Bernard Rands (born 2 March 1934 inSheffield, England)^[1] is a British and Americancontemporary classical composer. He studied music and English literature at theUniversity of Wales, Bangor,^[2] and composition withPierre Boulez andBruno Maderna inDarmstadt,Germany, and withLuigi Dallapiccola andLuciano Berio inMilan,Italy. He held residencies atPrinceton University, theUniversity of Illinois, and theUniversity of York before emigrating to the United States in 1975; he became a U.S. citizen in 1983. In 1984, Rands'sCanti del Sole, premiered by Paul Sperry,Zubin Mehta, and theNew York Philharmonic, won thePulitzer Prize for Music.^[3] He has since taught at theUniversity of California, San Diego, theJuilliard School,Yale University, andBoston University. From 1988 to 2005 he taught atHarvard University, where he is Walter Bigelow Rosen Professor of Music Emeritus.

Rands has received many awards for his work, and was elected and inducted intoThe American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2004. From 1989 to 1995 he was composer-in-residence with thePhiladelphia Orchestra. Rands's music is widely recorded. The recording of hisCanti D'Amor by the men's vocal ensembleChanticleer won aGrammy Award in 2000.^[4] Rands is married to American composerAugusta Read Thomas.^[5]

• Belladonna (1999)

  opera in two acts, with a libretto by Leslie Dunton Downer, commissioned by theAspen Festival. Première: 1999,Aspen Music Festival,Colorado

• Vincent (c.1973-2010)

  opera based on the life ofVincent van Gogh, with libretto byJ. D. McClatchy, commissioned byIndiana University. Première performances: 8–9, 15–16 April 2011,Bloomington, Indiana.

• Per esempio (1968)

  commissioned by theWest Riding Youth Orchestra,Yorkshire

• Wildtrack 1 (1969)

  commissioned by theBBC Symphony Orchestra for the 1969 York Festival, premièred underPierre Boulez (dedicated toGilbert Amy)

• Agenda (1970)

  commissioned by theDepartment of Education and Science for theLondon Schools Symphony Orchestra

• Metalepsis 2 (1971), for mezzo-soprano, small choir & chamber orchestra

  commissioned by theLondon Sinfonietta, who gave the première in 1972 with sopranoCathy Berberian, conducted byLuciano Berio at theEnglish Bach Festival

• Mésalliance (1972), for piano solo & orchestra

  commissioned by theBBC Symphony Orchestra, premièred by pianistRoger Woodward underPierre Boulez^[6][7]

• Wildtrack 2 (1973), for soprano solo & orchestra

  commissioned by theBBC Symphony Orchestra, and premièred at the 1973Cheltenham Festival underJohn Pritchard.

• Aum (1974), for harp solo & chamber orchestra

  commissioned by theBBC Symphony Orchestra forPierre Boulez's series of contemporary concerts atRoundhouse,London

• Madrigali (1977), for chamber orchestra

  commissioned by theNational Symphony Chamber Orchestra,Washington, D.C., and premièred at theKennedy Center. The work has most recently been performed by the Jungen Philharmonie Zentralschweiz and theUniversity of Nottingham Philharmonia.

• Canti Lunatici (1981), for soprano solo & orchestra

  commissioned by theBBC Symphony Orchestra for soprano Dorothy Dorow, premièred under Rands in 1981

• Canti del Sole (1983), for tenor solo & orchestra

  full version commissioned by theNew York Philharmonic, and premièred underZubin Mehta and tenorPaul Sperry in 1983. The work won the 1984Pulitzer Prize for Music.

• Le Tambourin: Suites 1 & 2 (1984)

  the two suites were commissioned respectively by the Fromm Foundation for theSan Diego Symphony and theKoussevitzky Foundation for thePhiladelphia Orchestra, who premièred the complete work underRiccardo Muti in 1984. The work was awarded first place in the 1986Kennedy Center Friedheim Awards. The work has since been performed widely by many orchestras, including (most recently) theBuffalo Philharmonic.

• Ceremonial 2 (1986)

  15-minute work commissioned bySuntory Hall,Tokyo; premièred there in 1989

• Fanfare for a Festival (1986)

  commissioned by theColorado Music Festival,Boulder, for the 10th anniversary festival

• Hiraeth (1987), for cello solo & orchestra

  commissioned by theAspen Music Festival, premièred by cellistYehuda Hanani with theAspen Festival Orchestra conducted by Rands. Subsequent performances took place withHanani theBBC National Orchestra of Wales soon after.

• ...body and shadow... (1988)

  commissioned by theBoston Symphony Orchestra, and premièred underSeiji Ozawa atSymphony Hall in 1989. Emily Freeman Brown and the Bowling Green Philharmonia have since taken the work into their repertoire.

