Karlton Hester

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Karlton Hester
09132015 NCP KarltonHesterIMG 3938.jpg
Background information
Born (1949-02-11) February 11, 1949 (age 75)
El Paso, Texas, US
OriginEl Paso
Genres Jazz
Occupation(s)Musician and Professor
Instrument(s) Woodwinds
Years active1970s–present
LabelsHesteria Records
Website karltonhester.com

Karlton Hester (born February 11, 1949) is an American, performer, composer, scholar, and educator.

Contents

Early life

Hester began taking piano lessons with his elder sister’s piano teacher (Drusilla Nixon) [1] and a few years after that, he began singing in the El Paso Boys' Choir, [2] founded and directed by the Chair of the music department at Texas Western College, Dr. E.A. Thorsmodsgaard. [3] Renner, Lisa (January 31, 2022) The choir provided a rich education in the European classical approaches, with instruction in music theory and experiences performing with professional groups, including the symphony, ballet, and opera. [4] Hester began learning flute and other wind instruments in the 6th grade, later taking available opportunities to learn from African American music masters outside of school. [5] He studied music at the University of Texas and soon headed to Southern California, where he was employed as a music educator at Eisenhower High School in Rialto, California. [6] Hester earned a doctoral degree in music composition from the City University of New York Graduate Center and taught for a decade at Cornell University immediately after graduating. [7]

Biography

Hester earned his B.M. at University of Texas at El Paso, his M.A. in Music Education from San Francisco State University, and his Ph.D. in composition from the City University of New York Graduate Center. [8] He formally studied flute with Harry Nelsova and Paul Renzi, saxophone with Frank Chase and Bill Tremble, composition with Bruce Saylor and Robert Starer, and improvisation with Joe Henderson and John Handy. He began his career as a studio musician and music educator in Los Angeles and would later serve as the Herbert Gussman Director of Jazz Studies at Cornell University from 1990 to 2000. [9] At Cornell, Hester directed the Traditional and Experimental Lab Ensembles [10] and coordinated university festivals and conferences that included a diverse array of “jazz” and African artists including Jaki Byard, John Handy, Joe Henderson, Cecil Taylor, McCoy Tyner, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Stanley Turrentine, Louis Jordan, Buddy Collette, Dr. Donald Byrd, Dr. Billy Taylor, Randy Weston, Charles Lloyd, Geri Allen, Benny Powell, Charles Tolliver, Steve Turre, Sam Rivers, Thomas Mapfumo, George E. Lewis, Roscoe Mitchell, Hotep Galeta, Victor Goines, Akua Dixon, Mamadou Diabate, Samite Mulondo, Cecilia Smith, Phil Bowler, Adela Dalto, Pamela Wise, and Nick Mathis. [11] As of 2000 Hester directs the "jazz" program at UC Santa Cruz and is a Professor of Music Composition in the Music Department.

Hester is the founder and director of the San Francisco Fillmore Jazz Preservation Big Band [12] and Hesterian Musicism. Hester's music involves a synthesis of Afrocentric and Western tonal, modal, quartal, serial, and electronic elements into an expressive voice that defies simple categorization as either premeditated or spontaneous composition. [13] Hester's Ph.D. dissertation is titled "The Melodic and Polyrhythmic Development of John Coltrane's Spontaneous Compositions in a Racist Society," and the music of John Coltrane has been a lasting influence on his work. [14] [15] He coined the term musicism [16] to “represent the creative process by which musicians, visual artists, and poets, through the merging of composition and performance, produce new art forms.” [17] This interdisciplinary approach is realized in projects such as “Three Bodies” where Hester collaborated with astrophysicist Greg Laughlin and dancer Ted Warburton to create a multimedia performance that offers a “solution” to the three-body problem. [18] Hester has been the recipient of composer fellowships, grants, and commissions from the National Endowment of the Arts, New York Foundation for the Arts, New England Council of the Arts, ASCAP, and the William Grant Still Foundation., [19] as well as a 2022 collaborative grant from the National Endowment for the Arts for the "Surge" Afrofuturism Festival. [20] He served as the vice president of the International Society for Improvised Music (2008-2018) and is founding director of Interdisciplinary Artists Aggregation, Inc. (1970–present). [21] [22] Hester is a Gold Medal winner of a Global Music Award for Experimental Jazz in December 2017, for his 2016 album Trans-Cultural Musicism. [23] Hester is currently the director and member of the principal faculty for the University of California, Santa Cruz Digital Arts and New Media (DANM) MFA program, [24] and serves as Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion for the UCSC Arts Division. [25] As one of the organizers of the event entitled “Surge Afrofuturism”, Music Professor Karlton Hester and Dance Professor Gerald Casel won a grant from the National Endowment for their year-long Festival for the academic year 2021-2022. This was Hester’s third NEA grant. [26]

Discography

Books

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References

  1. "Nixon, Drusilla Elizabeth Tandy".
  2. "El Paso Boys Choir - 1970 - 1979 | wall".
  3. "El Paso Boys Choir - 1970 - 1979 | wall".
  4. "El Paso Boys Choir - 1970 - 1979 | wall".
  5. "Hitting a high note".
  6. EAGLE’S EYE, VOL. 14, NO. 10, Eisenhower High School, Rialto, California 92376, February 9, 1973
  7. "Karlton Hester and Roberto Sierra each garner their 7th ASCAP awards | Cornell Chronicle".
  8. Karlton Hester Profile, UC Santa Cruz.
  9. Karlton Hester Profile, UC Santa Cruz Arts.
  10. (October 1999). "Review of Sacred Musicism." Cadence Magazine. p. 105
  11. Karlton Hester Profile, UC Santa Cruz.
  12. Donaldson, Bill. (May 2007). "Review of Live at Herbst Theatre." Cadence Magazine. p. 43
  13. Karlton Hester Profile, UC Santa Cruz Arts.
  14. (October 2005). Medwin Marc. "Review of 21st Century Musicism." Cadence Magazine. p. 32
  15. Spencer, Robert. (April 1999). "Review of Reconstructive Musicism." Cadence Magazine. p. 102
  16. Review of Musicism for Your Imagination
  17. Spencer, Robert. (April 1999). "Review of Reconstructive Musicism." Cadence Magazine. p. 102
  18. Featured Faculty Article, UC Santa Cruz.
  19. CD Baby Bio
  20. "Natural Endowment for the Arts Award to Support UC Santa Cruz's Surge: Afrofuturism Festival". 19 January 2022.
  21. ISIM Website
  22. "Interdisciplinary Artists Aggregation, Inc. | San Francisco Classical Voice".
  23. "Global Music Awards - Music Competition".
  24. "Principal Faculty | danm.ucsc.edu".
  25. "Karlton Hester | arts.ucsc.edu".
  26. "Natural Endowment for the Arts Award to Support UC Santa Cruz's Surge: Afrofuturism Festival". 19 January 2022.

Further References