Opus 111 'Concerto for Orchestra, opus 111' (2004–05) orchestra
  • Opus 112 'Prelúdios ... Comidas Típicas Brasileiras' (2005) solo marimba
  • Opus 113 'Mechthild von Magdeburg ... Minnelieder an Got' (2005) SATB chorus, harp and string quintet
  • Opus 114 'Pluto ... Lord of the Underworld' (2005) orchestra
  • Opus 115a 'Oscar Wilde ... An Opera in Two Acts' (piano-vocal score of Act One, 2005)
  • Opus 115b 'Oscar Wilde ... An Opera in Two Acts' (piano-vocal score of Act Two, work-in-progress)
  • Opus 116 'Persephone and the Four Seasons' (2006) oboe solo and orchestra
  • Opus 117 'String Quartet No. 10 ... The Berkshires' (2006) string quartet
  • Opus 118 'Piano Concerto ... Mozartiana' (2007) piano solo and orchestra
  • Opus 119 'The Inman Diaries ... A Chamber Opera in Two Acts' (2007) nine singers and seven instruments
  • Opus 120 'Chorões Brasileiros' (2007) alto saxophone in Eb and piano
  • Opus 121 'Piano Quintet' (2008) piano and string quartet
  • Opus 122 'Symphony No. 7 ... Roman Holidays' (2008, revised 2013) orchestra
  • Opus 123 'Walden' (2008) lyric tenor & octet - flute, clarinet, 2 violins, viola, cello, double-bass and piano
  • Opus 124 'Septem Verba Christi in Cruce' (2008) a cappella SATB chorus
  • Opus 125 '... bisbigliando ...' (2008–09) harp solo and orchestra
  • Opus 126 'Variations on a Mennonite Hymn' (2009 - pièce d'occasion) 2 sopranos and solo violin
  • Opus 127 'Emerald Necklace ... The Story of Frederick Law Olmsted' (2009) narrator and chamber orchestra
  • Opus 128 'Jasmine Variations' (2009) string quartet
  • Opus 129 'Violin Concerto ... for Irina' (2009) violin solo & orchestra
  • Opus 130 'Tangata Manu' (2009) piano, string quartet, double bass and percussion
  • Opus 131 'Tokuno Toccata' (2010) piano solo
  • Opus 132 'Focus on Grace' ... Concerto for Jazz Saxophone (2010) alto saxophone in Eb and orchestra
  • Opus 133 'Part The First ... THOU mastering me God!' (2010) soprano and piano
  • Opus 134 'De Profundis' (2010) baritone and piano
  • Opus 135 'String Quartet No. 12 ... The Seasons, after Franz Joseph Haydn' (2010) string quartet
  • Opus 136 'Vincent Millay Cycle' (2010) soprano and piano
  • Opus 137 'Becky's Bassoon' (2010 - pièce d'occasion) bassoon solo
  • Opus 138 'Concerto for Concert Band' (2011)
  • Opus 139 'O Magnum Mysterium' (2011) all-male a cappella sextet
  • Opus 140 'Partita for Solo Violin' (2011)
  • Opus 141 'Symphony No. 8 ... City of Light' (2011) chamber orchestra
  • Opus 142 'Corso's Marriage' (2011) baritone and piano
  • Opus 143 'A Double Bassoon Fantasy' (2011 - pièce d'occasion) 2 bassoons
  • Opus 144 'Octet in D' (2012) Bb clarinet, bassoon, horn in F, string quartet and double-bass
  • Opus 145 'Mayonnaise Dressing I' (2012) soprano and piano
  • Opus 146 'Piano Trio No. 2 ... Shosty-Bach Suite' (2012) violin, cello and piano
  • Opus 147 'God's Grandeur' (2012) SATB chorus & chamber orchestra
  • Opus 148 'Toccata for Double Bass and Piano' (2012)
  • Opus 149 'Anne Dhu ... In memoriam' (2012 - pièce d'occasion) piano solo
  • Opus 150 'Lilacs ... A Poem by Amy Lowell' (2012) soprano and piano
  • Opus 151 'Grand Duo' (2012) violin and piano
  • Opus 152 'Two-part Invention' (2012 - pièce d'occasion) violin and bassoon
  • Opus 153 'The Lord's Prayer ... A Poem by R. Buckminster Fuller' (2013) soprano and piano
  • Opus 154 'Serenade Rondo' (2013) violin and chamber orchestra
  • Opus 155 'Clarinet Quintet' (2013) clarinet in Bb and string quartet
  • Opus 156 'La Serenissima' (2013) 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 horns, 2 bassoons
  • Opus 157 'Canon for the Underbelly' (2013 - pièce d'occasion) bassoon and double bass
  • Opus 158 'Symphony No. 9 ... My Imaginary London' (2013) orchestra

Recordings

References

  1. ↑ "Thomas Oboe Lee | Classical Composers Database". Classical-composers.org. 2002-04-30. Retrieved 2010-07-25. 
  2. ↑ "Thomas Oboe Lee, Composer", Boston College
  3. ↑ "Thomas Oboe Lee". John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. 2000-04-15. Retrieved 2010-08-22. 
  4. ↑ "American Academy of Arts and Letters - Award Winners". Artsandletters.org. Retrieved 2010-08-22. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Morango ... almost a tango" with the Kronos Quartet
  6. ↑ "Forró" with conductor Gunther Schuller and the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra

External links

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