• London Serenade (1988)

  written as a gift for conductor Edwin London, who premièred the work with theCleveland Chamber Symphony. Recent performances have been given by theVerge Ensemble and theBuffalo Philharmonic.

• Bells (1989), for S.A.T.B. choir & orchestra

  commissioned by the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic

• Ceremonial 3 (1991)

  commissioned by thePhiladelphia Orchestra, premièred underRiccardo Muti. Subsequent performances have taken place by theBristol University Symphony Orchestra

• Canti dell'Eclisse (1992), for bass solo & orchestra

  commissioned by thePhiladelphia Orchestra, premièred underGerard Schwarz with bassThomas Paul. The work has since been championed by Gil Rose and theBoston Modern Orchestra Project.

• Ceremonial (1992–93), for wind band

  commissioned by theUniversity of Michigan Symphony Band,Ann Arbor. A widely performed work,Ceremonial has most recently been performed by the Eastman Wind Ensemble and theconcert bands of theOberlin Conservatory,Boston Conservatory,Columbus State University,Yale University,New England Conservatory,DePaul University,University of Washington andFlorida International University, among numerous others.

• Tre Canzoni senza Parole (1993)

  commissioned by thePhiladelphia Orchestra, premièred under Rands in 1992. TheOregon Symphony has since championed this work.

• ...where the murmurs die... (1993)

  commissioned by theNew York Philharmonic, premièred underLeonard Slatkin atAvery Fisher Hall in December 1993

• Canzoni (1995)

  commissioned by thePhiladelphia Orchestra, premièred underWolfgang Sawallisch inPhiladelphia. A further performance was given by the same forces at the 1995BBC Proms in theRoyal Albert Hall,London

• Interludium (1995), for S.A.T.B. choir & orchestra

  commissioned as part of theRequiem of Reconciliation, premièred in 1995 by theIsrael Philharmonic underHelmuth Rilling

• Symphony (1995)

  commissioned by theLos Angeles Philharmonic, premièred underEsa-Pekka Salonen in 1995

• Cello Concerto (1996)

  commissioned by theBoston Symphony Orchestra forMstislav Rostropovich, premièred underSeiji Ozawa in 1997. Recent performances have taken place atSymphony Center with theChicago Symphony underPierre Boulez, with cellistJohannes Moser.

• Fanfare (1996)

  commissioned by theCincinnati Symphony

• Requiescant (1996), for soprano solo, S.A.T.B. choir & orchestra

  30-minute work, originally commissioned by theBBC for the 1985Proms Season, but wasn't completed in time. It was recommissioned in 1995 for thePhiladelphia Choral Society

• Triple Concerto (1997), for piano, cello & percussion soli & orchestra

  commissioned by the Core Ensemble and theCleveland Chamber Symphony with funds provided by the Meet the Composer Consortium Program, premièred by those forces conducted by Edwin London

• apókryphos (2002), for soprano solo, S.A.T.B. choir & orchestra

  major 40-minute work setting texts byPaul Celan,Heinrich Heine,Nelly Sachs,Franz Werfel and English translations of extracts from theApocrypha. Commissioned by theChicago Symphony Orchestra andChorus, and premièred atSymphony Center in May 2003 with sopranoAngela Denoke underDaniel Barenboim (choral director: Duain Wolfe). Further performances have taken place inGermany andAustria in 2010, at theBerlin Philharmonie and theKonzerthaus, Großer Saal by theStaatskapelle Berlin andStaatsopernchor Berlin, again withDaniel Barenboim conducting.

• Unending Lightning (2002), for wind band

  commissioned by theEastman School of Music

• Chains Like the Sea (2008)

  commissioned by theNew York Philharmonic, premièred underLorin Maazel atAvery Fisher Hall in October 2008

• Danza Petrificada (2009–10)

  commissioned by theChicago Symphony and premièred underRiccardo Muti atSymphony Center, May 5–7 & 10, 2011.

• Adieu (2010), forbrass quintet & string orchestra

  commissioned by theSeattle Symphony, due to première the work underGerard Schwarz atBenaroya Hall,Seattle,Washington on 7 December 2010.

• Actions for Six (1962), for flute, viola, cello, harp & two percussion

  written for the 1963Darmstadt Festival; premièred by the Kranichsteiner Ensemble underBruno Maderna

• Espressione IV. (1964), for two pianos

  premièred at the 1965Darmstadt Festival byAloys and Alfons Kontarsky

• Ballad 1 (1970), for mezzo-soprano solo, flute, trombone, piano, percussion & contrabass

  written for SONOR Ensemble, a group formed by Rands. Text byGilbert Sorrentino.

