User:JRCBaker/sandbox

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1. REDIRECT Draft:Gregory Short

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Gregory Short
Short in 1999
Background information
Birth name	Gregory Norman Short
Born	(1938-08-14)August 14, 1938 Toppenish, Washington, United States
Died	April 1, 1999(1999-04-01) (aged 60) Freeland, Washington, United States
Genres	Classical, Traditional songs and music
Occupation(s)	Composer, pianist
Instrument(s)	Piano, keyboards
Years active	1960s–1999
Labels	Albany, Koch

For the star Chef Gregory Short see Masa's Wine Bar & Kitchen

Gregory Norman Short (August 14, 1938 – April 1, 1999) was a composer and pianist. Born in Toppenish, Washington, the largest city in the Yakima Indian Reservation, the young Short was welcomed into tribal dances and studied piano with his father. Later, he attended the Juilliard School and the University of Washington and earned the Doctor of Musical Degree in Composition and Theory from the University of Oregon with his dissertation Chief Seathl: Orator and Orchestra. [1]

Biography

In 1961, Short began teaching the piano students in performance and music theory. Gregory Short created new music that blended classical European-American styles with American-Indian melodies that earned recognition beyond the Northwest. Short combined Native-American influences with European-American music for a sound that was very compelling and far from being a cliche. He used ethnic themes in many of the 300 compositions he created over 35 years.[1]

Many of his compositions drew inspiration from the people and environment of the state of Washington, where he was an active composer and pianist as a long-time resident on Puget Sound.[2] Short was named the 1989 Washington State Centennial Artist.[3] He taught at the college and university level for decades. As a member of the Washington State Teachers Association, Short served as an adjudicator. In 1989, WTA selected Short as Composer of the Year and commissioned him to write a piece.[4]

Notoriety

The folklorist Stacy I. Morgan points out that "the boundaries between folk, high, and popular culture categories were and are inevitably porous. For example, 'Froggie Went A-Courting,' a ballad dating at least to sixteenth century England and circulated for generations by way of both oral and written traditions, finds modern adaptations by US artists as dissimilar as the classical composer Gregory Short (as part of his American Bicentennial Sonata no. 4 from 1976) and top recording star Bruce Springsteen (on the 2006 album We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions).

Coming to prominence as a pianist featuring all-American music, and Northwest composer recitals in the early 1960s, Short was the first to perform entire programs of American composers. He created the "The American Composer" 1968-69 televisions series that featured the music of Northwest composers.[6]

The Raven Speaks

Much of Short's inspiration came from Northwest Native American traditional culture. "I felt there a genuine spirituality. That nature and man are the same. And between the real world and the spirit world, there is no division."[8] In 1992, he completed a four-part cycle of compositions about the dynamics of the mountains and original people in the Northwest: Mount Takhoma, The Raven Speaks, Pahto, and Cheif Seathl.[9]

The Raven Speaks (1987) is a suite for orchestra based on songs of Northwest Native American cultures living along the coast of Northwest Washington, Canada, and Southern Alaska. According to the composer, Raven is a symbol of both reaction and mischievous adventure.

• The first movement 'Costal Forest and Raven' begins with an early morning mist mysteriously shrouding the dense focused and snow-covered mountain of the Northwest Pacific coastline based on two Kwakiutl songs.
• In the second, movement, a Haida 'Totem Pole" song takes over as a powerful dance during a potlatch celebration. Raven steals the sun, ending this movement.
• With the Thlinget 'Hat Game', movement three has Raven interrupting the proceedings, creating confusion, and speeding up the game into cacophony and chaos.
• The 'Love Song' of movement four is of Thlinget origin. Here Raven as a warrior and his lady sing to one another standing together at the water's edge after a period of time.
• The peak of Raven's trickery begins the fourth movement. As the Lummi children's song 'Grandmother Rock and the Little Crabs' begins, Raven mixed up Puget Sound into a horrific storm causing the little crabs to scatter and Grandmother Rock to splitting headache from the waves beating her unfortunate head.
• "Northern Lights and Raven," the last movement is peaceful as the shadow of Raven soars with charm and beauty among the awesome and eerie Alaskan Northern Lights. Two songs of the Tsimshian "Lullaby for a Boy" and "She Will Gather Roses" and followed by the Raven's earlier "Totem Pole" song and the singing of wolves at night. As the sun begins to rise, Raven begins to laugh.

Recorded works

Main article: List of compositions by Gregory Short

• Northwest Composers Vol. II (Florence Mesler Recordings, 1972) Gregory Short, The Pilgrim, song cycle for soprano, piano, and percussion from Kim Si-sup's poem translated by David Mesler; Florence Mesler (Lyric-Spinto Soprano), Gregory Short, (Piano), Phil Curtis assisted by Roy Freedman (percussion) )
• Celebrating Six Years at the Met (Random Touch Records, Inc., 1994) Gregory Short: Blue Dawn; Kendall Feeney (piano), James Schoepflin (clarinet), and Charlotte Bickford (violin)
• Reflections of the Northwest (TROY 184, 1995) Gregory Short, The Raven Speaks, based on Northwest Coast Indian Songs and Dances; Northwest Symphony Orchestra conducted by Anthony Spain
• Natural Symphony - Featuring Seattle's Finest Classical Musical Artists (Classical KING-FM 98.1, 1999) Gregory Short, Mt. Takhoma; Northwest Symphony Orchestra conducted by Anthony Spain
• Soli Deo Gloria" (Stephen H. Owades, 1999) Gregory Short, Mass; Richard Clark (cantor); Jeremy Friedman, Matt Masie, Zhanna Maysyuk (percussion); Paul Chudigian (electronics setup), conducted by John Zielinski
• The Basket (NXNW 080199, 1999) Gregory Short additional orchestrations
• Pahto, for large orchestra (Dialekt Recordings, 2000) Gregory Short, Pahto; Northwest Symphony Orchestra conducted by Anthony Spain
• Mystical Mountains (KOCH 3-7399-2 HI, 2001) Gregory Short, Mount Takhoma; Northwest Symphony Orchestra conducted by Anthony Spain

External links

• JRCBaker/sandbox at AllMusic
• JRCBaker/sandbox at Find a Grave

Category:1938 births Category:1999 deaths Category:20th-century classical composers Category:American male classical composers Category:American classical composers Category:People from Toppenish, Washington Category:20th-century American musicians Category:Musicians from Washington (state)