David Maslanka | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | (1943-08-30)August 30, 1943 |
| Died | August 7, 2017(2017-08-07) (aged 73) |
| Genres | Wind Literature |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, Musician |
| Years active | 1968–2017 |
| Website | official website |
David Maslanka (August 30, 1943 – August 7, 2017) was an American composer ofPolish descent who wrote for a variety of genres, including works forchoir,wind ensemble,chamber music, andsymphony orchestra.
Best known for hiswind ensemble compositions, Maslanka published over 150 pieces, including tensymphonies, eight of them forconcert band, over 15concerti, and a fullMass. His compositional style is rhythmically intense and complex, highly tonal and melodically oriented. His compositions have been performed throughout theUnited States,Europe,Australia,Canada, andJapan.[1] His Tenth Symphony was orchestrated by his son, Matthew Maslanka, as it was incomplete at the composer's death.
Maslanka received his Bachelor of Music from theOberlin Conservatory (1961–1965) and went on to earn a Master of Music and Doctor of Philosophy fromMichigan State University (1965–71).[2] During his undergraduate work, Maslanka also spent one year studying abroad at the Mozarteum inSalzburg, Austria (1963–64).[2] While attending Michigan State University, Maslanka studied composition withH. Owen Reed.[3][page needed]
He served on the faculty of theState University of New York at Geneseo from 1970 to 1974; ofSarah Lawrence College from 1975 to 1980; ofNew York University from 1980 to 1981; and of theKingsborough Community College of theCity University of New York from 1981 to 1990.[2] Beginning in 1990, Maslanka was a freelance composer who worked solely on commissions.
He lived inMissoula, Montana. He had two brothers, John and Robert Maslanka.
David Maslanka married Alison Matthews in 1981. She died on July 3, 2017, and Maslanka himself died on August 7, 2017, following a brief battle withcolon cancer.[4] They are survived by three children: Steven, Matthew, and Kathryn.
Maslanka's Tenth Symphony (for concert band) was completed by his son Matthew, and received its premiere on 3 April 2018, by theUniversity of Utah Wind Ensemble, Salt Lake City. It is an intensely personal piece for both David and Matthew. The first movement is named after Alison (David's wife) and was written during her fight with an immune disorder that eventually took her life. The movement is an expression of the rage and love that Maslanka felt through that process.[5]
Maslanka received five residency fellowships at theMacDowell Colony inPeterborough, New Hampshire (1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, and 1982), as well as generous grants from theUniversity of Connecticut Research Foundation, theAmerican Music Center, the Martha Baird Rockefeller Fund for Music, the State University of New York Research Foundation, and theAmerican Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP).[6] He earned theNational Endowment for the Arts Composer Award three times (1974, 1975, and 1989). In 1999, he was awarded theNational Symphony Orchestra regional composer-in-residence award. In 2008, he was initiated as an honorary member of the men's music fraternity,Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, by the Rho Tau chapter atAppalachian State University during the annual Contemporary Music Festival. From 1980 until his death in 2017, Maslanka served as a guest composer for over 100 universities, music festivals, and conferences.[6][7]
Many of Maslanka's compositions for winds andpercussion have become established pieces in band repertoire. Among these pieces areA Child's Garden of Dreams,Rollo Takes a Walk,Hymn for World Peace, numerous concertos featuring a wide variety of solo instruments, includingeuphonium,flute,piano,marimba,alto saxophone, andtrombone. Maslanka's second and fourth symphonies have become particularly popular wind literature. His works for percussion includeMontana Music: Three Dances for Percussion,Variations on 'Lost Love',My Lady White,Arcadia II: Concerto forMarimba and Percussion Ensemble, andCrown of Thorns. Maslanka also wrote a complete Mass for full choir, soprano, and baritone solo, with accompaniment by fullsymphonic band. Several of Maslanka’s compositions were influenced by his close relationship with the ocean, having spent his childhood on the coast ofNew England.[8]Sea Dreams, for example, as well as the second movement of his second symphony, reference large bodies of water. He has also acknowledged the influence of his Polish heritage on his compositions.
Maslanka's works have been recorded and produced primarily byAlbany Records andCarl Fischer, as well as Cambria Records, Crest, CRI, Klavier Music Productions,Mark, Novisse, St. Olaf, and Umass labels.