• Tableau (1970), for flute, clarinet, piano, percussion, viola & cello
• as all get out (1972), for miscellaneous instrumental ensemble

  notated as agraphic score; the duration of the work can be anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes

• déjà (1972), for flute, clarinet, piano, percussion, viola & cello
• Response - Memo 1B (1973), for contrabass & tape / two contrabassi
• Cuaderno (1974), for string quartet
• étendre (1974), for solo contrabass, flute, clarinet, horn, trumpet, trombone, piano, electric organ, percussion, violin, viola & cello

  15-minute work, based on Rands'Memo 1 (for solo double bass, from 1971), and was written for bassistBertram Turetzky and commissioned by theClaremont Festival,California.

• Scherzi (1974), for clarinet, piano, violin & cello

  commissioned by the Capricorn Ensemble with funds provided by theArts Council of Great Britain

• Obbligato - Memo 2C (1980), for trombone & string quartet
• ...in the receding mist... (1988), for flute, harp, violin, viola & cello

  commissioned by theArts Council of Great Britain for the ONDINE Ensemble, and is dedicated toJacob Druckman on the occasion of his sixtieth birthday. Premièred inWashington D.C. in November 1988. Recent performances have been given by theBoston Musica Viva underRichard Pittman, theNorth/South Consonance Ensemble underMax Lifchitz, the Verge Ensemble (Buffalo,New York), the Dal Niente New Music Group (Chicago), and ensembles at theIndiana University School of Music and theArizona State University.

• ...and the rain... (1992), for horn, harp, violin, viola & cello
• String Quartet No. 2 (1994)

  commissioned by thePhiladelphia Chamber Music Society for the Mendelssohn Quartet (who, in 2003, recorded the work onBIS Records). The work has since been taken up by the Fifth House Ensemble,DePaul University,Chicago.

• ...sans voix parmi les voix... (1995), for flute, harp & viola

  commissioned by theChicago Symphony Orchestra Association in honour of the 70th birthday ofPierre Boulez

• Concertino (1996), for oboe solo, flute, clarinet, harp, two violins, viola & cello

  commissioned byNetwork for New Music with generous support from Anni Baker; premièred in 1998 conducted by Jan Krzywicki. Recent performances have taken place with the Dal Niente New Music Group (Chicago), theUniversity of Illinois Urbana-Champaign New Music Ensemble, ensembles from theUniversity of Nevada, theUniversity of Iowa (who recorded the work onCapstone Records in 2006) andYale University, and at the June in Buffalo Festival (New York).

• Fanfare (1997), for brass quintet

  commissioned by theAtlantic Brass Quintet

• String Quartet No. 3 (2003)

  commissioned by theEastman School of Music (financial support from theHoward Hanson Foundation) for theYing Quartet. Premièred by that ensemble in January 2004 atSymphony Space,New York

• Prelude (2004), for flute, viola & harp

  commissioned for the 2004 June in Buffalo Festival

• ...now again... (2006), for mezzo-soprano solo, flute, clarinet, trumpet, percussion, harp, violin, viola & cello

  commissioned byNetwork for New Music, and premièred by that ensemble in November 2006 with mezzos-sopranoJanice Felty

• PRISM (Memo 6B) (2008), for saxophone quartet

  10-minute work commissioned by theNew York State Arts Council for the Prism Quartet. Premièred: 21 November 2008 inPhiladelphia, by the same artists.

• Scherzi No. 2 (2008), for clarinet, piano, violin & cello

  18-minute work

• Ballad 1 (1970), for mezzo-soprano solo & ensemble

  written for SONOR ensemble, a group formed by Rands. Text byGilbert Sorrentino.

• Ballad 2 (1970), for female voice & piano

  commissioned byJane Manning

• Metalepsis 2 (1971), for mezzo-soprano solo, small choir & chamber orchestra

  commissioned by theLondon Sinfonietta, who gave the première in 1972 with sopranoCathy Berberian, conducted byLuciano Berio at theEnglish Bach Festival

• Ballad 3 (1973), for soprano & tape (plus bell)
• Wildtrack 2 (1973), for soprano solo & orchestra
• Canti Lunatici (1980), for soprano & ensemble/orchestra
• déjà 2 (1980), for female voice solo & ensemble
• Canti del Sole (1984), for tenor solo & ensemble/orchestra
• Canti dell'Eclisse (1992), for bass solo & ensemble/orchestra
• Walcott Songs (2004), for mezzo-soprano & cello

  song-cycle to texts byDerek Walcott, commissioned by theTanglewood Summer Music Festival; premièred in theSeiji Ozawa Hall in January 2005 by Abigail Fischer (mezzo-soprano) andNorman Fischer (cello)

• ...now again... (2006), for mezzo-soprano & ensemble

  commissioned byNetwork for New Music, and premièred by that ensemble in November 2006 with mezzos-sopranoJanice Felty

• ...among the voices... (1988), for S.A.T.B. choir & harp

  commissioned byRobert Page, who led the première inCleveland in April 1988 with Paula Page (harp) and the Page Singers. Text bySamuel Beckett.

