Grantham, Donald
Grantham, Donald
Grantham, Donald, American composer and teacher; b. Duncan, Okla., Nov. 9, 1947. He studied composition at the Univ. of Okla. (B.Mus., 1970) and then entered the Univ. of So. Calif, in Los Angeles in the composition classes of Robert Linn and Halsey Stevens (M.M. 1974; D.M.A., 1980). In the summers of 1973 and 1974 he studied with Boulanger at the American Cons, in Fontainebleau. After lecturing at the Univ. of Southern Calif, in Los Angeles (1974-75), he joined the faculty of the Univ. of Tex. at Austin in 1975, where he became a prof, in 1991. With K. Kennan, he was co-author of the 5th ed. of The Technique of Orchestration (Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1997).
Works
DRAMATIC Opera : The Boor (1989). ORCH.: El album de los duendecitos (1983); Invocation and Dance (1988); To the Wind’s 12 Quarters (1993); Fantasy on Mr. Hyde’s Song (1993); Southern Harmony (2000); Exhilaration and Cry (2000). Wind Ensemble : Concerto for Bass Trombone and Wind Ensemble (1979); Bouncer for Brass Quintet (1991); Bum’s Rush (1994); Fantasy Variations (1995); Fantasy on Mr. Hyde’s Song (1998); J’ai ete au bal (1999); Kentucky Harmony (2000). CHAMBER: Piano Trio (1971); Chamber Concerto for Harpsichord and String Quartet (1974); 4 caprichos de Francisco Goya for Violin (1976); Sonata in 1 Movement for Bass Trombone and Piano (1979); Duendecitos! for Flute and Piano (1981); Solitaire for Flute (1995); Quintet, Sacred Harp (1998). Piano : Fantasy Variations for 2 Pianos (1996). VOCAL: La noche en la isla for Baritone and Chamber Orch. or Piano, after Pablo Neruda (1980); To the King Celestial for Soprano and Chamber Orch., after a 14th-century Eng. text (1981); 7 Choral Settings of Poems by Emily Dickinson (1983); 4 Choral Settings of Poems by e.e. cummings (1985); A Collect for the Renewal of Life for Chorus and Organ (1986); 3 Choral Settings of Poems by William Butler Yeats (1986); You Shall Go Out in Joy for Chorus and Organ (1989); Lascivious Love Songs for Mezzo-soprano and Woodwind Quintet for Piano (1990); On This Day, Christmas cantata for Soprano, Chorus, Children’s Chorus, Percussion, and Harp (1993).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire