Boston-based freelance composer James Ricci has been composing new and
compelling music for over three decades. Born in New York City in the
mid-1950s, Ricci was exposed to a wide-variety of musical idioms and
styles. As a guitarist he has performed everything from atonal free-form
jazz to C&W to psychedelic rock. Fired by the global crosscurrents
and experimentation of the 1960’s and 70’s era avant garde, Ricci
branched out into the world of contemporary concert music.
He studied with jazz guitarist Steve Khan while in high school, but was largely
self-taught until 1972 when he received conservatory training at Juilliard. He moved
to Boston in 1973 and attended the Berklee
College of Music where he obtained a degree in music composition
(B.M.1976). Further studies and advanced degrees followed at the New England Conservatory
(M.M. 1980 with distinction) and at Brandeis University (M.F.A. 1986, Ph.D. ABD).
Ricci's principal composition teachers were Donald
Martino and Martin
Boykan. He has participated in diverse seminars and master classes
both in Europe and the United States with composers György Ligeti, Sir
Peter Maxwell Davies, Earle Brown, Jacob Druckman, Ralph Shapey, Betsy Jolas,
Sylvano Bussotti, Anthony Payne, and others. He studied under Milton
Babbitt at the Indiana
University Composer's Forum and at the Yale
Norfolk Summer School of Music with Elliott Carter.
As a former
co-director of the LUMEN Contemporary Music Ensemble, Ricci curated
concerts of new music - including several celebratory retrospectives of work by
his teachers. His String Quartet (1984) - a work that won mention in
the 1985 Boston League-ISCM Competition - has been recorded by the QX String
Quartet for future commercial release.
In the early
1980s Ricci was a bell ringer at Boston's Old
North Church and was awarded a Brandeis Sachar travel grant in 1984 to
study English Change Ringing.
He has rung in bell towers throughout the US, Canada, and England.
An impressive roster of musicians have performed his works, including Irina Chirkova, Jan
Insinger, Kenneth Radnofsky, Wouter
Schmidt, Willemien Insinger, Wilma Smith, the Lydian
String Quartet, the QX String Quartet, the Xanthos Ensemble,
Duo Atlantica, the LUMEN Contemporary Music Ensemble, the Fauxharmonic Orchestra, the Annex
Players, Solar
Winds, Collage New Music and pianists Martin Amlin, Donald Berman, John McDonald, Catherine Remus
Shefski, I-Yun Chung, and Janice
Weber.
New Music Connoisseur
described Ricci’s Sonatina for solo viola as “…cleverly
expressed, while the string writing is emotive, showy, and telling--a fine
listen.” Ricci was nominated three times for an award from the
American Academy of Arts and Letters.
List of
Works:
DodeKagon
(1975) for Clarinet
Performed by Larry Scripp (Annex Players) at
Quintet
(1976) for Fl., Cl., Vln., Vla. and Vlc.
String
Trio (1977) for Vln., Vla., and Vlc.
The
Frog Prince (1977) for Soprano and Bassoon (Text from
"Transformations" by Anne Sexton)
Shadows
of Synchronicity
(1977) for Fl., Ob., Cl.,
Tpt., Trb., Vln, Vla, Vlc, Pno, and Perc.
Performed at NEC Composers Concert, Jordan Hall, 1978
Three
Taoist Songs
(1978) for Soprano and
Clarinet
Performed at NEC Composers’ concert, 1979
The
Round and the Square
(1978) for Violin and
Piano
Invention
(1979) for Guitar
Performed by John Armstrong
at Dunster House Library, Harvard University,
Syntropy (1979) -Electronic Music (Text from by R. Buckminster
Fuller, read by Ezra Sims)
Nexus
(1979) for Orchestra
Read by the New
England Conservatory Repertory Orchestra, 1979
Four Movements
(1980) for Flute and
Piano
Performed by Judy Chemey
and Martin Amlin at Brandeis University, 1980
Metalogue
(1981) for Solo Violin
Performed by Wilma Smith at Brandeis University,
Edaneres
(1981) for Chamber Orchestra
Read by Yale Norfolk Summer School Orchestra, Arthur Weisberg conductor, 1981
Diafonia
(1981) for Two Pianos (Finalist, Boston
ISCM Competition 1983)
Performed by Martin Amlin and Janice Weber at
Fantasy
(1984) for Bassoon (also exists as a
Bass Clarinet transcription)
Performed by Amy Travis at
String
Quartet (1984)
Honorable Mention, Boston ISCM
Competition 1985
Performed by the Lydian String Quartet at Brandeis University, 5/18/1985
and
by the QX String Quartet at Brookline Public Library, 12/3/2007
Duo
(1986) for Two Violins - to Tony and Titia
Minute
Waltz (1989) for Clarinet and Piano - to David and Beth
Plain
Hunt on Eight
(1990) for Flute and
Guitar
Performed by Willemien Insinger and Armand Qualliotine, 1990
Duo
(1999) for Flute Duo
Performed by Willemien Insinger and Mies Boet-Whitaker (Duo
Atlantica) 4/8/2001and
Three
Pieces (1999) for Piano
Performed by John McDonald
Concerto
for Piano and Chamber Orchestra (2000)
Sonatina
(2000) for Solo Viola
Performed by Wouter Schmidt
Piano Quintet (2001) for Pno.,
Vln. (2), Vla., Vlc. 
