Raymond Luedeke

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Short Bio: 
Composer living in NYC, Director of Voice Afire Pocket Opera and Cabaret, formerly Associate Principal Clarinet with The Toronto Symphony Orchestra
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Biography: 

Born in New York City, composer Ray Luedeke attended the Eastman School of Music, the Vienna Academy of Music, Northwestern University, and Dartmouth College, where he studied with George Crumb. His output is extensive and varied. It runs the gamut from entertaining theater pieces for children, through a long list of sophisticated solo and chamber music to colorful, carefully crafted pieces for orchestra.

Recordings of his music include Shadow Music with the Louisville Orchestra, The Transparency of Time with pianist Andre LaPlante and the Winnipeg Symphony, The Moon in the Labyrinth and The Lyre of Orpheus with harpist Judy Loman and the Orford String Quartet, Brass Quintet with the New Mexico Brass Quintet, Circus Music with the Hannaford Street Silver Band, and Ah, Matsushima! with violin/marimba duo Jacques and Michael Israelievitch.  Quartetto Gelato has recorded Ray’s brilliant arrangement of Maurice Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin and has performed it worldwide.

 The striking originality and meticulous craftsmanship of his music have been recognized by numerous grants and awards, among them prizes from the Manhattan Choral Ensemble, from the Percussive Arts Society, from the International Horn Society, and from Northwestern University. His contest winning orchestral Fanfare, opened Toronto’s Thomson Hall and his overture The North Wind’s Gift was performed throughout Europe in the 1991 tour of the Toronto Symphony. Six Canadian orchestras jointly commissioned Tales of the Netsilik for narrator and orchestra.

 Ray Luedeke is an experienced librettist. He collaborated with playwright Sean Dixon for his first opera, Wild Flowers, produced at The Guelph Spring Festival. Subsequently, he worked with acclaimed director/dramaturge Tom Diamond to write the libretto for his second opera, The Magical Singing Drum, and the script for The Art of Love/Into the Labyrinth for two pianos, visuals and actor. The distinguished Canadian playwright Guillermo Verdecchia served as dramaturge for Ray’s script for his third opera, Viva Pablo Neruda (I Confess, I Have Lived).

 In the summer of 2007, Ray started a music theater company, Voice Afire Pocket Opera and Cabaret, and produced three shows, each reflecting a particular passion of the composer/arranger. Viva Pablo Neruda (I Confess, I Have Lived) is based on the poetry of Pablo Neruda. Butterfly’s Trouble is an re-invention of Puccini’s great masterpiece. Close Embrace relives the Golden Age of Argentine Tango and includes 8 performers: a Master of Ceremonies, 2 dancers, 4 musicians, and a singer.

 From 1981-2010 Ray served as Associate Principal Clarinet of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. In the summer of 2010 Ray moved back to New York City.

