Kirke Mechem

Kirke Mechem(born August 16, 1925) is an American composer. His first opera,Tartuffe,with over 450 performances in nine countries, has become one of the most popular operas written by an American. He has composed more than 250 works in almost every form. In 2002,ASCAPregistered performances of his music in 42 countries. He has been called the "dean of American choral composers".His memoir,Believe Your Ears: Life of a Lyric Composer,was published by Rowman & Littlefield in 2015;it won ASCAP Foundation's 48th annual Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Award for outstanding musical biography.

Kirke Mechem

Biography

Mechem was born August 16, 1925, inWichita, Kansas.During World War II, he served two and half years in the army, and then enrolled atStanford University.He took aharmonycourse taught by Harold Schmidt, the choral director, and continued his study of harmony andcounterpoint,changing his major to music at the end of his junior year. His principal teachers at Stanford wereLeonard Ratner(harmony and counterpoint) andSandor Salgo(orchestrationandconducting). In his senior year, Mechem orchestrated and conducted the student variety show. He earned a master's degree atHarvardin 1953, studying composition withWalter PistonandRandall Thompson,and was winner of the Boott Prize for vocal composition. He was assistant choral director for three years at Stanford, composing both choral and instrumental music and conducting an opera.

He lived inVienna, Austriain 1956–57 and 1961–63. In 1963, Mechem returned with his wife and children toSan Francisco.He became composer-in-residence at theUniversity of San Franciscoand has taught at other universities as a guest composer and conductor. On May 13, 2012, Mechem received an honorary Doctorate from theUniversity of Kansasfor "notable contributions to choral music and opera".He has also received lifetime-achievement awards from the National Opera Associationand the American Choral Directors Association Western Division.

Career

Most of Mechem's early work was forchorus.Some of these pieces, composed as an undergraduate and graduate student, were published, including "Make A Joyful Noise", (recorded by theMormon Tabernacle Choir) and "Give Thanks Unto The Lord." The latter won the tri-annual SAI American Music Awardin 1959. His Opus 5 was aSuite for Piano,later followed by aPiano Sonataand a book of teaching pieces calledWhims.In Vienna, he began writingchamber music.HisTrio for Violin, Cello and Pianowas followed by aDivertimento for Flute and String Trio,and by his firstString Quartet,which was the only American prize-winner at the fourth International Competition for Composition inMonaco.

Mechem'sSymphony No. 1was premiered in 1965 by theSan Francisco SymphonyunderJosef Krips.Krips commissioned Mechem to write aSecond Symphony,which he premiered in 1967. Mechem wrote commissioned choralsuites,cantatasand other vocal works during the early 1970s. In the 1970s he saw a performance ofMolière's classic satire,Tartuffe,which inspired him to write his first opera. He wrote his own libretto, as he does for all his operas. Premiered in 1980 by theSan Francisco Opera,Tartuffehas since played to audiences in Canada, China, Russia, Austria, Germany, Sweden, Hungary and Japan, as well as in the United States.

The success ofTartuffeencouraged Mechem to embark upon an opera based on the life of abolitionist,John Brown.An essay Mechem wrote for theAmerican Music Center's online magazine,New Music Box,describes the long evolution of this work.The premiere ofJohn Browndid not take place until 2008. In the twenty-some years betweenJohn Brown's inception and premiere, Mechem wrote many other compositions, including two new operas:The Rivals,based uponSheridan's classic play of the same name; andPride and Prejudice,onJane Austen's famous novel. "The Rivals" received its professional premiere in September, 2011 by the Skylight Opera Theater, Milwaukee to rave reviews— "A hit, an instant classic"."Pride and Prejudice" was given its concert premiere by theRedwood Symphonyin April 2019. Mechem'sSongs of The Slave,a suite fromJohn Brown,had its full premiere in 1994 and has enjoyed more than 100 performances.

In 1990 Mechem made his first of three trips to Russia, then still the Soviet Union. That year he was a guest of honor at theTchaikovsky International Competitionin Moscow, and was invited back for an all-Mechem symphonic concert by theUSSRRadio-Television Orchestra in March 1991, the first time a Soviet orchestra had devoted an entire concert to a living American composer. Five years later he was invited to attend the Russian-language premiere ofTartuffeby the Mussorgsky National Theater for Opera and BalletinSt. Petersburg.

Throughout his career Mechem continued to write commissioned choral works. In 2007 theAmerican Choral Directors Associationcelebrated his 50 years of choral publications with a retrospective concert, performed by the Western Illinois University Singers, at its national convention.

References/bibliography

• Composers on Composing for Choir,Tom Wine, ed., GIA, 2007.

Much of the information for this article was drawn from the "Kirke Mechem" chapter, pp 83–119. The chapter also includes several articles on music written previously by Mechem:

• • "The Text Trap", first published in theChoral Journal,November, 2003
  • "Commissioning New Choral Music", a checklist prepared forACDA
  • "Alienation and Entertainment", first published in theChoral Journal,March,1973; republished, March, 1998.
• Interview aboutTartuffewith Hannah Williams,University of Michigan,American Music Institute,Living Music Project,October 30, 2004.
• Interview for program notes ofSan Francisco Choral Society,Carol Talbeck, 2007.
• Kirke Mechem, "An American Opera Network", inPerspectives: Creating and Producing Contemporary Opera and Musical Theater,Opera America,1983, revised and reprinted inEncoremagazine, Opera America, 1999.
• Kirke Mechem, "Confessions of A Hymn Bandit: The Amazing Case of 'Blow Ye The Trumpet'",Chorus AmericaVOICE,Spring, 2004.
• Kirke Mechem, "The Chronic Crisis", remarks for theMusic Critics Association of North America,published inSan Francisco Classical Voice,August 5, 2003.

External links

• complete catalog of Mechem's music; links to reviews.
• Schirmer's Mechem pages.
• KM article: "Why John Brown?"
• KM article: "John Brown:Evolution of An Opera. "
• Interview with Kirke Mechem,November 16, 1991