 Composer Jeffrey Mumford Joins LCCC as a Distinguished Visiting Professor "I hope to inspire a new generation of composers and make LCCC a first choice for aspiring musical artists," Mumford said.
"Mumford will advance the creation of new music through music composition courses that he developed and will teach, and through related recitals that he will organize," said Dr. Robert Beckstrom, dean of the LCCC division of Arts and Humanities. Mumford will also advance the awareness of African-American contributions to classical music through programming and a survey course that he developed.
"The name of Jeffrey Mumford is known in music circles around the world as one of America's leading living composers. The world’s finest musicians perform his music in the most hallowed halls. It is an amazing opportunity for LCCC students to study with such a distinguished scholar and artist," said Beckstrom.
"I am a composer and so absolutely love to teach composition," Mumford said.
Born in Washington, D.C. in 1955, Mumford has received numerous fellowships, grants, awards and commissions. Some of his awards include the "Academy Award in Music" from the American Academy of Arts & Letters, a Fellowship from the Guggenheim Foundation, a Fellowship to the Composers' Conference, Johnson, Vermont and an ASCAP Aaron Copland Scholarship. He was also the winner of the inaugural National Black Arts Festival/Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Composition Competition.
Mumford's most notable commissions include those from the National Gallery of Art/VERGE Ensemble, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra, violinist Ole Bohn, the Haydn Trio Eisenstadt (Vienna), the Network for New Music, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, a consortium of presenters consisting of the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Chamber Music Columbus and Omus Hirshbein New York for the Pacifica Quartet and pianist Amy Briggs to name a few.
His works have been extensively performed both in the United States and abroad, including Paris' Theatre Dunois, Miller Theatre; the Library of Congress, the Aspen Music Festival, the Bang On A Can Festival, the Seattle Chamber Music Festival, San Migel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico; London's Purcell Room, Finland's prestigious Helsinki Festival, the Musica nel Nostro Tempo Festival, in Milan and the Musikverein in Vienna.
"I am interested in exploring what it is that inspires those whom I teach, whether privately or in a classroom situation. Without inspiration, I don't think it is possible to create meaningful art. It has always been a central element of my teaching to ask lots of questions which are, at times, ‘hard’ questions and to create an environment of active discussion where students ask these hard questions of themselves and each other," Mumford said.
As an African American composer, Mumford said he is interested in the concept of artistic and personal self-definition relative to societal expectations, either perceived or real.
"While I tailor my assignments according to my assessment of a student's particular needs, I encourage each student to find and to speak with their own voice," Mumford said.
Mumford is also available to work with musicians who want to unleash their creative impulse for the first time, and experienced composers who want to refine their craft.
For more information call the LCCC Arts & Humanities division at (440) 366-4013. |
