(b. 23 December 1958, Wolfville, Nova Scotia).
Canadian composer, now resident in the USA, of mostly chamber, choral, vocal, and piano works that have been performed in North America and elsewhere; he is also active as a scholar.
Mr. Bowlby studied composition with Owen Stephens at Acadia University in Wolfville from 1981–84, where he earned his BA in music. He then studied composition with William Brooks, Morgan Powell and Paul Martin Zonn at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign from 1984–98 and there earned his MMus in both composition and in music theory and musicology, as well as his DMA in composition and music theory with the thesis Webern's Strongest Readers.
His music has been performed in Canada, Japan, New Zealand, and the USA.
As a scholar, he has written essays on Johann Sebastian Bach and Dmitri Shostakovich, René Leibowitz, Arnold Schoenberg, Igor Stravinsky, and Anton Webern for ex tempore and other publications.
Mr. Bowlby is also active in other positions. He has worked as a performer of solo choral and vocal music from all periods of musical history since the mid-1980s. He has sung as a bass in, and served as a rehearsal conductor and section leader of, the Chancel Choir of the Union Church of Hinsdale, Illinois since 2004 and of the Lewis University Choir in Romeoville, Illinois since 2006.
He worked as online composer-in-residence to the NETCOMM Telementoring Project at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign from 2002–04 and as a mentor in composition for the Vermont MIDI Project from 2002–05. He taught music appreciation and music theory at Columbia College in Chicago in 2004 and composition and solfège at Saint Xavier University in Chicago from 2004–06. He has taught music theory and solfège at Lewis University since 2004, where he also designed and taught a new course for minors in film studies in 2008.
He has lived in the USA since 1984.
COMPLETE LIST OF WORKS (dates unavailable for some works)
STAGE:
Only, emotion's a way... (dance music, choreography by Jodi Youmans), clarinet, B-flat trumpet, double bass, vibraphone, 1990
ORCHESTRAL:
Shadow Studies, small orchestra, 1995
CHAMBER MUSIC:
Chorale Prelude in D minor (with accompanimental figures from Johann Sebastian Bach), clarinet, bass clarinet/bassoon, French horn, trumpet, c. 1982
Three Different Winds, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, 1983
Toast 'n' Jam, alto saxophone, bass guitar, synthesizer/Hammond organ/electronic keyboard, drum kit, percussion, c. 1983–84
Fugue in B minor, string quartet, 1984
Septet, flute, clarinet, French horn, tuba, violin, cello, vibraphone, 1987
Duo in C, trumpet, piano, 1989
Cross'd, soprano saxophone, 2 alto saxophones, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, 1989
None(xemp)t, any 8 diverse instruments/voices, piano, 1990
Five Canons, violin, cello, 1990
4: by 2, string quartet, 1990
Waltz in G major, clarinet, 4 French horns, violin, double bass, c. 1990
According to Hoyle, flute, 1991
E. D. G. E., tuba, 1991
Music for Solo Violin, violin, 1991
Another Season's Promised, viola, piano, 1991
Aftermaths (Reflections on Shelley's 'Ozymandias'), trumpet, 1991
Chime Tune No. 1 in D major, handbells, c. 1991
Trio in C major, 3 flutes, c. 1991 (version of work for organ)
4 Tr. R.'s (for T. R. R.'s), flute, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, bass trombone, percussion, 1992
A View of You, flute (+ piccolo), trumpet, 1992
Homonyms, cello, 1992
Elegy, baritone saxophone, 1992
Bluenosed, flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn, bassoon, 1992
True North, flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn, bassoon, 1992
Eventual Memories, flute, guitar, 1992
Just One More, oboe, 1992
In Probabilities, bass clarinet, 1993, revised 1995
Circumstances, alto flute, harp, 1993
Persuasions, viola, 1993
Concentricities, tuba, piano, percussion, 1994
Meditation: Upon Olde Coynes, 4 saxophones, 1994
Canzona: Aequaleities, 2 alto trombones, 8 trombones, 2 bass trombones, 1994
Fugue in E minor, 2 clarinets, French horn, tuba, c. 1994
Permutations of a Theme by Johannes Brahms, flute, piano, 1995
Soliloquy: Grey Matters, bassoon, 1995
Quartetto profundo, 4 double basses, 1995
Passacaglia in C, 2 violins, handbells, c. 1995
Polacca, vibraphone, 1996
Not Just North, flute, violin, 1996
for There, a Rose Patterns, trumpet, trombone, violin, double bass, vibraphone, 1996
Duo Concitato, bass trombone, timpani, 1997
String Quartet No. 3, 1997
Sentence and Doubles, double bass, vibraphone, 1997
Given to Younger Angels, 2 harps, 1997
Imprints, piccolo (+ flute), flute (+ alto flute), oboe (+ English horn), piano, percussion, 1998
Sonatina, trumpet, tuba, 1998
TEAR (...of Two Minds), alto saxophone, timpani, vibraphone, 1998
Preliminaries, trombone, 1998
In Memoriam Harry Somers, flute, 1999
Rondo, 2 clarinets, 1999
Trio, violin, cello, piano, 1999
Seconds and Endings, flute, oboe, 2000
Anterior Landscapes, oboe, bassoon, piano, 2000
Ghosts in the Early Frost, flute, violin, double bass, vibraphone, 2000
Rondo Capriccioso, alto saxophone, piano, 2000–01 (also version for A-clarinet, piano, 2000–01)
Traces for Solo Horn, French horn, 2001
Cross Purposes, double bass (with scordatura), 2001 (also version for cello [with scordatura], 2001)
Saltarello, oboe, violin, cello, accordion, 2001
A Joyful Noise, handbells, 2001
Beware the People Weeping, 10 B-flat trumpets, 2001
Trio in F minor, flute, oboe, organ, 2001
Sonata in Three Movements, trombone, piano, 2002
Trio for Trumpet, Trombone and Piano, trumpet, trombone, piano, 2002
Elegy, viola, cello, 2002
Dream Sequence Tango, euphonium, violin, accordion, 2002
Trio for Clarinet, Violoncello and Piano, clarinet, cello, piano, 2003
Trio for Oboe, Bass Clarinet and Vibraphone, oboe, bass clarinet, vibraphone, 2003
Impressions for Solo Flute, flute, 2004
Lyric Duo for Trumpet and Piano, trumpet, piano, 2004
Sonata in Five Movements, bass clarinet, piano, 2004
Sonatina for Flute and Harp, flute, harp, 2006
Mined Sets, flute, clarinet, piano, 2009
Toccata for Unaccompanied Marimba, marimba, 2009
Beguine in C, flute, saxophone, double bass, Hammond organ
Canonic Variations on the Spiritual 'Go Tell it on the Mountain', flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn, bassoon
Champagne Flutes, 4 piccolos, 4 flutes, 2 alto flutes, 2 bass flutes, double bass
Chorale Tune in G major, 2 clarinets, French horn, tuba
Elaborate in Latin, trumpet, guitar, double bass, Hammond organ, percussion
Fanfare in G, 5 B-flat trumpets
Fugue in D major, flute, oboe, violin, viola, cello
Habanera in G minor, clarinet, 4 trumpets, bass guitar (also version for guitar, 2 violins, double bass, accordion/bandoneón)
Minuet in A major, 2 violins, 2 violas, cello
Trio in A minor, 2 violins, cello
CHORAL:
Two Elizabethan Lyrics (texts by Robert Herrick, an anonymous source), 12/16 mixed voices, piano, 2 percussion, 1987
Stillborn Silence! (text by Richard Flecknoe), 8 mixed voices, 1994
Three Choral Introits on Psalm Fragments (texts from Psalm 96, Psalm 97, Psalm 57), 4 mixed voices, 1998
Behold, How Good and How Pleasant it Is (text from Psalm 133), 4 mixed voices, 1999
Praise His Name! Sing Alleluia! (text by the composer), children's chorus, piano, 2000
A Pilgrim's Cantata (text by John Bunyan, arranged by the composer), alto, tenor, mixed chorus, French horn, piano, 1999–2004
With Silent Lips (texts by Emily Dickinson, Emma Lazarus), mixed chorus, small orchestra (clarinet, French horn, piano, violins, violas, cellos), 2005