Mov. I (.Pdf)
Mov. II (.Pdf)
Mov. III
(.Pdf)
(electronic realization)
Mov. I (.MP3)
Mov. II (.MP3)
Mov. III (MP3)
Tone
Poem (2003) for Orchestra Listen (.MP3) (electonic realization) Score (.Pdf)
Birthday
Tune (2003) for Piano (for Cathrien
Insinger-Soutendam's 80th Birthday)
Performed by Loukie Insinger
Lyric Piece (2003) for Flute Duo
Performed by Willemien
Insinger & Mies Boet-Whitaker (Duo Atlantica)
Quintet (2003) for Fl., Cl., Vln., Vlc., Pno. Mov.
I (.Pdf) Mov.
II (.Pdf) Mov.
III (.Pdf) Mov. III (.MP3)
Performed by the Xanthos Ensemble 6/3/2007 (Newton Public Library), 6/4/2007
(Berklee College of Music)
Indigo
Blue (2004) for Flute and Piano Score
(.Pdf) Indigo Blue
Performed by Willemien Insinger with John McDonald 6/20/2004, and Victor
Troll 11/16/2008
Petite
Suite (2004) for unaccompanied Violoncello Mov. I
Mov. II Mov. III Mov. IV
Mov. V
(Listen .MP3) Mov. I Mov. II Mov. III Mov. IV Mov. V
Performed by Jan Insinger 2004 (
To the Solar Winds (2004) for Woodwind Quintet Score (.Pdf) Listen (.MP3)
Commissioned by the Arlington Council for the Arts
Performed by
Song
without Words
(2005) for Piano Score (.Pdf) Listen (.MP3)
"an evocatively
musing and third-laden essay subtly tinged with early Berg" -
www.newmusicon.org
Performed by:
Donald Berman 2/5/2006 John Knowles Paine Hall, Harvard University
I-Yun Chung 11/19/2010 The Lily Pad, Cambridge, MA
Cathy
Remus Shefski 3/19/2011 Salon
Concert Series The Music Studio Clarks
Summit, PA
Waltz (2005) for Piano Score (.Pdf)
014
Blues (2006) for Piano Score (.Pdf)
Fantasy-Variations (2006) for Piano Score (.Pdf) Listen (.MP3)
Performed by
Donald Berman 2/5/2006 John Knowles Paine Hall, Harvard University
Boogie
Woogie (2006) for Piano Score (.Pdf) Listen (.MP3) (electonic realization)
Lux
Aeterna (2006) for Choir (SATB)
Harold in Italy (2007) for Alto Saxophone and Piano
(a sonata in three movements "...some nostalgic and poignant
moods, though it finished with a rollicking tango" -
Pyracantha's Weblog
Performed by Kenneth Radnofsky and John
McDonald 4/29/2007 (LUMEN) and by
Rachel G. Cox and Robert Jeter 10/2/2010 ETSU
Music Dept., Mathes Hall East Tennessee State University Johnson City, TN
Two-Part
Invention (2008) for Piano
(Also exists with added Cello part as Three-Part Invention)
Performed
by Jasper and Jan Insinger 3/13/2011 in Landsmeer, the Netherlands
Fantasia
(2008) for String Quartet
(Also exists as Quintet for
three Violins, Viola, and Cello)
Chamber
Symphony (2009) in three movements
Pong
(2009) for two Flutes
Variations
(2009) for Piano (dedicated to David Rakowski)
Soliloquy
(2010) for solo Flute
Performed by Willemien Insinger
Three
Perambulations (2010) for Fl, Cl (doubling on B. Cl), Vln, Vlc, Pno,
and Perc.
Performed
by Collage New Music 3/6/2011 Pickman Concert Hall, Longy School of Music,
Cambridge, MA
Elegy
(2011) for Violin and Piano
Contact:
info@jamesricci.com Blog: www.deconstructing-jim.blogspot.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/JimRicci
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Last updated May 24th, 2011