H. Owen Reed

Last year, H. Owen Reed was named Louisiana State University Alumnus of 2004. The award dedication reads, “The Alumni and Friends of the LSU School of Music Present 2004 Alumnus of the Year Award to H. Owen Reed, PhD, 1939; BM, 1934; MM, 1936; BA, 1937; for a Distinguished Career in Composition spanning Seven Decades.” Reed gave a lecture titled “The Materials of Music,” and there were many performances of his compositions during the week of March 24-30, as the university community paid tribute to him: Overture for Strings, by the Louisiana Sinfonietta under the direction of Dinos Constantinides; Noctune for Piano and Three Nationalities for Piano by Willis Delony; Scherzo for Clarinet and Piano by Sara Todd and Delony; Mountain Meditation, Dusk, The Passing of John Blackfeather, and Michigan Morn, all songs for low voice, by Steven Rushing and Delony; and La Fiesta Mexicana and Missouri Shindig, by the LSU Wind Ensemble under the direction of Frank Wicks. The composer’s Web site is located at http://www.lilaclane.com/howenreed/.

Performances

For the Unfortunate was presented January 2, 2004, by the Rutgers Wind Ensemble, under the direction of William Berz, New Brunswick, NJ; the same ensemble later performed The Awakening of the Ents on February 21. The St. Olaf Band, led by Timothy Mahr, presented La Fiesta Mexicana on February 27 while touring Mexico; the same piece was also heard in an April 25 performance by the Petersburg (VA) Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Ulysses Kirksey. Missouri Shindig was presented August 8 by fiddler Alex DePue and the Hamilton Fairfield (OH) Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Paul Stanbery.

Recordings

La Fiesta Mexicana; Michigan State University Wind Symphony directed by John Whitwell, 59th Annual Michigan Music Education Conference, Ann Arbor, MI; Audio Tape Reproductions 1904. Overture for Strings; Louisiana Sinfonietta directed by Dinos Constantinides; Louisiana State University.

Further Information

• 2001-2002 American Composers Update
• 2000-2001 American Composers Update
• 1999-2000 American Composers Update
• 1998-1999 American Composers Update
• 1997-1998 American Composers Update
• SAI's Composers Bureau Online