Two Sacred Settings (text by Rowland Watkyns), mixed chorus, 2008
Psalm XXIII (text from Psalm 23), mixed chorus, trumpet, bass guitar, piano, 2008
Lullaby (text by the composer), 3/6/9 female voices, 2011
Hymn and Descant Variations: 'Abide with Me', mixed chorus, violin
VOCAL:
Three Shakespearean Sonnets (text by William Shakespeare), mezzo-soprano, violin, 1989
Four Songs on Poems by Thomas Hardy (text by Thomas Hardy), mezzo-soprano, violin, viola, double bass, piano, 1990
Two Songs of Experience (text by William Blake), mezzo-soprano, piano, 1991
Two Songs on Texts by Robert Herrick (text by Robert Herrick), mezzo-soprano, piano, 1992
Two Songs on Poems by A. E. Housman (text by A. E. Housman), soprano, bassoon, piano, 1992
Out of an Old Poet (texts, translations by Barnabe Googe), soprano, piccolo (+ flute, alto flute), piano, 1993
The Africa We Knew (texts by Claude McKay, William Plomer), soprano, clarinet (+ bass clarinet), trumpet, piano, percussion, 1994
Three Songs of Shattering (text by Edna St. Vincent Millay), soprano, oboe, piano, 1994
Dickinson Song Set (text by Emily Dickinson), soprano, oboe, piano, 1994
Two Songs on Texts by Charles Tennyson Turner (text by Charles Tennyson Turner), soprano, A-clarinet, vibraphone, 1994
Three Songs on Sacred Texts (text by George Herbert), mezzo-soprano, viola, piano, 1996
Two Songs on Texts by A. E. Housman (text by A. E. Housman), mezzo-soprano, piano, 1997
Four Songs on Texts by Richard Crashaw (text by Richard Crashaw), mezzo-soprano, flute, guitar, double bass, percussion, 1998
Three Songs on Shakespeare Texts (text by William Shakespeare), soprano, flute, French horn, cello, vibraphone, 1999
To Music Bent Is My Retirèd Mind (text by Thomas Campion), baritone, piano, 1999
The Heavens Reward Thee Manifold (text by Anne Bradstreet), soprano, baritone, piano, 1999
The Cuckoo of a Worse July (text by Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson of Aldworth and Freshwater), soprano, French horn, double bass, vibraphone, 2000
Two Imaginary Sonnets (text by Eugene Lee-Hamilton), soprano, clarinet, piano, 2001
As the Wounded Hart, Embost (text by Francis Quarles), soprano, oboe, clarinet (+ bass clarinet), French horn, cello, piano, 2001
Three Songs on Texts by Charles Tennyson Turner (text by Charles Tennyson Turner), soprano/tenor, flute, English horn, bass clarinet, vibraphone, 2002
A Lyre with Other Strings (text by William Cowper), soprano/tenor, 2007
Octaves of a Mystic Depth and Height (text by Elizabeth Barrett Browning), soprano, flute, bass clarinet, violin, double bass, vibraphone, 2007
PIANO:
Invention in A major, 1983
3 4 88, 2 pianos, 1989
Tested Metals, 1991
In Her Moods, 1992
Étude in C major, c. 1992
In, Sigh'd and Out, 2 pianos, 1994
Variations, c. 1990–95
Faust Sonata (Laffen und Pfaffen), 1995
Theme and Three Variations, c. 1997
ORGAN:
Trio in C major, c. 1991 (also version for 3 flutes)
Chorale Prelude in D minor, c. 1990–95
Three Movements, c. 1990–95
Vicissitudes, 1996
ARRANGEMENTS:
Menuetto: Allegretto from Streichquintett Nr. 4 in G-moll, K 516 (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart), handbells, c. 2003
Away in a Manger (Christmas carol), oboe, handbells, c. 1997–2004
How Long, O Lord? (E. H. Thiman), handbells, c. 1997–2004
Musette II (Johann Sebastian Bach), handbells, c. 1997–2004
The Easy Winners (Scott Joplin), flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn, bassoon, 2011
Bethena (Scott Joplin), flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn, bassoon, 2011
When in Our Music God Is Glorified (Sir Charles Villiers Stanford), mixed chorus
Nearer, My God, to Thee (Lowell Mason), violin