Jay Reise

Title: Paraphonia
Commission: 1977
Completed: 1978
Instrumentation: chamber orchestra
Premiere Location: Lang Concert Hall, Swarthmore College, PA
Premiere Ensemble: Penn Contemporary Players
Notes:

Deeply influenced by Carnatic (South Indian) music and jazz (especially Jimmy Giuffre and George Russell), the music of Jay Reise is characterized by rich harmonies, dramatic gestures and vibrant rhythms. His music has been performed widely both in the United States and abroad including an all-Reise retrospective concert in Moscow in 2000.

Reise was born in New York City and his teachers included George Crumb, Jimmy Giuffre, Hugh Hartwell, Adrian L’Armand, and Richard Wernick. He has lived in Philadelphia since he was appointed to the music faculty at the University of Pennsylvania in 1980. Previous to his appointment at Penn, Reise taught for four years at Hamilton College during which he composed his first two symphonies supported by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and a Guggenheim fellowship. Symphony of Voices was premiered at the Monadnock Festival, and his Symphony II was premiered by the Syracuse Symphony, conducted by Christopher Keene, and performed subsequently by the Philadelphia Orchestra. His Third Symphony was supported by the Dietrich and Rockefeller Foundations and premiered by the Long Island Philharmonic.