he Living Composers Project

Tenney, James (b. August 10, 1934, Silver City, New Mexico). Canadian-American composer of orchestral, chamber, vocal, piano, and electroacoustic works that have been performed all over the world very successfully; he is also an expert in the music of Conlon Nancarrow.

Also active as a performer, he was co-founder and conductor of the Tone Roads Chamber Ensemble in New York City from 1963-70 and has performed with the ensembles of John Cage, Philip Glass, Harry Partch, and Steve Reich. He has long been active in the field of computer and electronic music, working with Max Mathews and others at the Bell Telephone Laboratories in the early 1960s to develop programs for computer sound-generation and composition. Many of his works use alternative tuning systems.

He is the author of numerous articles on musical acoustics, computer music, musical form, and perception, and two books, META/HODOS: A Phenomenology of 20^th-Century Musical Materials and an Approach to the Study of Form (1961) and META Meta/Hodos (1975) (published together by Frog Peak, 1988). He is also the author of A History of 'Consonance' and 'Dissonance' (published by Excelsior, 1988).

He has received awards and grants from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, the Canada Council, the Fromm Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Science Foundation, and the Ontario Arts Council. He has taught at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, the University of California and York University in Toronto (Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus), and currently holds the Roy E. Disney Family Chair in Music Composition at the California Institute of the Arts.

Recordings of his music are available from Artifact, Col Legno, CRI, Ear, Hat Hut, Hornblower, Koch/Schwann, Mode, Musicworks, New Albion, Soundprints, Toshiba EMI, and others. His works have been performed by many of the world's great ensembles, including the Arditti Quartet, Arraymusic, Ensemble Modern, the Evergreen Club, Klangforum Wien, the Kronos Quartet, the Maarten Altena Ensemble, the New Music Concerts Ensemble, Nexus, and the Relâche Ensemble, among many others.

CONTACT INFORMATION

E-mail address: mumatrix@interlog.com

Street address: Prof. James Tenney, 23908 Sarda Road, Valencia, California 91355, USA

Telephone: 661 799 0226

Fax: 661 670 0151

COMPLETE LIST OF WORKS

STAGE: Choreogram, dancers, any number of players, 1964; deus ex machina, tam-tam, tape delay system, technician, unwary audience, 1982

ORCHESTRAL: Quiet Fan for Erik Satie, small orchestra (13 players), 1970-71; For 12 Strings (rising), 1971; Clang, 1972; Three Harmonic Studies, 1974; Chorales, 1974; Tangled Rag, strings, 1978 (arrangement of third of Three Rags, piano); Forms 1-4, variable orchestra (minimum 16 players), 1993 (each may be performed separately); In a large, open space, variable orchestra (12 or more players), 1994; In a large, reverberant space, variable orchestra (12 or more players), 1995; Spectrum 3, small orchestra (20 players), 1995; Diapason, 1996; 'Scend for Scelsi, small orchestra (14 players), 1996; Song'n'Dance for Harry Partch, adapted viola, diamond marimba, orchestra (percussion, strings), 1999; Last Spring in Toronto, gamelan ensemble, orchestra, 2000

CHAMBER MUSIC: Seeds I-VI, flute, clarinet, bassoon, French horn, violin, cello, 1956, revised 1961; Sonata, piccolo, flute, oboe, clarinet, alto saxophone, bassoon, French horn, trumpet, trombone, tuba, 1958, revised 1983; Just a Bagatelle, viola, 1959, revised 1999; Monody, clarinet, 1959; Stochastic String Quartet, 1963; Postal Piece No. 5: Maximusic, percussion, 1965; Postal Piece No. 6: Swell Piece No. 1, any number of sustained-tone instruments, 1967; Postal Piece No. 1: Beast, double bass, 1971; Postal Piece No. 3: (night), percussion, 1971; Postal Piece No. 4: Koan, violin, 1971; Postal Piece No. 7a: Swell Piece No. 2, any player, 1971; Postal Piece No. 7b: Swell Piece No. 3, any player, 1971; Postal Piece No. 8: August Harp, harp, 1971; Postal Piece No. 9: Cellogram, cello, 1971; Postal Piece No. 10: Having Never Written a Note for Percussion, percussion, 1971; Quintext I-V: Five Textures, string quartet, double bass, 1972; In the Aeolian Mode, prepared piano, variable ensemble, 1973; Canon, 4 double basses, 1973; Chorale, violin, piano, 1974, revised 1998; Three Pieces for Mechanical Drum, 1974; Three Pieces for Drum Quartet, 1974-75; Harmonium No. 1, variable ensemble, 1975-76; Harmonium No. 2, variable ensemble, 1975-76; Harmonium No. 3, 3 harps, 1978, revised 1980; Harmonium No. 5, violin, viola, cello, 1978; Three Indigenous Songs, 2 piccolos, alto flute, bassoon/tuba, 2 percussion, 1979; Septet, 6 electric guitars, bass guitar, 1981, revised 2000; Milk and Honey, mandolin(s), mandola(s), mandocello/mandocelli (arrangement of second of Three Rags, piano), 1983; Koan, string quartet, 1984; Changes: 64 Studies, 6 harps, 1985; 'Water on the Mountain… Fire in Heaven', 6 electric guitars, 1985; The Road to Ubud, prepared piano, gamelan ensemble, 1986; Rune, 5 percussion, 1988; Critical Band, 10 or more sustained-tone instruments, 1988, revised 2000; Tableaux Vivants, clarinet (+ bass clarinet), soprano saxophone (+ baritone saxophone), bassoon, violin, piano, vibraphone, 1990; Three New Seeds, clarinet (+ bass clarinet), trumpet, double bass, piano, 2 percussion, 1991; Cognate Canons, string quartet, percussion, 1993; Tempest II, mechanical drum, 1994; Spectrum 1, bass clarinet, trumpet, violin, double bass, piano, 2 percussion, 1995; Spectrum 2, flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn, bassoon, 1995; Spectrum 4, alto recorder, bass clarinet, tenor-bass trombone, guitar, violin, double bass, piano, vibraphone, 1995; Spectrum 5, flute, oboe, bass clarinet, bassoon, harp, viola, piano, percussion, 1995; Diaphonic Study, string quartet, piano, 1997; Diaphonic Toccata, violin, piano, 1997; Diaphonic Trio, violin, piano, 1997; Seegersong No. 1, clarinet, 1999; Seegersong No. 2, flute/alto flute, 1999; Harmonium No. 7, any 8 or more sustained-tone instruments, 2000; Spectrum 6, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, percussion, 2001; Spectrum 8, viola obbligato, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, percussion, 2001; (Fontana) Mix for Six (Strings), 2 violins, 3 violas, cello, tape delay system ad libitum, 2001

