John Douglas Craton (born August 6, 1953) is an American classical composer. His works have been performed throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan. While his compositions cover a diverse range, he is best known for his operas, ballets, and works for classical mandolin. [1]
Craton was born August 6, 1953, in Anniston, Alabama. Though neither of his parents was musical, his extended family included many musicians, both amateurs and professionals, [2] among them his cousin, concert pianist and composer Barbara Gallagher. He began his formal musical training at age 10 studying violin under retired violinist and conductor, Robert Louis Barron. After graduating from Saks High School, he studied violin and piano at Jacksonville State University before transferring to Lipscomb University, where he earned his B.A. Craton studied theory and composition under John Maltese, Gerald Moore, and Henry Fusner. His graduate degree from Indiana University Bloomington was in audiology, and Craton practiced as a clinical audiologist for several years in Indiana before returning to his musical roots and devoting his full-time to teaching and composing. [3]
Craton's music is highly tonal and in general reflects a style of English pastoralism, often incorporating onomatopoeic elements sometimes described as "nature music." [4] His music has been variously characterized as "atmospheric," [5] "dramatic and challenging," [6] "largely traditional ... playful," [7] and occasionally even reflecting "a medieval/Renaissance flavor." [8] He has been performed by such artists and ensembles as Sebastiaan de Grebber, Gertrud Weyhofen, Sinella Aghasi, Ljubomir Velickovic, Takumi Mamiya, Lisa Ferrigno, Het CONSORT, the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra, Filarmonica Mandolini Alba Sapporo, Townsend Opera, and the Bloomington and Amsterdam Symphony Orchestras. Romanian opera composer and conductor Leonard Dumitriu has described Craton's music as "coming from some other time and planet," stating that although he "may be an American living in the present, ... [his] music comes from the time of Haydn and Mozart, or, better, from a world without time, where ... even the cares are easy and bright ... a musical world of sonorous peace and joy." Many of Craton's works are published by Wolfhead Music. [9]
While in his early years Craton often performed on violin, piano, recorder, and other instruments, he abandoned public performance after a hand injury and has since devoted himself completely to teaching and composing. He currently operates a private music studio in Bedford, Indiana. [10]
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