David Carlson, classical music composer

David Carlson image

David Carlson

Biography

David Carlson (born 13 March 1952) American composer.

Carlson studied theory and composition at the Los Angeles High School of the Arts and with Leonard Stein at the California Institute of the Arts. From 1988 to 1992 he was coordinator of the San Francisco Symphony's New and Unusual Music series.

David Carlson's symphonic works have been performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra (United States), the San Francisco Symphony, the BBC Symphony, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Tanglewood Festival, and others. He has composed several chamber pieces, including a Cello Sonata, a large work for cello and male chorus called Nocturno, and two cello concertos, as well as a large work for viola and piano True Divided Light, premiered in 2005. Carlson is the recipient of awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Meet the Composer, Chamber Music America, and several other grants and fellowships. He has written four operas, three of which have received numerous performances. The Midnight Angel, to a libretto and original story by author Peter S. Beagle, was commissioned by Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Glimmerglass Opera, and Sacramento Opera; in 2007 it received a new production by Milwaukee's Skylight Opera Theatre. Dreamkeepers, with an original story and libretto by Aden Ross, was commissioned by the Utah Opera in celebration of the 1996 Utah Centennial and given a new production by the Tulsa Opera in 1998. Anna Karenina, in collaboration with noted British librettist and director Colin Graham, was commissioned by Florida Grand Opera in celebration of the 2007 opening of the Ziff Opera House in Miami, with a co-production by Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. Anna Karenina received a new production in September 2010 by Opera San Jose. A recent work, The Promise of Time, was written for American soprano Christine Brewer through the Bay Area's Magnum Opus commissioning program (original texts by Susan Kinsolving), with performances by the Marin Symphony Orchestra, Oakland East Bay Symphony, and Santa Rosa symphonies.

(from wikipedia.org)


Composer Title Date Action
David Carlson Rhapsodies for Chamber Orchestra 03/29/2013 Play Add to playlist
David Carlson Twilight Night 03/29/2013 Play Add to playlist
David Carlson Cello Concerto No. 2, for Cello and Fifteen Strings 03/29/2013 Play Add to playlist
David Carlson Symphonic Sequences from the opera "Dreamkeepers" 03/29/2013 Play Add to playlist
David Carlson "Nocturno," Motet-Concerto for Cello and Eight Male Voices 04/02/2013 Play Add to playlist
David Carlson Orchestral Episodes from "Anna Karenina" (opera) 01/15/2014 Play Add to playlist
David Carlson The Promise of Time, Three Songs for Soprano and Orchestra 01/15/2014 Play Add to playlist
David Carlson Tuba Concerto II 06/27/2017 Play Add to playlist
David Carlson Tuba Concerto I 06/27/2017 Play Add to playlist
David Carlson True Divided Light, for viola and piano 04/29/2019 Play Add to playlist
David Carlson Incendiary Devices 05/28/2020 Play Add to playlist