CHORAL: Postal Piece No. 2: A Rose is a Rose is a Round, mixed voices, 1970; 'Hey when I sing these 4 songs hey look what happens' (text from an Iroquois source [translated by Jerome Rothenberg]), mixed chorus, 1971; 'Listen…!', 3 sopranos, piano, 1981, revised 1984

VOCAL: Thirteen Ways of looking at a Blackbird (text by Wallace Stevens), tenor, 2 flutes, violin, viola, cello, 1958 (also arranged for bass, alto flute, oboe, viola, cello, double bass, 1971); Sneezles, soprano, alto recorder/flute, clarinet, tenor-bass trombone, guitar, violin, double bass, vibraphone, 1986, revised 1995; Ain't I a Woman? (text by Sojourner Truth), cello (+ speaker), 2 violins, 2 violas, 2 celli, celesta, 1992

PIANO: Music for Player Piano, 1964; Three Rags, 1969 (second, Milk and Honey, also arranged for mandolin[s], mandola[s], mandocello/mandocelli; third, Tangled Rag, also arranged for strings, 1978); Spectral CANON for CONLON Nancarrow, player piano, 1974 (also extended, 1991); Chromatic Canon, 2 pianos, 1980, revised 1983; Bridge, 2 microtonal pianos 8 hands, 1984; Flocking, 2 quarter-tone pianos, 1993; Ergodos III, 2 pianos, 1994; 3 Pages in the Shape of a Pear, 1995; Prelude and Toccata, 2001

ELECTROACOUSTIC: Collage No. 1 (Blue Suede), tape, 1961; Analog No. 1: Noise Study, tape, 1961; Entrance/Exit Music, tape, 1962 (collaboration with George Brecht); Dialogue, tape, 1963; Phases, tape, 1963; Ergodos I, tape, 1963; Instrumental Response, wind/brass/bowed string instrument/piano/percussion, tape, 1964 (tape is either Ergodos I or II); Ergodos II, tape, 1964; Fabric for Ché, tape, 1967; For Ann (rising), tape, 1969; Harmonium No. 4, ensemble (10 players), tape delay system, 1978; Saxony, 1 or more saxophones, tape delay system, 1978; Glissade, viola, cello, double bass, tape delay system, 1982; Voice(s), female voice(s), variable ensemble ad libitum, multi-track tape delay system, 1982-83; Pika-Don, 4 percussion, 4-track tape, 1991; Form 5, tape, 1993; Spectrum 7, flute, cello, piano, tape delay system, 2001

ARRANGEMENTS: Love me do-Do you want to know a secret (the Beatles), piano, 1992; Five Studies for Player Piano (Conlon Nancarrow), small orchestra, 2000

FILM SCORES (DIRECTOR): Interim, piano, 1952, revised 1998 (Stan Brakhage); Viet Flakes, tape, 1966 (Carolee Schneemann)

DISCOGRAPHY (as composer)

Harmonium No. 5 - Strange City. Arraymusic (Artifact: ART-002, 1988)

Critical Band - On Edge. Relâche Ensemble (Mode: 22, 1992)

Collage No. 1 (Blue Suede); Analog No. 1: Noise Study; Dialogue; Phases; Music for Player Piano; Ergodos II; Fabric for Ché; For Ann (rising) - James Tenney: Selected Works, 1961-1969. (Artifact: ART-1007/Frog Peak: 001, 1992)

Chromatic Canon - U.S. Choice. Edmund Niemann, Nurit Tilles, pianos (CRI: 637, 1992)

Do you want to know a secret-Love me do - Let It Be. Aki Takahashi, piano (Toshiba EMI: TOCE-8021, 1992)

Ergodos I - A Chance Operation-Tribute to John Cage. (Koch/Schwann: 7238, 1993)

Viet Flakes - Sound/Image. (Musicworks: 56, 1993)

Three New Seeds - New World. Michael J. Baker/Arraymusic (Artifact: ART-006, 1993)

Tableaux Vivants - Pressure Points. Sound Pressure (Soundprints: SP9301, 1994)