Noted as having an "ear for sophisticated and intriguing spacing and textures" (Washington Post), Erich Stem has had performances of his music in the U.S. and in Europe by groups such as the Minnesota Orchestra (Composer Institute), Richmond Symphony, Plymouth Music Series Orchestra, Sunrise Quartet, Opus 3 trio, and the Aurelia Saxophone Quartet. Stem’s chamber music has been recorded on labels such as Living Artist Recordings and Challenge Records and has appeared on several regional and national radio programs including The Latest Score, Brave New World, FOLDOVER, Vast Field and WCVE's Classical Music with Bobbie Barajas. Today, Stem continues to write for some of the most recognized ensembles and artists including Italian guitarist Christian Saggese and the Cadillac Moon Ensemble from New York.
Throughout his career, Stem has received awards and grants from a variety of organizations such as the Jerome Foundation, Meet the Composer, American Music Center, ASCAP, University of Maryland, and Indiana University. In addition to composition, Stem has taught at St. Mary's College of Maryland and the University of Maryland and has held positions with various non-profit organizations in an effort to promote new music. He is the founder and director of New Dynamic Records , a new record label produced by Indiana University Southeast for the purpose of discovering, recording, and distributing works by composers of the 21st century. Stem holds degrees from James Madison University (BM '96) and the University of Maryland (DMA '03) and is currently an assistant professor of music and resident composer at Indiana University Southeast .
***NEWS!***
3/23/09
The Louisville Saxophone Quartet recently commissioned a piece from Stem - The work will be scored for sax quartet and percussion and will be performed at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts, with possible additional performances throughout the country including the National Saxophone Alliance National Conference in 2010.
To hear the Lousville Saxophone Quartet, please visit their site at: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewpro
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3/12/09
Stem’s most recent piece, Revisited, was premiered by the Cadillac Moon Ensemble in New York at the Gershwin Hotel. Since Japanese shakuhachi music is at the center of the entire work (especially the last two movements which quote music from two shakuhachi pieces, San’an and Zangetsu), Revisited focuses a lot of attention on techniques/ideas frequently heard in shakuhachi music, such as pitch bending, timbral changes on single pitches, pentatonic scales, and an organic rhythmic pulse. The only difference is that the composer “revisits†the music once again, integrating different musical styles within the piece to produce a work that serves as a different reflection of an old Japanese musical tradition.
LATEST PERFORMANCE!
The CME will perform Revisited this Sunday, 5/24, 5pm at Pianos in New York City.
The Cadillac Moon Ensemble will also record this work as part of an upcoming album release by New Dynamic Records in 2011. To learn more about The Cadillac Moon Ensemble, please visit their site at: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewPro
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2/21/09
Stem's recently commissioned piece for saxophonist, Johan van der Linden, was performed as part of Masters on Stage, a concert in the Netherlands (Utrecht) featuring the saxophone and piano on February 21, 2009. Johan joined pianist, Henry Kelder, in performing works by Gijs van Dijk, Henry Kelder, Henk Alkema, David Rowland, and David Dramm.
12/1/08
STEM’s latest piece for guitar, Insight, will be recorded and released on CD in 2010 by the critically-acclaimed guitarist, Christian Saggese. The piece, commissioned by the guitarist in 2007, will be featured alongside other works dedicated to Saggese. Please come back to the site for possible “video previews†of the piece. To hear Saggese’s recordings, please check out his website at: http://www.myspace.com/christiansaggese
