Wright, Maurice
Wright, Maurice
Wright, Maurice, American composer and teacher; b. Front Royal, Va., Oct. 17, 1949. He studied with Iain Hamilton at Duke Univ. (B.A., 1972) and Mario Davidovsky at Columbia Univ. (D.M.A., 1988). In 1980 he joined the faculty of Temple Univ., where he is the Laura Carnell Prof. He also taught at the Univ. of Pa. in 1999.
Works
dramatic: Opera: 5th String (1980; Des Moines, July 7, 1998); The Trojan Conflict (Philadelphia, April 20, 1989); Dr. Franklin (Philadelphia, Oct. 15, 1990). ORCH.: Stellae for Orch. and Tape (Tanglewood, Aug. 10, 1978); Night Scenes (N.Y., Jan. 18, 1989); Concertpiece for Marimba and Orch. (Boston, April 15, 1994). CHAMBER: 7 chamber syms. (1973, 1974, 1977, 1979, 1984, 1985, 1996); 2 string quartets (1983, 1987); Grand Duo for Viola and Percussionist (1985); Movement in Time for 2 Percussionists and Tape (1985); Brass Quintet (1986); Trio for Violin, Cello, and Piano (1994); Taylor Series for Saxophone, Piano, and Videotape (1999). Piano: Sonatina (1967); Chamber Sym. for Piano and Tape (1976); 2 sonatas (1982, 1983); Suite (1983); Eastern Suite (1998). VOCAL: Cantata for Tenor, Percussion, and Tape (1975); Madrigals (1977); Night Watch for Soprano and Piano (1978); Like an Autumn Sky for Chorus, Piano, and 2 Percussionists (1980); Earth, Sky, Sea... for Man’s Voice and Piano (1982).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire