Charles Boone

Composer

  • Home
  • Basics
  • Some Compositions and Performances
  • Listen and Look
 

Scalawag Excerpt
 

Scalawag (2016), for solo drummer, excerpt

Born: Cleveland, Ohio, June 21, 1939

Education

University of Southern California, BM, 1963. San Francisco State College, MA, 1968. Academy of Music, Vienna, 1960-61 (Karl Schiske, composition; Friedrich Cerha, new music performance; Karl Österreicher, clarinet). Adolph Weiss and Ernst Krenek, 1961-63. International Music Institute, Darmstadt, 1968. Center for Computer Research in Music, Stanford University, 1986.

Activities

Music critic, San Francisco Examiner, 1965-66, and Oakland Tribune, 1970. Coordinator, Mills Performing Group and Tape Music Center, 1966-68. Executive Director, Djerassi Resident Artists Program, 1991-92. San Francisco Art Institute: Visiting faculty, 1996–2003; Associate Professor, 2003-2009; Distinguished Faculty Award, 2009. Senior Lecturer, California College of Arts and Crafts, 1996. Chairman, San Francisco Composers’ Forum, 1963-66. Board member, San Francisco Chamber Music Society, 1970-1983. Founder, BYOP Concerts, 1971. Board member, San Francisco Contemporary Music Players (successor to BYOP Concerts), 1977-80. Artist advisor, City Summer Opera, 1988-95. Board member, Cambiata Chamber Soloists, 1988-89. Member, Artists Advisory Board, DiverseWorks, 1988-91. Member, Board of Directors, San Francisco Cinematheque, 1994-96; President, 1994-95. Corresponding writer, P-Form, 1990-96. Curator, “The One-Mile Shebang,” Collision Gallery, 1997. Curator, “Crossover Pix: Artists and Films,” San Francisco Cinematheque, 1998-99. Curator, "5 (1+1) + 6 >> 16," San Francisco Art Institute, 2008. Curator, "Technology, Nature, and Other Matters," San Francisco Cinematheque, 2008. Curator, “Beautiful Moving Images,” Artists Television Access, 2011. Advisor, ArtSeed, 2001- .

Commissions and Awards

National Endowment for the Arts (3 grants). Fulbright Fellowship to Austria, 1968 (unable to accept). DAAD fellowship for two years residence in Berlin, 1975-77. Residency, California Institute for the Arts, electronic music studio, 1985-86. Residency, Djerassi Foundation, 1987. San Francisco Symphony Commissions: First Landscape, Shadow. San Francisco Conservatory of Music commission: String Piece. San Francisco Chamber Music Society commission: Drift. Oakland Symphony commission: The Edge of the Land. Lowell High School commission: The Quickening Pollen.

Lectures

Sibelius Academy/Helsinki. Hochschule der Künste/Berlin. Gesellschaft für Musik/Vienna. DAAD Galerie/Berlin. Amerika Haus/Berlin. United States Embassy/Warsaw. The Exploratorium/San Francisco. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (4). San Francisco Symphony. Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (3). Oakland Symphony. Djerassi Foundation. DiverseWorks/Houston (2). University of Chicago. Northwestern University. University of Southern California (3). University of California/ Berkeley (2). University of California/San Diego (2). University of North Texas (2). Houston Community College. Rice University (2). University of Houston. University of Cincinnati. San Francisco State University (3). California State University/Hayward (3). Pomona College. Mills College. San Francisco Conservatory of Music. College of Marin. City College of San Francisco (3). University of Wisconsin/Milwaukee. New College of San Francisco (2). Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Morelos/Cuernavaca, Mexico. Visiting Scholar, Istanbul Technical University (3). Seokyeong University/Seoul (2). Hanyang University/Seoul. Songsil University/Seoul. Suwon Science College/Suwon, Korea. Yale University (2). Arion Press/San Francisco. Lowell High School/San Francisco.

Published articles

Zeitgeist in Babel (University of Indiana Press). Leonardo, Cum Notis Variorum. Music Library Notes. Dictionary of Twentieth Century Composition (E. P. Dutton). Arts and Architecture. Threepenny Review. P-Form. Cinematograph. Lingo. Sculpture Magazine. San Francisco Examiner. Oakland Tribune. Catalog essay for Verónica Sahagún.

