CLARINET
篳篥 Hichiriki
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THOMAS PIERCY
Clarinet Hichiriki トーマス・ピアシー クラリネット 篳篥 Thomas Piercy is a critically acclaimed musician with orchestral, concerto, solo recital and chamber music appearances throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. Described by The New York Times as “Brilliant...playing with refinement and flair…evoking a panache in the contemporary works…,” Mr. Piercy presents audiences to varied and exciting concerts of standard classical music, jazz-inspired programs, contemporary works, pieces written specifically for him and his own original arrangements, compositions and collaborations. Piercy's repertoire ranges from the Classical period to premieres of compositions written for him by some of the most outstanding composers of today, including Ned Rorem, Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, Jennifer Higdon, Fernando Otero, and Shoichi Yabuta. A versatile artist defying categorization – performing on the Emmy Award-winning Juno Baby CDs and DVDs; playing Rhapsody in Blue with pianist Earl Wild; performing concert improvisations with pianist Donal Fox; performing Mozart with mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade; playing Broadway songs with Raoul Julia; conducting Cabaret or Rodgers & Hammerstein; working with the composer Leonard Bernstein; appearing in a KRS-ONE music video; playing hichiriki in Japan and the U.S.; recording with members of Maroon 5; performing for Broadway and Off-Broadway, television, radio, video and commercial recordings. Piercy performs and records on rare rosewood English-bore clarinets made for him by Luis Rossi of Santiago, Chile. His sound has been described by critics as "uniquely beautiful and consistently warm." Mr. Piercy has performed at many of the worlds acclaimed concerts halls including Carnegie Hall (NY, NY), Lincoln Center (NY, NY), the Kennedy Center (Washington, DC.), the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series (Chicago, Illinois), Centre Pompidou (Paris, France), Wigmore Hall (London, England), Accademia di Santa Cecilia (Rome, Italy); andTokyo Opera City (Tokyo, Japan). Piercy's many festival appearances have included a featured performance in memory of Leon Russianoff at the 1991 International ClarinetFest, a concert of contemporary American music at the 2005 ClarinetFest in Tokyo, Japan, and an all-Piazzolla concert at the 2007 International Clarinet Festival in Vancouver, Canada. He has performed in concerts and festivals in England, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, The United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Japan, and Thailand. Mr. Piercy has received grants for recordings, commissions, and performances from the Cary Trust (1999-2010), the Scandinavian Foundation, the International Clarinet Association, New York State Council on the Arts (1999-2022), the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (1999-2022), NYC Creative Engagement (2020), and New Music USA (2020). Piercy's earliest studies were in both voice and clarinet. A recipient of numerous scholarships, prizes, and awards, he studied clarinet, voice and conducting at the Juilliard School, Mannes College of Music, Virginia Commonwealth University and Shenandoah Conservatory. Piercy's earliest studies were in both voice and clarinet. He began his college education studying clarinet under Dr. Stephen Johnston at Shenandoah Conservatory and Gailyn Parks at Virginia Commonwealth University. He later moved to New York City to study with Gervase De Peyer under scholarship at Mannes College of Music; he continued to study extensively with De Peyer after leaving Mannes. Piercy later studied with and soon became an assistant to the renowned clarinet pedagogue Leon Russianoff; additional clarinet studies and reed-making studies were undertaken with clarinetist Kalmen Opperman. He has had arrangements and transcriptions published by Boosey & Hawkes, and as an assistant to Kalmen Opperman, he has contributed to clarinet study books and clarinet compositions published by Carl Fischer, Inc., and Baron Publishing. In demand as a clarinet, sax and voice teacher, many of Piercy's students have gone on to schools and careers in music. Piercy is currently the Artistic Director and clarinetist of the Gotham Ensemble. A mixed vocal and instrumental ensemble based in New York City, the Gotham Ensemble premieres, performs and records a wide variety of repertoire, from the Classical to the avant-garde. A New York Times review of Gotham's Merkin Hall, New York City, performance of a program of Olav Thommessen's music specifically encouraged the public to go out and purchase the recordings. After a performance of Ned Rorem's "Ariel" at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Mr. Rorem wrote of Gotham as one of America's important chamber music groups performing new music today. Albany Records released “Gotham Ensemble Plays Ned Rorem” - a CD of Ned Rorem's chamber music featuring the clarinet. Mr. Piercy is also the Artistid Director of “Tokyo to New York”, a composer/performer ensemble based in NYC and Tokyo. "Tokyo to New York” celebrates the connections between Tokyo and New York City with concerts in Tokyo and New York - and throughout the world. The concerts feature new works composed for Western classical instruments as well as traditional Japanese instruments. The composers come from Japan, NYC, and throughout the world and include a wide variety of contemporary styles of music. The composers have ranged from 10 to 99 years of age, and come from all walks of life and experience: from elementary and university students to university professors; from self-taught composers to composers with PhDs; from emerging composers to composers that have won such prominent awards as the Takemitsu Prize, Grammy Award, Latin Grammy Award, and the Pulitzer Prize. The musicians of “Tokyo to New York” have had the opportunity to work with many of the Japanese and American composers programmed in these concerts, and since 2012, “Tokyo to New York” has performed over 200 world premieres and numerous Japan and United States Premieres. The New York Times selected “Tokyo to New York” concerts as a critics’ concert of the week; NYClassical Review wrote of a “Tokyo to New York” concert as a season highlight; and a review from Lucid Culture Magazine described a “Tokyo to New York” concert as "…a fascinatingly eclectic, virtuosic program of new chamber works." A frequent performer of new music, Mr. Piercy has premiered over 300 compositions composed for him. The works, for clarinet, bass clarinet or hichiriki, include solo pieces, duos, trios, quartets, larger mixed ensembles, concertos and double concertos. Ned Rorem, a Pulitzer Prize winner and Grammy Award-winning composer, wrote his only clarinet and piano piece, "Four Colors," for Mr. Piercy. The work had its premiere at an 80th birthday concert celebration for Mr. Rorem at Carnegie Hall. A short list of the composers he has worked with and premiered their works (many of them written for him) include Milton Babbit, Kei Daigo, Masatora Goya, Osamu Kawakami, Migaku Kitsukawa, Yu Kuwabara, Yasunoshin Morita, Jun Nagao, Senri Oe, Miho Sasaki, Hifumi Shimoyama,, Kazuyuki Taguchi, Ippo Tsuboi, Shoichi Yabuta, Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, Ed Bland, Jean-Patrick Besingrand, Wendy Mae Chambers, , David Del Tredici, Elisenda Fabrégas, Donal Fox, Melissa Grey, Daron Hagen, Jennifer Higdon, Katherine Hoover, Bin Li, David Loeb, Fernando Otero, Russell Platt, Paul Anthony Romero, Ned Rorem, Michael Schelle, Olav Anton Thommessen, and many others. A more comprehensive list of composers’ works he has premiered can be found here: http://www.thomaspiercy.com/composer-premieres.html Piercy's discography includes "Gotham Ensemble Plays Ned Rorem", a CD of chamber music featuring the clarinet (Albany Records), "CAFE", a CD of music for clarinet and guitar (Tonada Records), the world-premiere recording of Sir Richard Rodney Bennett's "Ballad in Memory of Shirley Horn" and the Emmy Award winning CDs and DVDs "Juno Baby." He can also be heard on commercials, film and theater recordings. He has recorded for the Albany, Capstone, DGI, Changing Tones, NJST, and Tonada Records labels. Thomas Piercy is an official Rossi Clarinet, Forestone Reeds and Silverstein Artist.
www.rossiclarinet.com www.forestone-japan.com www.silversteinworks.com
Short Bio
Thomas Piercy, based in NYC and Tokyo, is a critically acclaimed musician with orchestral, concerto, recital and chamber music appearances throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. He has been described by The New York Times as “Brilliant...playing with refinement and flair…evoking a panache in the contemporary works.” A versatile artist defying categorization – performing on the Emmy Award-winning Juno Baby CDs and DVDs; performing with pianist Earl Wild and Frederica von Stade; working with Leonard Bernstein; appearing in a KRS-ONE rap music video; playing hichiriki in Japan; recording with members of Maroon 5 and other pop groups; premiering many works composed for him; performing on Broadway and Off-Broadway, television, radio, and commercial recordings. Piercy's repertoire ranges from music from the Classical period to premieres of compositions written for him by some of the most outstanding composers of today, including Ned Rorem, Jennifer Higdon, Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, Fernando Otero, and Shoichi Yabuta. A frequent performer of new music, Mr. Piercy has premiered over 300 compositions composed for him. The composers have ranged from 10 to 99 years of age, and come from all walks of life and experience: from elementary and university students to university professors; from self-taught composers to composers with PhDs; from emerging composers to composers that have won such prominent awards as the Grammy Award, the Latin Grammy Award, the Takemitsu Prize, the Geneva Prize, and the Pulitzer Prize. Studied at the Juilliard School and Mannes School of Music. Clarinet studies with Gervase De Peyer, Dr. Stephen Johnston, Leon Russianoff, and Kalmen Opperman; hichiriki studies with Hitomi Nakamura. Recordings for Albany, Capstone, DGI, Changing Tones, NJST, Tonada Records and more. More information: www.thomaspiercy.com Thomas Piercy is an official Rossi Clarinet, Forestone Reeds and Silverstein Artist.
www.rossiclarinet.com www.forestone-japan.com www.silversteinworks.com トーマス・ピアシー
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