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.
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, 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, and pianists Martin
Amlin, Donald
Berman, John
McDonald, 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.
Ricci has composed an assortment of diverse solo, chamber, and orchestral music. His newly completed pieces include a Chamber Symphony, Pong for two flutes, and a set of variations for piano. His current projects include a Trio for clarinet, bassoon, and piano for the Danish ensemble Embla.
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.
Recently, his String Quartet - a work that won mention in the 1985 Boston League-ISCM Competition - was recorded by the QX String Quartet for future commercial release.
Artist’s Statement:
“Although music
is by
nature elusive, amazingly diverse, and difficult to discuss, I find it
to be a
potent means of interpersonal communication and enlightenment.
For me,
the act of musical composition is a lifelong process of musical
development and
self-exploration, and I strive to share the results of this experience
with
anyone who will listen to my work. My music has evolved over the
past
three and a half decades, and it continues to develop and assert itself
- as if it
had a
mind of its own.”
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 
Listen (.MP3)
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) Listen (.MP3)
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 Listen (.MP3)
Performed
by Willemien Insinger and Mies Boet-Whitaker (Duo Atlantica)
4/8/2001and
Three
Pieces (1999) for
Piano Listen to 1st Movement
(.MP3)
Performed by John McDonald
Concerto
for
Piano and Chamber Orchestra
(2000)
Sonatina
(2000) for
Solo Viola Listen (.MP3)
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 Score (.Pdf)
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
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
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)
"...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)
Two-Part Invention (2008) for Piano
Fantasia (2008) for String Quartet
Chamber Symphony (2009) in three movements
Pong (2009) for two flutes
Variations (2009) for piano (dedicated to David Rakowski)
... from Brandeis University (1980-86)
Allen Anderson Ross Bauer Peter Child Alvaro Cordero Peter Lieberson
Steven Mackey Maria A. Niederberger Sally Pinkas Armand Qualliotine
... from New England Conservatory (1978-80)
Robert Aldridge Richard Cornell Richard Danielpour Michael Gandolfi Kenneth Girard
David Kowalski Gary Philo David Rakowski Amy Reich Jody Rockmaker Mathew Rosenblum
Marc Rossi Anne Shreffler
... from Berklee (1973-76)
Harry Chalmiers Shirish Korde Markus Stockhausen
... and friends
Ezra Sims Robert Ceely Stuart Jones Jim Michmerhuizen
All Rights Reserved
Last updated December 1st, 2009