Professor Alan Lourens | |
---|---|
Born | 1966 (age 57–58) |
Citizenship | Australian |
Occupation(s) | Head, UWA Conservatorium of Music |
Years active | 2012 - Present |
Academic background | |
Alma mater | Indiana University Jacobs School of Music |
Doctoral advisor | Ray E Cramer, Daniel Perantoni |
Academic work | |
Discipline | Music (conductor,composer,euphonium player) |
Alan Lourens (born 1966) is a classical musician,composer,euphonium player and conductor from Perth,Western Australia. He is the head of the UWA Conservatorium of Music.
Lourens was born in Perth,Western Australia,and attended Scarborough Senior High School,where he won the prize for music in his graduating year. After completing a degree in Music Education at the Western Australian College of Advanced Education,Lourens taught brass and classroom music in public schools,based at Kelmscott Senior High School,and including conducting and teaching brass at Churchlands Senior High School and Perth Modern School. He returned to study at Indiana University,earning a master's degree in music (in Euphonium Performance) in 1992,and a Doctorate (in Wind Conducting) in 1999,working as an Associate Instructor to Harvey Phillips and in the IU department of bands,working with the Marching Hundred. At Indiana,he studied Euphonium with M.Dee Stewart and Daniel Perantoni. He was also awarded a Performers Certificate for the quality of his Masters recital.
From 2000,Lourens has held leadership positions at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (as Head of Classical Music),and has held positions in Singapore(at Lasalle College of the Arts), [1] and in Dubai. [2] His name was also associated with a possible appointment as Head of the ANU School of Music. [3] [4] In 2009,he was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA).
Lourens was appointed as Head the UWA School of Music in 2012,and reappointed in 2016. [5] He was also appointed as a full Professor of Music in 2016. Lourens oversaw the change to the name UWA Conservatorium of Music, [6] [7] as well as a rise in the ranking of the school into the top 50 in the world,according to the QS Subject Ranking in Performing Arts. [8]
During his tenure,the school has embedded "Melbourne Model" degree structures, [9] which has seen the school more than double in size., [10] re-introduced the Bachelor of Music degrees (rather than BA),as well as developing several majors in Electronic Music.
Lourens is a leading contributor to the Australian national debate surrounding the place of music in society., [11] [12] [13] [14] arguing the for educational benefits of music for all.
From 2022,Lourens has held a seat on the Board of directors of the AMEB National Board.
Lourens is a former conductor of WA Brass, [15] [16] one of Australia's leading [17] British-style brass bands with which he has been associated since 1983,as well as conducting the UWA Orchestra, [18] [19] and has previously directed the UWA Wind Orchestra. Lourens previously conducted the University Wind Orchestra,which was an amalgamated ensemble of the UWA and ECU,which was cited as one of the first tertiary wind groups in the country. [20] He has also been a guest conductor with the Fremantle Symphony Orchestra, [21] Philharmonic Winds (Singapore),and others across Australia.
Lourens has been the conductor of many world premier performances,including Peter Sculthorpe's Lament for Violin,Cello and Strings. [22]
As an author,he has made contributions to the MBM Times Vol 5, [23] Vol 6 [24] and Vol 7. He also co-authored two books on University Administration, [25] [26] as well as contributions to the popular press. [27] Lourens contributed to the "Teaching Music in Performance Through Band" series in Vol 2 [28] and 3, [29] in "Teaching Music Through Performing Marches", [30] and about repertoire in the influential California Music Educators Association Magazine. [31] He is a frequent presenter of concert talks for the West Australian Symphony Orchestra. [32] [33]
In 2016,the New Zealand Euphonium Virtusoso Riki McDonnell performed the world premiere of his Euphonium Concerto (for Euphonium and Orchestra) with the composer conducting. [34] This work,like most of his output,is tonal and melodic. Lourens has also written other solo works for Euphonium and Cornet,and works for Concert and Brass Band. His most popular works are arrangements;Czardas by Vittorio Monti (for Euphonium and various ensembles) and Bluebells of Scotland for Tuba and Band,which is listed in the "Guide to the Tuba Repertoire". [35] The Trumpet/Cornet player Sean Priest [36] commissioned and recorded two arrangements for his album "Crossover",featuring Priest and the Kew Brass Band. [37]
In 2018 he was an adjudicator at the Australian National Band Championships,as Chief Concert Adjudicator and in the A Grade Brass category. [38] [39] He has previously been an adjudicator at the Tasmanian Band Championships, [40] [41] the 2020 NSW Band Association Online Band Festival, [42] and Australian Band and Orchestra Directors Association (ABODA) events in WA, [43] Queensland and South Australia. [44]
The euphonium is a medium-sized,3- or 4-valve,often compensating,conical-bore,tenor-voiced brass instrument that derives its name from the Ancient Greek word εὔφωνοςeuphōnos,meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced". The euphonium is a valved instrument. Nearly all current models have piston valves,though some models with rotary valves do exist.
Joseph Horovitz was an Austrian-born British composer and conductor best known for his 1970 pop cantata Captain Noah and his Floating Zoo,which achieved widespread popularity in schools. Horovitz also composed music for television,including the theme music for the Thames Television series Rumpole of the Bailey,and was a prolific composer of ballet,orchestral,brass band,wind band and chamber music. He considered his fifth string quartet (1969) to be his best work.
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Earle L. Louder was a euphonium player,acclaimed by colleagues around the world as one of the finest virtuosos of all time on that instrument. He carried a Doctor of Music degree in Euphonium Performance.
William John Bell was the premier player and teacher of the tuba in America during the first half of the 20th century. In 1921,he joined the band of John Philip Sousa,and from 1924 to 1937 he served as Principal Tuba with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. In 1937 General Electric's David Sarnoff invited conductor Arturo Toscanini to select personnel for The NBC Symphony Orchestra. William Bell was the third musician selected by Toscanini,after his concertmaster Mischa Mischakoff and principal oboe Philip Ghignatti.
The euphonium repertoire consists of solo literature and parts in band or,less commonly,orchestral music written for the euphonium. Since its invention in 1843,the euphonium has always had an important role in ensembles,but solo literature was slow to appear,consisting of only a handful of lighter solos until the 1960s. Since then,however,the breadth and depth of the solo euphonium repertoire has increased dramatically.
Steven Mead is an English virtuoso euphonium soloist and teacher.
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Symphony in B-flat for Band was written by the German composer Paul Hindemith in 1951. It was premiered on April 5 of that year by the U.S. Army Band "Pershing's Own" with the composer conducting.
The UWA Conservatorium of Music is a teaching and research school offering undergraduate and postgraduate study in music at the University of Western Australia. It is located at the north-east corner of the Crawley campus and teaches predominately Classical music,with focus in the undergraduate curriculum on performance,as well as overall strength in musicology,composition and electronic music. In 2016,UWA entered the top 100 "Performing Arts" institutions in the world,and in 2017 and 2018 the School improved its ranking to enter the top 50 in the world,according to the QS World University Rankings. The Conservatorium is also well regarded in research. Under the research code "19 Studies in Creative Arts and Writing",the Conservatorium was rated as "4 - Above World Standard" by the Australian Research Council in 2018. Previously,the name of the organisation has been the UWA Department of Music,and the UWA School of Music.
Alan Baer is an American tuba player who is Principal Tuba for the New York Philharmonic. He has also been principal tuba with several other orchestras including the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra,and Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition,he has performed and recorded with the Cleveland Orchestra led by Vladimir Ashkenazy,performances with the Peninsula Music Festival of Wisconsin,New Orleans Symphony,Los Angeles Concert Orchestra,Ojai Festival Orchestra (California),Los Angeles Philharmonic,and Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He has performed as a featured soloist,touring several countries in Europe,including Switzerland,Austria,Germany,and France.
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