Schrader, Barry

Schrader, Barry, American composer; b. Johnstown, Pa., June 26, 1945. He received degrees at the Univ. of Pittsburgh in English literature (B.A., 1967) and in musicology (M.A., 1970); also served as an organist at Heinz Chapel. In 1969–70 he studied electroacoustic techniques with Subotnick. In 1970 he moved to Los Angeles and attended the Calif. Inst. of the Arts (M.F.A. in composition, 1971); later joined its faculty. From 1975 to 1978 he also taught at Calif. State Univ. at Los Angeles. He organized a series of electroacoustic music programs under the name “Currents,” held in Los Angeles from 1973 to 1979; also participated in many electronic music festivals in other countries. In 1984 he became the first president of the Soc. for Electro-Acoustic Music in the U.S. He publ. Introduction to Electro-Acoustical Music (Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1982). Most of his music is for electronic sound; in his Bestiary (1972–74), Schrader explored the potentialities of synthesizing new timbres; in his Trinity (1976), he transmuted given timbres to more complex sonorities; in his Lost Atlantis, he essayed a programmatic use of electronic sound. He also experimented in combining live music with electronic resources, as in his work Moon-Whales and other Moon Songs (1982–83).

Works

Signature for Tempo for Soprano and Piano (1966); Serenade for Tape (1969); Incantation for Tape (1970); Sky Ballet for Sound Environment (1970); Elysium for Harp, Dancers, Tape, and Projections (1971); Besitary for Tape (1972–74); Trinity for Tape (1976); Lost Atlantis for Tape (1977); Moon-whales and Other Moon Songs for Soprano and Tape (1982–83); Electronic Music Box I for Sound Installation (1983), 71 (1983), and III (1984); TWO: Square Flowers Red: SONGS (1990); also many film scores, including Death of the Red Planet (1973), Heavy Light (1973), Exploratorium (1975), Mobiles (1978), Along the Way (1980), and Galaxy of Terror (1981).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire