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250:'s famous novel. "The Rivals" received its professional premiere in September, 2011 by the Skylight Opera Theater, Milwaukee to rave reviews—"A hit, an instant classic". "Pride and Prejudice" was given its concert premiere by the
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Radio-Television
Orchestra in March 1991, the first time a Soviet orchestra had devoted an entire concert to a living American composer. Five years later he was invited to attend the Russian-language premiere of
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for "notable contributions to choral music and opera". He has also received lifetime-achievement awards from the
National Opera Association and the American Choral Directors Association Western Division.
96:, and was winner of the Boott Prize for vocal composition. He was assistant choral director for three years at Stanford, composing both choral and instrumental music and conducting an opera.
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36:, with over 450 performances in nine countries, has become one of the most popular operas written by an American. He has composed more than 250 works in almost every form. In 2002,
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Much of the information for this article was drawn from the "Kirke Mechem" chapter, pp 83–119. The chapter also includes several articles on music written previously by Mechem:
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celebrated his 50 years of choral publications with a retrospective concert, performed by the
Western Illinois University Singers, at its national convention.
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was published by Rowman & Littlefield in 2015; it won ASCAP Foundation's 48th annual Deems Taylor/Virgil
Thomson Award for outstanding musical biography.
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and has taught at other universities as a guest composer and conductor. On May 13, 2012, Mechem received an honorary
Doctorate from the
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has since played to audiences in Canada, China, Russia, Austria, Germany, Sweden, Hungary and Japan, as well as in the United States.
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199:, which inspired him to write his first opera. He wrote his own libretto, as he does for all his operas. Premiered in 1980 by the
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In 1990 Mechem made his first of three trips to Russia, then still the Soviet Union. That year he was a guest of honor at the
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registered performances of his music in 42 countries. He has been called the "dean of
American choral composers". His memoir,
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132:) and "Give Thanks Unto The Lord." The latter won the tri-annual SAI American Music Award in 1959. His Opus 5 was a
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course taught by Harold
Schmidt, the choral director, and continued his study of harmony and
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s inception and premiere, Mechem wrote many other compositions, including two new operas:
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Kirke Mechem, "Confessions of A Hymn Bandit: The
Amazing Case of 'Blow Ye The Trumpet'",
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Throughout his career Mechem continued to write commissioned choral works. In 2007 the
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56:. During World War II, he served two and half years in the army, and then enrolled at
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and other vocal works during the early 1970s. In the 1970s he saw a performance of
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48th Annual ASCAP Foundation Deems Taylor/Virgil
Thomson Award Winners Announced
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in 1956–57 and 1961–63. In 1963, Mechem returned with his wife and children to
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Inter-American Music Awards - Sigma Alpha Iota
International Music Fraternity
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encouraged Mechem to embark upon an opera based on the life of abolitionist,
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Perspectives: Creating and Producing Contemporary Opera and Musical Theater
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in Moscow, and was invited back for an all-Mechem symphonic concert by the
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30:(born August 16, 1925) is an American composer. His first opera,
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did not take place until 2008. In the twenty-some years between
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226:, describes the long evolution of this work. The premiere of
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National Opera Association - NOA Lifetime Achievement Awards
318:"Commissioning New Choral Music", a checklist prepared for
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by the Mussorgsky National Theater for Opera and Ballet in
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TicketsOfRUSSIA.ru - Theatres > Mussorgsky opera house
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KU honorary degree recipient: Kirke L. Mechem - KU News
324:"Alienation and Entertainment", first published in the
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complete catalog of Mechem's music; links to reviews.
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The Skylight's clever, tuneful "The Rivals" is a hit
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Kirke Mechem, "The Chronic Crisis", remarks for the
547:John Brown: Evolution of An Opera - New Music USA
359:Kirke Mechem, "An American Opera Network", in
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765:United States Army personnel of World War II
42:Believe Your Ears: Life of a Lyric Composer,
428:Believe Your Ears: Life of a Lyric Composer
386:Music Critics Association of North America
509:"Playing Composer, of Course, to Impress"
107:. He became composer-in-residence at the
311:"The Text Trap", first published in the
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328:, March,1973; republished, March, 1998.