Resume: 
Raymond Luedeke New York, NY Tel (646) 370-4802 EMail rayluedeke@gmail.com website: www.voiceafire.com A. Education Northwestern University 1974-77 Doctor of Music 1973 Graduate Studies 1969-71 Master of Music 1966-67 Graduate Studies 1962-66 Bachelor of Music Dartmouth College Catholic Univ. of America Vienna Academy of Music Eastman School of Music Principal composition teachers: George Crwnb, Alan Stout, George T. Jones B. Honours and Awards Percussive Arts Society Composition Contest, 1st and 2nd prizes: 1983 Orchestral Fanfare Competition for the opening of Thomson Hall: 1982 International Horn Society Composition Contest, 1st prize: 1981 American Composers Alliance Recording Award: 1980 Missouri Contemporary Music Competition: 1978, 1976 Northwestern University Fericy Award for Composition; 1976 C. Representative Performances Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Circus Music for Orchestra, April 2012 45th Street Theater, NYC, Butterfly’s Trouble, one week run off-off Broadway, Jan. 2012 Bergmann Piano Duo, The Art of Love, Merkin Hall NYC, Jan. 2012 Manhattan Choral Ensemble, Love is the every only god, Dimenna Center NYC, May 2011 Labyrinth Piano Duo, The Art of Love, Yamaha Piano Studio NYC, June 2011 Hannaford Street Silver Band and Motus 0 Dance Company, Circus Music, May, 2009, St. Lawrence Centre, Toronto Darryl Edwards, U. of Toronto, Faculty Recital, 3 songs from I Confess, I Have Lived, March, 2009 Workshop Perfonnance in collaboration with the Shaw Festival, Niagara on the Lake, I Confess, I Have Lived (opera in 4 acts), January, 2009 Symphony Nova Scotia with Joel Quarrington Db. Bass, Concerto for Double Bass and Orchestra~ February, 2008 Toronto Symphony with actor Colin Fox, Tales of the Netsilik, March 2008 Anagnoson and Kinton, duo pianists, Lust from Into the Labyrinth; tour of main land China, October, 2006 Anagnoson and Kinton, with actor Colin Fox, Into the Labyrinth; Festival of the Sound, July 2006; University of Western Ontario, October, 2005 Brian Manker (principal cello, Montreal Symphony Orchestra) and Andre Laplante, If You Forget me ... "; July, 2006, Orford, Que. Young People's Chorus of New York City, October 2006; Australian Girl's Choir, Nov. 2006; New London Children's Chorus (England), Feb. 2006; The Amabile Youth Singers, London, Ontario, June, 2005, In Just-spring, Fausto Comeo (clarinet), Lisbon, Portugal, Gulbenkian Hall, May 2006, Silence! The Toronto Symphony with Joel Quarrington, Concerto for Double Bass, Toronto, 2006; Saskatoon Symphony, 2006 Major Orchestra Librarian's Association 2005 Conference, Los Angeles, CA. Fanfare - Joy, Feb. 2005 Eugene Pokorny (tuba, Chicago Symphony), Norhtwestern University, Feb. 2005, Fancies and Interludes I Kevin Vigil (guitar), Wash. D.C., Catholic University, doctoral thesis recital (thesis on my music for guitar), April 2005, In the Eye of the Cat, Five Preludes The Toronto Symphony, The Winds of Her Misfortune, March, 2005 The Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, The North Wind's Gift Feb. 2005 CBC Vancouver Orchestra, Ah. Matsushima!, Oct. 2003, Vancouver The Elmer lseler Singers and Amabile Youth Singers, Prayers. Poems and Incantations for the Earth, World Choir Festival, Toronto, June 3, 2004 James Crabb and the Academy Trio, Copenhagen, Jan. 2004; Adaskin Trio and Joseph Petric, Aug. 2003, Montreal, Nov. 2004, NYC Carnegie Recital Hall, Tango Dreams, , Jacques and Michael Israelievitch, In This Worl4, The Gardner Museum, Toronto, May 4, 2004; Juilliard School NYC, Nov. 2005 Caterpillar Band, Manchester, England, BBC Festival of Brass, June 2003, Circus Music Fiona Cross (clarinet) and Joseph Petric (accordion), Festival Recital Hall, Belfast, Ireland, January, 2003, Serenity The Penderecki String Quartet and Stephan Sylvestre, Ceremonial Dances at NuMu Fest, Toronto, Massey Hall, 19 Nov. 2004 The Evergreen Gamelan Ensemble and The Elmer lseler Singers, Disasters of the Sun, Massey Hal~ Toronto, Nov. 2000 The Colorado Quartet with Jack Sanders, Elemental Dances for guitar and string quartet, San Fancisco, CA, 1999 The New Mexico Brass Quintet, tour of the American southwest, Spring 1999, Brass Quintet. Complexity and Contradiction The Montreal Symphony, The Calgary Philharmonic, Orchestre Symphonique de Quebec, Orchestra London, the Edmonton Symphony, the Toronto Symphony, Tales of the Netsilik for Narrator and Orchestra, 1988-1997 The Penderecki Quartet with Sylvie Proulx, Elemental Dances for guitar and string quartet, Ottawa at Quartet Fest, 1996 The Guelph Spring Festival, Wild Flowers, a chamber opera, 1994 The Vancouver Symphony in Vancouver and the Toronto Symphony on tour (England, France and Gennany), The North Wind's Gif!, 1991 Chris Weait (principal bassoon, The Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra) Chris Millard (principal bassoon, The Vancouver Symphony), Steve Paulson (Principal Bassoon, The San Francisco Symphony), Fancies and Interludes VII for bassoon and piano, Baltimore, San Francisco, Vancouver, 1991,1992, 1996 Orchestra London with Scott St. John, Concerto for Violin. 1992 Jan DeGaetani (narrator), Eastman School of Music, Feb. 1991, Wonderland Duets, note: this piece is a staple of the tuba repertoire and has received thousands of perfonnances Roslyn Rensch (harp), University of Indiana, April, 1989, The Moon in the Labyrinth (This piece is given extensive mention in her book, Harps and Harpists) The Detroit Symphony, Shadow Music, Detroit, Michigan, 1986 The Louisville Orchestra, Shadow Music, Louisville, Kentucky, 1985 The Winnipeg Symphony with Andre Laplante, The Transparency of Time, for piano and orchestra, 1986 D. Recordings Ab, Matsushima. Jacques and Michael Israelievitch, , Fleurs de Son The Lyre of Orpheus, Judy Loman, Marquis Classics Shadow Music, The Louisville Orchestra for First Edition Record Brass Quintet, The New Mexico Brass Quintet for Crystal Records The Transparency of Time, The WInnipeg Symphony with Andre Laplante, for CBC Records The Moon in the Labyrinth, The Orford Quartet with Judy Loman, Centre Discs Circus Music, The Hannaford Street Silver Band for CBC Records Le Tombeau de Couperin (arrangement) for Quartetto Gelato, Linus Poduactions E. Work Experience Toronto, Ontario 1981-present self-employed musician and composer University of Missouri 1976-81 Associate Professor, composition Director, University Contemporary Ensemble: Conductor, University Orchestra Director, Kansas City Contemporary Chamber Players Music Director, The Kansas City Civic Orchestra 1980-81 Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 1974-76 Instructor, composition and theory Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art 1974-76 Director, The Twittering Machine (professional new music ensemble) University of Wisconsin 1971-74 Assistant Professor, composition; Director, University New Music Ensemble United States Air Force Band, Wash., D.C. 1967-71, arranger/composer