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CAROLYN BREMER (b. 1957)

Carolyn Bremer has been dubbed a composer "driven by hobgoblins of post modernist cant." Bremer came to composition on the heels of intensive training as an orchestral bassist. Her catalogue contains works based on feminist symbolism ( Athene ), baseball ( Early Light ), and postmodern theory ( Adventures in Hyperreality ).

In the last three years, Bremer has had performances of her works at Carnegie Hall; in Germany, Norway, and Sweden; and for the gala 150th anniversary concert at WestPoint. Her consortium-commissions include Symphony for WindBand , premiered by Ray Cramer at Indiana University and Returns of the Day , premiered by Thomas Dvorak at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. CDs released since Spring 2002 include the El Paso Wind Symphony on Summit Records, the Heritage of American Band of the US Air Force, the Towson University Symphonic Band, and the Monarch Brass Ensemble. Bremer was guest composer for the Technology Initiative Conference at Collin County College in Dallas, Texas; the Women Band Directors International Conference in San Diego; and composer-in-residence at Mansfield University.

Bremer has received grants from Meet The Composer, the American Music Center, the Kirkpatrick Foundation, and the FIPSE program at the US Department of Education, and a Dissertation Fellowship from the Regents of the University of California. Bremer studied at the Eastman School of Music, CalArts, and received the Ph.D. in composition from UCSB. She was Chair of Composition at the University of Oklahoma from 1991-2000 where she held the Sandra and Brian O'Brien Presidental Professorship. Currently, she is Associate Professor of Composition and Theory at California State University Long Beach.

I am exploring the intersections of many fields -- of music, creativity, and meaning; of postmodern thought; of hybrid forms (composition/scholarship); of language as adjudicator of creative activity; of technology as the driver or slave for change. At the crux are these questions: how do I as a composer meld the various influences and ideas I have into a new piece? and how do I bring all of this to the student? The first question, I can answer non-verbally with instinct, experimentation and chance. But the second question requires much greater commitment. I need to answer it multiple ways to offer meaning to mutiple learners. I must answer it non-definitvely, ensuring I do not squelch an idea different from mine. I must answer it in a way that will be useful to people outside of my own aesthetics.

Website: http://www.CarolynBremer.com

WORKS

Concert Band
Dance from the Age of Aquarius
Impulse Engine
Pieces of Eight
Tinker to Evers to Chance