JeremyAllen
composer
WELCOME to my website. I'm glad you are here. You will find a bit of information on who I am and what I do by reading this page and my BIO page, but you will find out a lot more by listening to some of my representative works on my STAGE page and viewing the scored clips on my FILM page. I am a conservatory-trained farm boy (there are more of us out there than you might guess) with numerous compositional interests and have experience writing both acoustic and electronic music for stage (instrumental/choral), film, and dance. I am always available to entertain new commissions and film scoring/sound design work, so dont be bashful; just click on my CONTACT page and let me know what you are cooking up. As you will soon hear, my compositional style aptly reflects my eclectic musical interests. [scroll down]
Now, on to my compositional Credo. One of my main goals as a composer is to create music that has the capacity to be both intensely emotional and intellectually stimulating. I do believe that an earnest connection between art music and the common man should always exist, yet it is the aspiration to create art capable of moving both the average listener and the analyst that ultimately drives me as a composer. I also take great delight in writing music that communicates with performers, and not just through them. Performers are the life-blood of what we composers do. When they feel a true sense of ownership of what they are inexorably helping us to create, the music takes on fascinating new dimensions. [scroll down]
In the last few years I have become very careful to compose honestly -- to accept my compositional voice as being the sum of my life experiences, both musical and non-musical, and to be intentional about how I articulate that in each work, no matter what its function. I view the process of becoming a good composer as a life-long journey. Just as every composer should, I hope to create music worth remembering.
I hope you enjoy your visit -- don't forget to check back often for news and updated content. Happy listening!
Jeremy Allen
HOME
NEWS and events
February 2009 Research project "Music and the Brain" begins
at The Cleveland Clinic using electronic music
composed by Jeremy Allen and four other CIM
graduate students
March 21 Premiere of Multimode Filter's electronic
dance work, "Control"
April 26 Premiere of short film "The Big Premeire;"
original music by Jeremy Allen
May 2009 New work for marimba duo commissioned by
Derek Tywoniuk and Nathan von Trotha
June 2009 New work for solo flute commissioned by
Madeline Lucas
July 10-12 "Beauty in Refuse" electronic dance work _
Ingenuity Festival in downtown Cleveland
July 13 Jeremy Allen is now Dr. Jeremy Allen.
Fall 2009 New work for harp and violin commissioned by
Elizabeth Steiner and Emily Botel-Bernard
February 2010 Premiere (and recording) of orchestral work
"Meridian" by CIM Orchestra
Spring 2010 Premiere of commissioned work "Mercury
Retrograde" by Erica Ward and the Mauthe
String Quartet
Jeremy Allen, composer for stage, dance and film
Jeremy Allen has his roots in the rolling hills of western Iowa, where he grew up on a 400-acre farm. It was there that he first became fascinated with music and sound, listening to his father's records of 1970s popular music and absorbing the soundtracks from his favorite films. In college, Jeremy became acquainted with the music of early twentieth-century composers, at which point he decided to pursue music composition. Mr. Allen has retained Americana influences in his own innovative compositional language, harnessing the strength and flexibility of tonality and the beauty of the natural world into what he considers a highly imaginative yet accessible style.
Mr. Allen holds a Masters degree in Composition from the University of Kentucky and has recently earned a Doctorate in Composition from The Cleveland Institute of Music. He has studied with award-winning composers Joseph Baber, Margaret Brouwer, and Keith Fitch, and has actively participated in seminars and master classes with other well-known composers such as Melinda Wagner, Robert Beaser, Steven Stucky, Joan Tower and Tanya León. He has also studied film scoring and sound design with internationally-renowned composer Steven Mark Kohn. For the past two years, Jeremy has been conducting research in cooperation with Joan Tower and Melinda Wagner toward developing a pertinent method of analysis for contemporary art music based on a cooperative effort between music theorists and twenty-first century composers.
Jeremy has received commissions from the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, the Canton Symphony Orchestra, and the Cleveland-based Altamira Quartet and has recently been awarded the Donald Erb Prize in Composition from the Cleveland Institute of Music. His music, which has been featured on public radio, has been performed by internationally renowned performers and groups such as the Canton Symphony Orchestra, Wilhelmenia Fernandez-Smith, and MOSAIC, and has been called "a burst of gleeful Americana" by Donald Rosenberg of The Cleveland Plain Dealer. His latest dance work, Beauty in Refuse, was premiered at the 2009 Ingenuity Festival in Cleveland.
His film music has been commissioned by institutions such as The Cleveland Museum of Natural History and The Cleveland Institute of Art, and his electronic music is currently part of the Cleveland Clinic's Music and the Brain research project. Mr. Allen has conducted two live, big screen-projected performances of Cuyahoga Creatures, his score to a film created by the CMNH for their permanent outdoor wildlife exhibit.
Mr. Allen has teamed up with award-winning composers Michael Bratt and Mark Nowakowski in founding Multimode Filter, a Cleveland-based electronic composer ensemble dedicated to producing cutting-edge new electronic music and sound design for stage, audio books, video games and film. He is also a composer, performer and founding member of the Board of Directors for FiveOne, Cleveland's premier new music ensemble. Mr. Allen currently lives in Lakewood, Ohio with his wife and son.
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BIOgraphy
Solo/Chamber Works
Moonscapes- for 4 violas
Concoctions for CelloNo. 1andNo. 2
Thank You, Mr. Morricone- perf. by FiveOne
Concoctions for PianoNo. 1, No. 2andNo. 3
In Memory- for string quartet
Shirts & Skins- for percussion duo
Happenstance- for percussion duo
Mercury Retrograde - for string quartet (not yet recorded)
These works are representative of my interests and style, both of which are constantly broadening. Each of the acoustic and electro-acoustic works are available in print form (professionally bound score and parts, as it applies) directly from the composer. PDF score samples are coming soon - stay tuned!
Please direct all inquiries to allencomposer_gmail.comor simply use the message form on the CONTACT page.
Having trouble playing the clips? Try downloading the Quicktime plug-in for your browser.
Orchestral/Choral Works
Erie: An Orchestral Short
Forward- for orchestra
Meridian - for orchestra (not yet recorded)
Christus Vincit- for SATB+ acappella
In the Beginning - for SSAATTBB+ acappella (not yet recorded)
Simeon's Blessing - for SATB+ acappella (not yet recorded)
STAGEmusic
Electronic and Electro-Acoustic Works
Like Fire On Wind- for violin + delay pedal
Beauty in Refuse- electronics, for dance
Hearing- electronics
Monkeys Swimming in the Soup of my Brain- cello, piano, harp and electronics
Search- electronics
Combing the Mantra- electronics
All clips below are mock-ups that have been scored and sound designed by Jeremy Allen and are for demostration purposes only. Click on the "Link" button to view each clip. The clips will open in a separate browser tab or window. Having trouble viewing the clips? Click here to download the quicktime plugin. For more information or to hire the composer for your film project, simply go to the CONTACT page or send an e-mail to allencomposer_gmail.com.
FILMmusic
Have questions or comments about my music? Have suggestions for the site?
I would love to hear from you.
Conductors and performers interested in purchasing copies of scores or commisioning new works may also submit messages here or e-mail me directly at allencomposer_gmail.com.
I am currently compiling a list of
e-mail addresses for those wishing to receive periodic updates on what is happening with my site, new works & commissions, performance dates, etc. If you would like to be included in this e-mail list, please be sure to mention it in your message. Thanks!
CONtact
Background photo by AWard Photography
website copyright 2009 Jeremy Allen