Travels

Vienna, residence, 1960-61 and 1968-69. Paris, residence, 1972-73 and 1974-75. Berlin, residence, 1975-77. Other visits to Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, Holland, Hungary, India, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Lebanon, Mexico, Morocco, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Tunisia, Turkey, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, USSR.

Works through 1985 are published by Editions Salabert, Paris

An archive of manuscripts, scores, programs, correspondence, and related materials is being gathered at the Jean Gray Hargrove Music Library, University of California, Berkeley.

_____

Currently Working and living in San Francisco, CA.

Contact: cbmusique@yahoo.com

Website designed by Miguel Novelo




 

Some Compositions and Performances

Starfish (1966). Seven players. Cabrillo Festival. Gerhard Samuel conductor. August 21, 1966
Chinese Texts (1971). Soprano and orchestra. Ojai Festival. Los Angeles Philharmonic Lorene Adams, soprano. Gerhard Samuel, conductor. May 29, 1971
First Landscape (1971). Orchestra. San Francisco Symphony, Seiji Ozawa, conductor. March 15, 1972
Vocalise (1972). Solo soprano. San Francisco Symphony. Lorene Adams, soprano. November 1, 1973
Raspberries (1973). Three drummers. Oakland Symphony Percussion Group. February 26, 1974
Second Landscape (1973). Fifteen players. La Rochelle Festival. Ensemble Europeen de Musique Contemporaine; Michel Tabachnik, conductor. April 13, 1973. Orchestra version(1979). San Francisco Symphony, Edo de Waart, conductor. May 7, 1980
Linea Meridiana (1975). Nine players. San Francisco Contemporary Music Players. Jean-Louis LeRoux, conductor
San Zeno/Verona (1976). Thirteen players. La Rochelle Festival. Ensemble Instrumental de La Rochelle. Jacques Mercier, conductor. July 8, 1976
String Piece (1978). Twelve strings. New Music Ensemble, San Francisco Conservatory of Music. John Adams, conductor. December 15, 1978
Streaming (1979). Solo flute. San Francisco Contemporary Music Players. David Subke, flute. February 11, 1979
The Watts Towers (1981). Solo drummer. Monday Evening Concerts. William Winant, drummer. October 3, 1983
Weft (1982). Six drummers. SUNY Buffalo Percussion Ensemble. Jan Williams, conductor. November 5, 1983
Trace (1983). Solo flute and ten players. San Francisco Contemporary Music Players. Janet Ketchum, flute. Jean-Louis LeRoux, conductor. May 9, 1983
The Khaju Bridge (1984-86). Soprano, six players, and electronic sounds. San Francisco Contemporary Music Players. San Francisco Art Institute. Charles Boone, conductor March 17, 1987
Solar One (1985). Flute and trumpet. Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Monday Evening Concerts. Janet Ketchum, flute. Mario Guarneri, trumpet. February 17, 1986
And Out Of Time (1989 & 2015). Three pieces for solo drummer. Riely Francis and Louis Siu, drummers
Usuyuki (1994). Seven players and electronic sounds. San Francisco Contemporary Music Players. Jean-Louis LeRoux, conductor. December 5, 1994
Little Pieces (1995-2005). Fourteen recorded text pieces with computer manipulation
Ellipse (1999). Cello and electronic sounds. Monica Scott, cello. sf SoundSeries. Center for New Music. San Francisco. May 14, 2014
Seasons (2004). Alto flute and electronic sounds. Rarescale, London. Carla Rees, flute. November 25, 2005
Elementary Particles (2011). Two violins. San Francisco Contemporary Music Players. Roy Malan and Susan Freier, violins. April 4, 2011
Diverse Texts (2011). Soprano and violin. Texts by Ludwig Wittgenstein, Archilochos, Leslie Scalapino, and Carl Rakosi
There Are Blossoms (2014). Solo violin
Things Reverberate All Around (2016). Four flutes. American Flute Association Convention. San Diego. August 14, 2016
In die Regionen der Eisgebirge (2016). Two guitars
The Quickening Pollen (2017). Solo violin, solo viola, string orchestra, plus piano and triangles. Lowell High School. San Francisco. April 6, 2017
The Joss House at Weaverville (2017). Solo viola
but o the starhushed silence (2018). Four percussionists
Yellow is a Primary Color (2018). Solo piano. Daniel Shin, piano. June 16, 2018

