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KARL BOELTER
Composer

School of Music
SUNY Fredonia
Fredonia, NY 14163
(716) 673-3151

6733 E Quaker St
Orchard Park, NY 14127
(716) 662-2296

boelter@fredonia.edu
FAX (716) 673-3154

All music is available directly from the composer.
The music of Karl Boelter is licensed by BMI.

Karl Boelter, born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1952, studied composition at Ball State University and at the University of Michigan, receiving his doctorate in Ann Arbor in 1981. His instructors have included William Albright, Leslie Bassett, William Bolcom, David Foley and Eugene Kurtz. He has taught at Auburn University at Montgomery, the University of Michigan, Kennesaw State College, Oakland University, and is currently Director of the School of Music at the State University of New York (SUNY) College at Fredonia. Between 1985 and 1991, he resided in Atlanta where he also served as Performing Arts Coordinator for the High Museum of Art presenting concerts and performances in conjunction with major exhibitions.

Boelter's awards include a fellowship from the MacDowell Colony, a performance in Carnegie Recital Hall under the auspices of the International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM), and grants from BMI, ASCAP, the University of Michigan, the Michigan State Arts Council, the Georgia Council for the Arts, et al. He is frequently commissioned for new works, many of which demonstrate his interest in working across artistic disciplines.

His music has been selected for festivals throughout the United States, as well as in Austria, Spain, France and Italy. Commissions and/or performances have included the Eisenhower Dance Ensemble, the Lanier Trio, Meadow Brook Theatre and the Atlanta Symphony.

“The music I write is frequently inspired by visual references such as descriptive images from poetry, geometric shapes, pictures and photographs, theatrical settings, and dance. This is because music for me possesses many physical properties even though it is initially engaged by only the ear. Each work I write increases my awareness of all the senses, and the visual is perhaps the most powerful.

“Counterpoint creates dimension. Timbres provide physical texture. The metaphors we often use in music are more real than merely referential; music truly can be bright, weighty, thick, powerful, transparent, deep, etc. Musical ideas require an architectural foundation, and rhythm and pitch are like construction tools and materials.

“In my work you will find visual references or poetic references in the movement titles for the Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Images from Goldsmith (horn concerto), Peterborough Sonata, and Castles. The Glass Menagerie, Bamboo Thicket, No Longer of That World, 1, 2, 3…O-U-T, and Sixteen on Center are either for theatrical production or possess theatrical elements. Bamboo Thicket, Relentless Voice and Parallax are works intended for dance.

“In my opinion, the best music has a solid grounding in intellectual constructs and curiosity, but can relate to the listener with directness which is usually rooted in a simple idea.”

“The range of skills required by the professional musician has evolved considerably in the past fifty years. It isn’t enough to be well-versed in the standard repertoire and in the classical conventions. Students need to embrace contemporary life and the sounds that have sprung from it, whether that be concert music, jazz, pop, African, Indian or any other style or culture which has provided a fresh way to think musically. Musicians who sight-read well must explore improvisation; musicians who improvise must learn to be good readers.

“I am committed to the notion that composition, whether written, improvised or only conceptual, is a prime method to explore musical concepts and principles. In my university position excellent results have been achieved through our Creative Composition courses which were designed to nurture creative spirit first and later and gradually enable the notated product. I have also led a contemporary music ensemble that not only performs the literature of our time, but also teaches improvisation without the jazz idiom as its basis.

“It is the breadth of musical experience that counts. Students should always be guided to expand their knowledge base and add a new skill to their arsenal of abilities.”

Bamboo Thicket (1997) for saxophone (soprano, alto or tenor), percussionist and 3 dancers, utilizing a stage environment of sound-producing elements. Suggested percussion: triangle, bass drum, 2 toms, suspended cymbal, high-hat, metal pipe. Dancers' sound devices: metal pipes, bamboo poles, sound pads, maraca, cowbell, thunder sheets. Approximately 10'.

But It Does Move (1986) for alto saxophone and marimba. An insistent and relentless journey. Approximately 6'.

Castles (2002) for piano, four hands. Three famous castles of Europe are the inspiration for this showcase for four-hand piano. Approximately 9’.

*Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (1999). This is a tremendous romp for both the soloist and the orchestra. The third movement is a bit of a scherzo leading into the monumental fourth movement. Appoximately 22’.

Counterparts (1987) for piano, violin, viola, cello, and flute. A five-movement work which groups the quintet into various combinations. The last movement combines themes of the preceding movements. Approximately 15'.

Markedly with motion. Flute and viola

Lyrically. Flute, violin and piano

Broadly. Violin and cello

Rhythmically. Viola, cello and piano

Slowly and expressively. Full quintet

*Dharma (1982, revised 1986, 2001) for small orchestra (1-1-1-1, 1-2-0-0, percussion, piano, strings). A tune for trumpet and flute leads the orchestra in an exploration of "vivid effects" and "exhilarating" textures. Approximately 12 ~~10'~~.

