From: Andy Ditzler (email suppressed)
Date: Sun Aug 27 2006 - 11:54:04 PDT
James Tenney was a great composer, and an early pioneer of electronic
music. He was a friend of Stan Brakhage's since the 1950s and appeared
in several early Brakhage films: Desistfilm, Loving, Cat's Cradle. He
also appears with Carolee Schneemann in her film Fuses.
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Andy Ditzler
Begin forwarded message:
From: David Rosenboom <email suppressed>
Date: 26 August 2006 1:59:13 PM PDT
To: email suppressed
Subject: James Tenney 1934-2006
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
I write both to communicate sad news about the passing of our
esteemed and revered colleague, composer, James Tenney, and to begin
an invocation to celebrate the boundlessly creative spirit and
uniquely productive life of a great musical artist. Jim died
peacefully late Thursday night, August 24th, 2006 after a difficult
battle with cancer. His tenacity in life and his determined,
affirming energy never wavered. His keenly focused composing and
theoretical work continued nearly to his last moments. During recent
years at CalArts, Jim taught the works of composers he referred to as
American musical mavericks. Clearly he was also one of the greats
among them. History will remember him as a vitally significant
American artist. Jim was a faculty member in the School of Music in
the early 1970s when CalArts was finding footing as a somewhat
maverick arts institution, and he returned later in the 1990s to
assume the Roy E. Disney Family Chair in Musical Composition. In the
interim, he taught at the University of California at Santa Cruz and
York University, in Toronto. Jim’s mere presence on campus was always
inspiring, touching countless lives over the years. A master teacher,
treasured by so many, he was also a close personal friend and often
collaborator over at least three decades. He will be greatly missed,
and we will continue to celebrate the continuity, the power, and the
encouraging, constructive quality of his influence, along with his
devotion to the forward evolution of music as an essential force in
the life of all human kind.
A brief memorial service will be held in Roy O. Disney Recital Hall
at CalArts on Monday, August 28th, 2006 at 11:00 AM. A concert
celebrating Tenney’s life and work will be planned for later in the
fall.
A brief biography of Tenney can be found at:
http://www.calarts.edu/schools/music/faculty/tenney.html
David Rosenboom, Composer/Performer
Dean, School of Music
California Institute of the Arts
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For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.