Some performers

John Adams, Lorene Adams, Robert Aitken, Benjamin Borson, Phyllis Bryn-Julson, Joseph Celli, Eleazar de Carvalho, Manuel de Elias, Edo de Waart, Anna Carol Dudley, Mario Guarneri, Gerald Humel, Janet Ketchum, Karl Kohn, Jean-Louis LeRoux, Jacques Mercier,
Stephen Mosko, Isao Nakamura, Seiji Ozawa, Günther Passin, Carla Rees, Gerhard Samuel, Lukas Schiske, Robyn Schulkowsky, Louis Siu, Michel Tabachnik, Michael Tilson Thomas, Joel Thome, Bertram Turetzky, Jan Williams, William Winant.

Some ensembles, festivals, venues

San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Oakland Symphony, Juilliard Symphony, Nouvel Orchestre Philharmonique/Paris, Mexican National Orchestra (Carnegie Hall and Kennedy Center), Orquesta Sinfonica de Veracruz/Mexico, Orquesta da Camera de Bellas Artes/Mexico, Sinfonia Concertante/San Francisco, Oakland Youth Chamber Orchestra, Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, Santa Cruz Symphony, Modesto Symphony, Aspen Festival, Ojai Festival, Berlin Festival, Cabrillo Festival, Perugia Festival, North American New Music Festival/Buffalo, Shaw Festival/Niagara on the Lake, La Rochelle Festival, Royan Festival, Avignon Festival, Juilliard Contemporary Music Festival, Arhus Festival, Inter-American Festival, International Festival of Contemporary Music/Los Angeles, Camden Festival/London, Music Today/Tokyo, New Music America/Hartford, Wien Modern/Vienna, New Sounds/San Jose, Seoul Biennial for Contemporary Music, San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, BYOP Concerts, San Francisco Chamber Music Society, New Music Ensemble/San Francisco, Monday Evening Concerts/Los Angeles, Sonor Ensemble/San Diego, Contemporary Music Players/Chicago, Composers’ Forum/San Francisco, Composers’ Forum/New York, Mills Performing Group, New Music Institute/Darmstadt, Les Lundis Musicaux de l’Athenée/Paris, Musicales de Mont Blanc/Chamonix, Redcliff Ensemble/London, 2e2m/Paris, Tendances Actuelles de l’Art Musical/Brussels, Portfolio Series/Cleveland, Pacifica Chamber Players/Berkeley, Collectif Musical International de Champigny, Gruppe Neue Musik/Berlin, Five Centuries Ensemble, Contemporary Music Forum/Washington D. C., Universidade Livre de Música/Sao Paulo, Danish Percussion Society/Copenhagen, Black Earth Percussion Group, “Drumming"/Alabama-Halle/Munich, The Percussion Group/Cincinnati, Society for New Music/Syracuse, DAAD Galerie/Berlin, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Albright-Knox Gallery/Buffalo, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Künstlerhaus/Vienna, Künstlerhaus Bethanien/Berlin, British Center/Berlin, Walker Art Center/Minneapolis, Riverside Church/New York, Amerika Haus/Berlin, United States Embassy/Rome, Konserthus/Oslo, Salle Gaveau/Paris, Maison de la Culture/Grenoble, Purcell Room/London, Arnold Schoenberg Institute/Los Angeles, Schubert-Saal/Vienna, l’Atelier/Brussels, 1750 Arch/Berkeley, Town Hall/New York, Hollywood Bowl/Los Angeles, WDR/Cologne, RIAS/Berlin, ÖRF/Innsbruck, Radio-France/Paris, Hilversum-4/Holland, KKHI-FM/San Francisco, KQED-FM & TV/San Francisco, KPFA-FM/Berkeley, KPFT-FM/Houston, Minneapolis Public Radio, Victoria University/Melbourne, Peabody Institute, University of Southern California Contemporary Music Ensemble, Eastman School of Music, College Conservatory of Music/Cincinnati, Hochschule der Künste/Berlin, University of Nevada, University of Mexico, University of Oregon, San Francisco Art Institute, University of Kansas, Southern Methodist University, University of Maryland, Stanford University, Arizona State University, University of California/Berkeley/San Diego/Santa Cruz/Santa Barbara, Hartt College of Music, Portland State University, Rarescale/The Space/London, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, sfSound Series, Lowell High School/San Francisco.



