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Daniel Pinkham

Daniel Pinkham

Daniel Pinkhamwas born in Lynn, Massachusetts on 5 June 1923. He studied organ and harmony at Phillips Academy, Andover, with Carl F. Pfatteicher; then at Harvard with A. Tillman Merritt, Walter Piston, Archibald T. Davison and Aaron Copland (A.B. 1942; M.A. 1944). He also studied harpsichord with Putnam Aldrich and Wanda Landowska, and organ with E. Power Biggs. At Tanglewood he studied composition with Arthur Honegger and Samuel Barber, and subsequently with Nadia Boulanger.

He has taught at Simmons College, Boston University, Dartington Hall (Devon, England), and was Visiting Lecturer at Harvard University (1957-58). In 1950 he was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship and in 1962 a Ford Foundation Fellowship as a choral conductor. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is on the faculty of the New England of Conservatory of Music where he is senior professor in the Musicology Department. He is Music Director Emeritus of historic King’s Chapel in Boston where he actively served from 1958 until 2000. He is the recipient of six honorary degrees: Litt D., Nebraska Wesleyan University, 1976; Mus. D., Adrian College, 1977; Mus. D. Westminster Choir College, 1979; Mus. D. , New England Conservatory, 1993; Mus. D., Ithaca College, 1994; Mus. D., Boston Conservatory, 1998.

Pinkham is a prolific and versatile composer whose catalog includes four symphonies and other works for large ensembles; cantatas and oratorios; concertos and other works for solo instrument and orchestra for piano, piccolo, trumpet, violin, harp and three organ concertos; theatre works and chamber operas; chamber music; electronic music; and twenty documentary television film scores.

Pinkham’s orchestral works have been played by major orchestras in the United States including the New York Philharmonic under the direction of Leonard Bernstein, The Buffalo Philharmonic (which he conducted in the premiere of his Organ Concerto Number One), the Boston Pops Orchestra under the direction of John Williams and by the composer himself, the Portland Symphony Orchestra, the Louisville Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra Sinfonica Nacional de Mexico and many others. In June 1994 the London Symphony Orchestra recorded his Symphony Number Three and Symphony Number Four, Serenades for Trumpet and Symphonic Wind Orchestra and Sonata Number Three for Organ and Strings with the American organist James David Christie as soloist. In 1995 Dr. Christie premiered his Organ Concerto Number Two with the Rheinland Philharmonic Orchestra in Koblenz, Germany. In May 1997 Ray Cornils premiered his Organ Concerto Number Three with the Portland (Maine) Symphony Orchestra.

In 1990 he was named Composer of the Year by the American Guild of Organists. In 1996 he received the Alfred Nash Patterson Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award for contributions to the Choral Arts.

 

Daniel Pinkham & ECS

I met E.C.Schirmer, the founder of the company, when Columbus Avenue in Boston was the seat of operations. He had a motto – “balance glory with Money.” Translated into less crass language, it expressed his zeal for quality and distinctive musical compositions that would not necessarily be commercial successes but that could be symbolic of the company’s high standards – these efforts to be subsidized by revenues generated by sure-fire successes, in this case music for the Protestant market. The shining light was, of course, Randall Thompson.

Robert MacWilliams, grandson and successor of old Mr. Schirmer, started a subsidiary company, Ione Press, licensed with BMI. (The name Ione came from the heroine of Bulwar Litton’s The Last Days of Pompei). The practical reason for this new company was to publish works of mine, since I was a BMI composer and ECS an ASCAP publisher and restricted from publishing non-ASCAP works. This was an exciting time and there were many innovative and experimental works added to the catalog. Some of them, like my In the Beginning of Creation, called for electronic tape, then a novelty.

Under the continued commitment to the composer’s craft, Robert Schuneman, the current president, has enlarged the vision. As an adjunct to ECS Publishing he has added a new subsidiary company ARSIS, which produces elegant CD recordings including Sally Pinkas performing Piano Music by Daniel Pinkham, a disk of my organ and brass compositions, and two operas, soon to be released. But the ARSIS catalog also includes works from the high Renaissance and romantic works in first-rate performances.

The new editions are under the watchful eye of Dr. Stanley M. Hoffman and are distinguished in visual appeal and precision of notation. Another feature of ECS is that, unlike other companies which put works out of print after a few years, ECS can generate in-house-photo-archive copies. This means that no work will become unavailable.

I am proud to have my scores available from this publishing company.

Daniel Pinkham
© 2008 ECS Publishing. All rights reserved.