Eric Barnum
Dr. Eric William Barnum (born 1979 Crookston, Minnesota) is an American composer of choral, instrumental, and vocal works. He received his doctorate in Choral Conducting at the University of Washington, Seattle.[1][2] He is currently the Director of Choral Activities at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.[3]
Eric Barnum | |
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Born | Eric William Barnum March 15, 1979 |
Occupation | Composer, conductor |
Website | EricWilliamBarnum.com |
Background
Barnum has been commissioned by ACDA Honor choirs, university ensembles, professional choirs, and school choirs.[1] His "She Walks in Beauty" was incorporated in Chanticleer's touring repertoire.[4]
Eric Barnum did not start composing until he was 21 years old, in fact he wanted to be an archaeologist but decided to study graphic design.
Education
Eric Barnum studied composition and vocal performance at Bemidji State University, Minnesota, where he studied with Dr. Patrick Riley (2002).[5] He later studied composition and received his M.Mus. in choral conducting with David Dickau at Minnesota State University - Mankato (2004). Eric received a DMA in Choral Conducting from the University of Washington under the direction of Dr. Geoffrey Boers in 2013.[5]
Musical style
Barnum's music is intricately tied to the text, most often chosen from Latin liturgical sources or English poetry.[6] The melodic line in all voices is treated with the utmost importance. Unexpected, but beautiful, harmonic progressions evoke mystical scenes of nature and spirit. Barnum is influenced by the compositions of John Tavener, Arvo Pärt, Gerald Finzi, and Thomas Newman.
*1 Dr. Eric Barnum on March 21, 2014 at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh gave a presentation entitled, "Telling Stories". During this presentation Eric told students his inspiration for composing music. Eric, very much like a sculptor, finds the inspiration from within the poetry and then by his hand comes to life. For this reason Eric hopes that each piece is unique and tells the story of the poetry or writing, he doesn't wish to have a "style". Eric said, "If there is one thing that all of my pieces have in common is that they tell a story".
Awards
Compositions[8]
- After Music (MusicSpoke)
- Afternoon on a Hill (Walton Music)
- Benediction
- Dawn (G. Schirmer Music)
- Fair Ines (Walton Music)
- Healing Heart
- Jenny Kiss'd Me (Walton Music)
- Lo, I Am With You Always (Pavane Publishing)
- Lotos
- Love is enough
- My Love and Grave
- O crux, ave (Colla Voce Music)
- Panis angelicus (Pavane Publishing)
- Psalm 67
- Return! (Walton Music)
- She Walks in Beauty (Hinshaw Music)
- Summer's Ocean
- Take My Hand
- the Garden
- The Lie
- The Human Heart (Walton Music)
- The Lady in the Water (Santa Barbara Music)
- The Stars Stand Up In the Air (Walton Music)
- The Sweetheart of the Sun (Walton Music)
- There's Nae Lark
- There is Sweet Music Here
- The Wheel that Moves the Sun and Stars (Santa Barbara Music)
- Two Dear Hearts
- Venus' Lament
- Waiting for the Dawn
- Waly Waly
- When All Was Young
- Wrapped
- Dreams of Thee (Walton Music)
- Music in the Night
- A Red, Red Rose (Walton Music)
- I Come Singing (Graphite Publishing)
- The House on the Hill
- The Young Man's Song (Graphite Publishing)
- To What Shall I Compare Her
- Heaven Full of Stars
- I Am Not Yours
- Invisible
- Spark (Graphite Publishing)
- 4 Responsorials
- — Responsorial I
- — Responsorial II
- — Responsorial III
- — Responsorial IV
- Across the Fields (Walton Music)
- ...and the Glory of the Lord
- Antiphon to the Holy Spirit
- awake
- Blake Animal Poems
- — The Lamb
- — The Tyger
- Chronologic
- Confessions
- Conflagration (Graphite Publishing)
- Corpus Christi
- Domine quis habitabit
- eikon
- Elysium
- Heaven-Haven
- Hic est Martinus (MusicSpoke)
- In paradisum (MusicSpoke)
- Inferno
- look up...
- Memory
- Moonlight Music (Alliance Music)
- Psalm 95
- Remembered Light
- Requiescat (G. Schirmer Music)
- Sing in Dark Times
- — The Hateful Crime
- — Pigtail
- — Yes
- The Rose of Midnight
- — I. Chrístus fáctus est
- — II. Ténebrae fáctae sunt
- — III. Crucifíxus
- — IV. The Rose of Midnight
- — V. Adorámus te, Chríste (Walton Music)
- — VI. Surreéxit pástor bónus
- — VII. O vérbum Pátris
- The Sounding Sea (Walton Music)
- The Sunken City (MusicSpoke)
- The True Knowledge: 4 Mystical Poems
- — The Brier
- — The Trees and the Master
- — The Blade and the Grass
- — The True Knowledge
- The Valley of Silence
- The White Birds (Graphite Publishing)
- There was a time (Santa Barbara Music)
- To Night
- Wellspring
- Walk
- XXV: from War is Kind and other lines
- The Bee-Boy's Song
- I Sing of the Northland
- Carol of the Angels
- Flowers for the Altar (MusicSpoke)
- I Sing of a Maiden
- Natum vidimus
- Sweeter Still (Walton Music)
- The Beautiful Sing (Santa Barbara Music Publishing)
- Weihnachten Nacht
- I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud
- Light Mirrors
- Lucy (cycle for tenor) (Graphite Publishing)
- — I. Strange fits of passion
- — II. She dwelt among the untrodden ways
- — III. I traveled among unknown men
- — IV. Three years she grew
- — V. A slumber did my spirit seal
- The Frozen Grail (cycle for soprano) (Graphite Publishing)
- —1. Why sing the legends of the Holy Grail
- —2. What shall prevail against the spirit of man
- —3. Dante, in his frozen hell
- —4. Does he watch behind the lattice
- —5. To conquer the world
- —6. The star
- —7. He shall find
Teaching
Dr. Eric Barnum is currently the Director of Choral Activities at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa and was recently the Director of Choral Activities at the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh.[3] Eric Barnum often is a clinician and guest conductor at festivals with high school, college, and professional choirs.
References
- http://www.waltonmusic.com/CompBios/ebarnumbio.php
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-12-05. Retrieved 2010-03-08.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- http://www.ericwilliambarnum.com/biography
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-03-11. Retrieved 2010-03-08.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Biography". EricWilliamBarnum. Retrieved 2017-03-10.
- "Biography". EricWilliamBarnum. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-03-11. Retrieved 2010-03-08.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- http://www.ericwilliambarnum.com/overview/
*1Barnum, Dr. Eric. "Telling Stories." Convocation. University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. Arts and Communication Building, Oshkosh. 21 Mar. 2014. Class lecture.