179:. Krips commissioned Mechem to write a
242:'s classic play of the same name; and
154:Divertimento for Flute and String Trio
527:from the original on January 13, 2014
287:American Choral Directors Association
267:Tchaikovsky International Competition
140:and a book of teaching pieces called
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785:21st-century American male musicians
780:20th-century American male musicians
124:Most of Mechem's early work was for
52:Mechem was born August 16, 1925, in
760:University of San Francisco faculty
412:Kirke Mechem - Wise Music Classical
88:in 1953, studying composition with
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613:"Living Music: Browse Interviews"
507:Smith, Steve (January 12, 2014).
367:, 1983, revised and reprinted in
730:21st-century classical composers
725:20th-century classical composers
299:Composers on Composing for Choir
218:. An essay Mechem wrote for the
150:Trio for Violin, Cello and Piano
775:20th-century American composers
770:21st-century American composers
644:from the original on 2008-07-09
619:from the original on 2011-08-05
352:Interview for program notes of
144:. In Vienna, he began writing
72:(harmony and counterpoint) and
750:Musicians from Wichita, Kansas
371:magazine, Opera America, 1999.
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755:Musicians from Topeka, Kansas
745:American male opera composers
675:KM article: "Why John Brown?"
391:San Francisco Classical Voice
171:was premiered in 1965 by the
16:American composer (born 1925)
735:American classical composers
354:San Francisco Choral Society
689:Interview with Kirke Mechem
597:Mechem: 50 Years of Harmony
301:, Tom Wine, ed., GIA, 2007.
109:University of San Francisco
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715:Stanford University alumni
601:www.wisemusicclassical.com
416:www.wisemusicclassical.com
720:Harvard University alumni
684:: Evolution of An Opera."
740:American opera composers
670:Schirmer's Mechem pages.
343:American Music Institute
254:in April 2019. Mechem's
448:www.ascapfoundation.org
293:References/bibliography
130:Mormon Tabernacle Choir
356:, Carol Talbeck, 2007.
339:University of Michigan
337:with Hannah Williams,
173:San Francisco Symphony
136:, later followed by a
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220:American Music Center
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583:", Archived copy of
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462:", Archived copy of
347:Living Music Project
222:'s online magazine,
113:University of Kansas
691:, November 16, 1991
585:ticketsofrussia.com
349:, October 30, 2004.
244:Pride and Prejudice
201:San Francisco Opera
195:'s classic satire,
156:, and by his first
58:Stanford University
568:urbanmilwaukee.com
513:The New York Times
256:Songs of The Slave
152:was followed by a
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99:He lived in
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66:counterpoint
60:. He took a
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28:Kirke Mechem
27:
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23:Kirke Mechem
705:1925 births
480:www.noa.org
248:Jane Austen
232:John Brown'
177:Josef Krips
699:Categories
682:John Brown
648:2008-07-06
623:2011-08-05
432:rowman.com
399:References
260:John Brown
236:The Rivals
228:John Brown
216:John Brown
82:conducting
521:0362-4331
167:Mechem's
48:Biography
642:Archived
617:Archived
525:Archived
335:Tartuffe
276:Tartuffe
240:Sheridan
212:Tartuffe
205:Tartuffe
197:Tartuffe
189:cantatas
33:Tartuffe
570:(2008).
553:(2008).
193:Molière
86:Harvard
62:harmony
531:May 2,
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369:Encore
185:suites
175:under
162:Monaco
148:. His
126:chorus
120:Career
379:VOICE
246:, on
142:Whims
38:ASCAP
533:2024
517:ISSN
320:ACDA
271:USSR
92:and
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