• Bells (1989), for S.A.T.B. choir & orchestra

  commissioned by the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic

• Canti d'Amor (1991), for a cappella S.A.T.B. choir

  commissioned byChanticleer, premièred in 2000 inSan Francisco by that group. Sets texts fromJames Joyce'sChamber Music.

• Introit (1992), for a cappella S.A.T.B. choir

  brief 2-minute work, commissioned by theHoward University Chapel. Text byGeorge Herbert.

• Interludium (1995), for S.A.T.B. choir & orchestra

  commissioned as part of theRequiem of Reconciliation, premièred in 1995 by theIsrael Philharmonic underHelmuth Rilling

• Requiescant (1996), for soprano solo, S.A.T.B. choir & orchestra

  30-minute work, originally commissioned by theBBC for the 1985Proms Season but not completed in time. It was recommissioned in 1995 for thePhiladelphia Choral Society

• Melancholy Madrigal (2001), for a cappella S.A.T.B. choir

  commissioned by the Cambridge Madrigal Singers,Massachusetts, premièred in 2001 inCambridge by that group.

• apókryphos (2002), for soprano solo, S.A.T.B. choir & orchestra

  major 40-minute work setting texts byPaul Celan,Heinrich Heine,Nelly Sachs,Franz Werfel and English translations of extracts from theApocrypha. Commissioned by theChicago Symphony Orchestra andChorus, and premièred atSymphony Center in May 2003 with sopranoAngela Denoke underDaniel Barenboim (choral director: Duain Wolfe). Further performances have taken place inGermany andAustria in 2010, at theBerlin Philharmonie and theKonzerthaus, Großer Saal by theStaatskapelle Berlin andStaatsopernchor Berlin, again withDaniel Barenboim conducting.

• My Child (2003), for a cappella S.A.T.B. choir

  a movement fromapókryphos

• Trinity (2008), for a cappella male-voice choir

  commissioned by theCornell University Glee Club, and premièred underScott Tucker in September 2008 inIthaca,New York

• Folk Songs (2014), an arrangement of songs of personal meaning, including "On Ilkley Moor Baht 'at" and "Mi Hamaca". Premiered underKarina Canellakis at the 2014 Tanglewood Festival of Contemporary Music.^[8]

• Tre Espressione (1960), for piano
• Formants 1 - Les Gestes (1965), for harp
• Memo 1 (1971), for contrabass

  commissioned byBarry Guy; premièred at theEnglish Bach Festival,Oxford in 1972

• Memo 2 (1973), for trombone
• Memo 3 (1989), for cello
• Memo 4 (1997), for flute

  commissioned byEkkehart Trenknner forJudith Pierce, who gave the work's première in 1997

• Memo 5 (1975), for piano
• Memo 6 (1999), for alto saxophone
• Memo 7 (2000), for female voice
• Memo 8 (2000), for oboe
• HBDZ (2001), for piano
• Preludes (2007), for piano
• Three Piano Pieces (2010)

• Ballad 2 (1970), for female voice & piano

  commissioned byJane Manning

• Ballad 3 (1973), for soprano & tape (plus bell)
• Memo 2B (1980), for trombone and female mime
• Memo 2D (1980), for trombone, string quartet and female mime

• Sound Patterns 1 (1967), for voices & hands
• Sound Patterns 2 (1967), for voices, percussion and miscellaneous instruments
• Per Esempio (1969), for youth orchestra
• Sound Patterns 3 (1969), for voices (project)
• Sound Patterns 4 (1969), for miscellaneous instrumental groups (graphic score)
• Agenda (1970), for youth orchestra

In 2014 Rands was inducted toThe Lincoln Academy of Illinois as a Laureate of the Arts and was awarded the Order of Lincoln (the state's highest honor) by the governor of Illinois.^[9]

• Kennedy, Michael and Kennedy, Joyce Bourne (eds.) (2006) "Rands, Bernard"The Oxford Dictionary of Music (2nd rev.) Oxford University Press, Oxford,ISBN 0-19-861459-4

• Official website
• Bernard Rands page from Art of the States site
• Interview with Bernard Rands, December 3, 1993

• Art of the States: Bernard Rands two works by the composer

• 1934 births
• Living people
• 20th-century classical composers
• 20th-century English composers
• 21st-century classical composers
• 21st-century English composers
• 21st-century English male composers
• Alumni of Bangor University
• American male classical composers
• Boston University faculty
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• English emigrants to the United States
• English male classical composers
• Harvard University faculty
• Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters
• Musicians from Sheffield
• Princeton University faculty
• Pulitzer Prize for Music winners
• Pupils of Luciano Berio
• Pupils of Luigi Dallapiccola
• University of California, San Diego faculty
• 20th-century American male musicians
• 21st-century American male musicians

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