 

Listen and Look

First Landscape

First Landscape was commissioned for the sixtieth anniversary of the San Francisco Symphony and played for the first time in 1971. It is in three slowly unfolding sections of which this is the first. The comparatively dark colors are, in part, due to the fact that the ensemble is without violins. First Landscape is dedicated to Seiji Ozawa and the Symphony.

Your browser does not support the audio element.  

Solar One

Solar One was written at the suggestion of my friends Janet Ketchum and Mario Guarneri who played it for the first time in 1986 on the Monday Evening Concerts in Los Angeles. In writing the piece, I was particularly intrigued by how closely the colors of these two seemingly disparate instruments could be made to sound. Solar One is a power station near Barstow that greatly stirred me when I saw it for the first time. I like to think that whatever spark my piece might have responded to the energy coming from that awesome place in the California desert. Following the first performance, a man introduced himself and congratulated me on the piece; he was the engineer who designed Solar One!

Your browser does not support the audio element.  

Ellipse

The electronic sounds for Ellipse were derived from extended technique cello sounds and the pitches played during them by the live cello reinforce certain pitches in their complex harmonic structures. The piece consists of three such sections (this excerpt is the last), solo cello passages that come between them, plus an introduction during which the live cello produces white sound-like figures that interact with similar sounds and figures coming from the loudspeakers. The piece is written in appreciation of the work of the sculptor Richard Serra.

Your browser does not support the audio element.  

Elementary Particles

I am keen on composing for like-sounding instruments. My original idea was to write for two flutes, but hearing Bartók's violin duets one day quite by chance, my immediate response was, "No, not flutes: Violins!" Typical of much of my music, the instruments do not relate much through contrasting materials; instead, through the braiding together of closely related linear strands navigating static harmonic fields. This excerpt comes in the later part of the twenty-five minute piece.

Your browser does not support the audio element.  

The Watts Towers

I first saw the Watts Towers in 1961 when I was a university undergraduate in Los Angeles. They blew my mind, as did a comment by Simon Rodia who built them between 1921 and 1954. He said that many people had been kind to him after he came to the U. S. from Italy and that he wanted to give back to them in some way by doing what he did. It was only in 1981 that I felt I was able to make this piece, something to give back to the man who inspired me twenty years earlier.

Your browser does not support the audio element.  

Streaming

The title Streaming has nothing to do with present-day, computer-world understanding of the term. Rather, it intimates the fast, downward-flowing passages toward which the first sections of the piece aim. David Subke's first performance of the piece left me floating at least a couple of inches off the ground.

Your browser does not support the audio element.  

Yellow is a Primary Color

Yellow is a Primary Color was written as a birthday present for my friend Daniel Shin when he turned eighteen. He played it magnificently for the first time a few months later in 2018. There is nothing programmatic in the title; yellow is simply my favorite color. I believe in disclosing my sources: The piece would not be as it is were it not for Karlheinz Stockhausen's Klavierstück VII with its complex use of piano resonance.

Your browser does not support the audio element.

 

"The Quickening Pollen" by Charles Boone performed by Lowell High School Orchestra, Video


 

Will Charles Boone Please Step Forward?

Bay Area composer Charles Boone in conversation with Charles Amirkhanian, recorded June 27, 1972 at KPFA Berkeley.

Morning Concert: The Music of Charles Boone

Charles Amirkhanian interviews Bay Area composer Charles Boone about his early musical career, starting as a member of a high school band, then as a student at USC. He also studied with Ernst Krenek and Adolph Weiss in Los Angeles. Here he introduces a number of his pieces, including “Raspberries” for percussion ensemble