Nathaniel Stookey: Raleigh/Durham/Wake/Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Nathaniel Stookey Photo courtesy Shuman Associates

Nathaniel Stookey and his New Residencies partners-The North Carolina Symphony, WUNC Radio, the Mallarme Chamber Players, and The Ciompi Quartet-are all looking to build on the successes of two pilot projects created by Mr. Stookey for WUNC. For his "Classroom-to-Concert Hall" series, he enlisted several local professional ensembles to give free performances to schoolchildren who completed group composition workshops. "Composers-in-Context," a series of radio forums for North Carolina composers and ensembles, has been broadcast by WUNC. The New Residencies partners are now looking to cast their musical net even wider than the Raleigh/Chapel Hill/Durham triangle, in an effort to spark an interest in new music, an awareness of North Carolina composers, and regular attendance at live concerts. Mr. Stookey's first residency composition will be a fanfare premiered by the North Carolina Symphony to herald its move to its new Meymandi Concert Hall. It will include material Mr. Stookey composed in collaboration with three area high schools. His second work will require participation by North Carolina elementary school children for the Symphony's education program, and he will also compose a full-length work to be premiered in 2002.

Nathaniel Stookey was born and raised in San Francisco, where he studied violin and composition. At 17, he was the youngest composer ever commissioned for the San Francisco Symphony's groundbreaking New and Unusual Music Series and subsequently, was awarded a full scholarship to the Cleveland Institute of Music. He eventually returned to the Bay Area to continue his training at the University of California at Berkeley. In 1993 Mr. Stookey was appointed Composition Fellow with England's Hallé Orchestra. In addition to producing four new works over three seasons, it was in this position that he began his deep involvement in music education. While in England, Mr. Stookey was also a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Sheffield, where he initiated and developed an undergraduate composition course. Since 1996, when he was invited by WUNC to develop a new community-based model for American composer residencies drawing on his British experience, Mr. Stookey has made his home in Chapel Hill. Mr. Stookey continues to work actively in the United States and Europe. His Double (for two solo violins and string orchestra) was commissioned and premiered by the Lindsay String Quartet for the Festival of 999 Years of Music in the U.K. He is currently composing works for the London-based Gould Trio, the North Carolina Symphony, and the Oklahoma State University Symphony. Mr. Stookey sees his mission as convincing his students that "we all know the language of music...What's to prevent us from making up music of our own or enjoying all the great music other people have come up with over the years?"