Evenfall (1983) for piano solo. The third movement of Peterborough Sonata with a different introduction.

Four Songs on Poems by Archibald MacLeish (1979) for mezzo-soprano and piano. "Evocative and arresting." Approximately 11' as a set.

Waking

Survivor

What Any Lover Learns

With Age Wisdom

Heaven's River (1996) for SATB chorus, oboe, clarinet, 2 percussionists and piano. A colorful setting of the famous Light, my light lyric from Gitanjali by Rabindranath Tagore. Exuberant ending. Approximately 9'.

*Images from Goldsmith for French Horn and Orchestra (2001) draws its inspiration from a 1764 poem describing the places and peoples of Europe. A concerto for horn and orchestra in spirit and intent. Approximately 18’.

Nocturne (1983) for piano solo. The second movement of Peterborough Sonata.

*No Longer of That World (1988) for soprano, flute, clarinet, piano, percussion. A virtuosic chamber work involving some theatrical elements and a chilling power. Text by Robert Hayden, James Stephens, and Rainer Maria Rilke.

Nova (1976) for orchestra 2-2-2-2, 4-3-3-1, piano, percussion, strings. Extensive percussion is featured in this work. Approximately 10'.

Of Two Minds (1978) for unaccompanied cello. Two movements, highly constrasting in nature. Approximately 6'.

*One, Two, Three . . . O-U-T (1990) for soprano, cello and piano. Text derived from thirty children's counting-out rhymes. A fun, eclectic blend of style, plus a touch of theatrics. Approximately 9'.

Parallax (1990) for piano. Originally conceived for dance, though often performed as piano solo. Only moderate difficulty, and possesses some minimalistic traits. Approximately 12'.

Persistence of Images (1997) for violin and cello. Broad range of mood. Coloristic and thematic. Approximately 9'.

*Peterborough Sonata (1983) for piano solo. A three-movement work of eloquence, rage and beauty. The first movement is wild and rather jazzy. The second movement is a nocturne. The third is a passacaglia with an improvisatory quality. Approximately 13'.

Piano Trio (1984) for violin, cello and piano. A single movement work with three principal sections within: stately, unmetered, passionate. Approximately 8'.

Relentless Voice (1991) for piano solo and dancer. Intended for live pianist and solo dancer. Approximately 7'.

Sixteen on Center (2003) for multiple percussion. A virtuosic soloist is accompanied by a non-professional trio of percussionists. Approximately 8’.

Souls (1996) for soprano, tenor and piano. Cycle of six songs with texts from Masters' Spoon River Anthology. Approximately 15' as a 6-song cycle.

Jillian Scott. Soprano

J. Milton Miles. Tenor

Marie Bateson. Soprano

Ernest Hyde. Tenor

Walter Simmons. Tenor

Mrs. Sibley. Soprano

Steam, Cylinder and Switch (1999) for piano solo. An exploration of meter, polyrhythm and mechanical repetition.

Tempre (1980) for tape. A piece of broad range and expression created with analog equipment and procedures. Realized in the University of Michigan Electronic Music Studio. Approximately 5'.

Three Affections (1982) for alto saxophone and piano. The piece is a modern application of a practice common in the Baroque; each movement convincingly expresses an affection: Grandeur, Reflection, Heroism. Approximately 8'.

Three Songs of Contemplation, Love and Hope (2004) for SATB chorus, unaccompanied. The texts by Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837) express the desire for ultimate good to come from impending loss. The music is moderate in difficulty, and the settings are straightforward to allow clear and pure delivery of the texts. The three works in the cycle are My Dear, It’s Time, I Loved You Once, and Valediction. Approximately 7½ minutes total length.

*To Know the Dark (1992) for flute, clarinet, cello and marimba. Confusion and broad angles gradually coalesce to conclude with peace and clarity. Approximately 6'.

Triptych (1977) for trombone quintet. Three movements: fast, slow, fast. Virtuosic and rhythmic. Approximately 6'.

Variations for Chamber Winds (1980) for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, two horns, two trumpets, trombone, and tuba (combined brass quintet and woodwind quintet). An original, lyrical theme is put to extreme principles of variation, creating a work of intensity and beauty. Approximately 10'.

World For the Beholder (1981) a cantata for SATB chorus, mezzo-soprano and baritone soloists, orchestra (2-2-2-2, 4-3-3-1, celesta, harp, percussion, strings). In three movements: Wandering at Morn, Interlude (orchestral), Song at Sunset. Text from Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman. Approximately 25'.