Chatman, Stephen (George)

Chatman, Stephen (George), American composer and teacher; b. Fairbault, Minn., Feb. 28, 1950. He was a pupil of Aschaffenburg and Joseph Wood at the Oberlin (Ohio) Coll. Cons, of Music (B.M., 1972) and of Finney, Bassett, Bolcom, and Eugene Kurtz at the Univ. of Mich. (M.M., 1973; D.M.A., 1977). In 1974 he held a Fulbright grant, in 1975 he was awarded the” Charles Ives Prize of the National Inst. of Arts and Letters, in 1977 he held an NEA fellowship, and in 1978 he was awarded a Martha Baird Rockefeller grant. In 1976 he joined the faculty of the Univ. of British Columbia in Vancouver as an asst. prof., and subsequently was made an assoc. prof, in 1982 and a prof, of composition in 1987. Chatman is an eclectic composer whose output has ventured beyond post-serialism. His orch. and vocal works have been widely performed in North America and abroad.

Works

orch.:Occasions (1975–77); Grouse Mountain Lullaby (1978; also for Symphonic Band, 1979); They All Replied for Symphonic Band (1978); Crimson Dream (1982–83); Mountain Sojourn for Symphonic Band (1984); Mirage (1987); Variations on a Canadian Folk Song for 2 Pianos and Orch. (1989); Piano Concerto (1990); Dream Fantasy (1992); Walnut Grove Suite for Symphonic Band (1997); Prairie Dawn for Clarinet and Orch. (1998; Vancouver, June 13, 1999); Tara’s Dream (1999; Vancouver, Jan. 7, 2000); Fanfare for the Millennium (1999; Vancouver, Jan. 7, 2000). chamber:Music for Timpani, Alto Flute, Trombone, and Piano (1971); O lo velo for Alto Saxophone and Percussion (1973); On the Contrary for Clarinet and 9 Players (1973–74); Quiet Exchange for Alto Saxophone or Clarinet and Percussion (1976); Northern Drones for Viola and Offstage Percussion (1976); Outer Voices for 8 Players (1978); Variations on “Home on the Range” for String Quartet or Saxophone Quartet (1979); Nocturne for Flute, Violin, Viola, and Cello (1980); Screams and Whimpers for Saxophone Quartet (1981); Gossamer Leaves for Clarinet and Piano (1981); Douce bordure for Bass Clarinet, Vibraphone, and Harp (1984); Twenty Moods of Emily for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, and Horn (1985); Cycles for Chamber Ensemble (1988); Clarinet Quintet (1988); Night Awakening for Chamber Ensemble (1989); Music for 2 Alto Saxophones (1989); Creatures of Earth and Sky for Harp (1992); Music for Cello and Piano (1993). keyboard: piano: 4 Preludes (1972); Bittersweet Rag (1979); Black and White Fantasy (1981); Fantasies (1993); Escapades (1996); Bells and Blues for Piano, 4-Hands (1997). vocal:Whisper, Baby for Chorus, Piano, and Percussion (1975); Moonset for Chorus, 5 Percussion, and Organ (1979); Shadow River for Soprano and 5 Instruments (1981); An Elizabethan Spring for Chorus (1983); Love and Shapes High Fantastical for Narrator, Chorus, English Horn, Piano, and Harp (1984); There is Sweet Music Here for Chorus and Oboe (1984); An Elizabethan Summer for Chorus (1988); Lo in a Manger for Chorus and Piano (1989); Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind for Chorus (1991); 5 Songs for Soprano and Piano (1993); Greater Love for Chorus and Oboe (1996); Due West for Chorus (1997); Reconciliation for Men’s Chorus and Flugelhorn (1997); In Flanders Fields for Men’s Chorus (1998); Gloria for Chorus (1998); A Destiny in Song for Chorus, Brass Quintet, and Organ (1999).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire