Donald Grantham

From Wind Repertory Project
Donald Grantham

Biography

Donald Grantham (b. 9 November 1947 in Duncan, Oklahoma) is an American composer and educator.

He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oklahoma, and a master’s degree from the University of Southern California. Grantham went on to study at the American Conservatory in France with Nadia Boulanger.

Grantham is highly regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential composers for winds working today. Grantham is the recipient of numerous awards and prizes in composition, including the Prix Lili Boulanger, the Nissim/ASCAP Orchestral Composition Prize, First Prize in the Concordia Chamber Symphony's Awards to American Composers, a Guggenheim Fellowship, three grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, three First Prizes in the NBA/William Revelli Competition, two First Prizes in the ABA/Ostwald Competition, and First Prize in the National Opera Association's Biennial Composition Competition.

His music has been praised for its "elegance, sensitivity, lucidity of thought, clarity of expression and fine lyricism" in a citation awarded by the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. In recent years his works have been performed by the orchestras of Cleveland, Dallas, Atlanta and the American Composers Orchestra among many others, and he has fulfilled commissions in media from solo instruments to opera. His music is published by Piquant Press, Peer-Southern, E. C. Schirmer and Mark Foster, and a number of his works have been commercially recorded. Along with Kent Kennan he is co-author of The Technique of Orchestration, published by Prentice-Hall.

Donald Grantham is the Frank C. Erwin Centennial Professor in Music at the University of Texas at Austin Butler School of Music, where he teaches composition.


Works for Winds


Resources

  • Camphouse, Mark, editor. (2004) Composers on Composing for Band. Volume 2. Chicago: GIA Publications. pp. 97–124.
  • Davis, Paul Gordon (2007). The historical and musical correlation of "The southern harmony and musical companion" with Donald Grantham's "Southern harmony". University of Texas at Austin, Doctoral Dissertation.
  • Donald Grantham website (Piquant Press)
  • Donald Grantham. Wikipedia. Accessed 2 July 2023
  • Feagin, T. André. "Let Evening Come." In Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Volume 10, Compiled and edited by Richard Miles, 635-641. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2015.
  • Ginocchio, John F. "Baron Piquante on Pointe." In Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Volume 9, edit. & comp. by Richard Miles, 297-307. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2013.
  • Glaser, Kyle R. "Sol y Sombra." In Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Volume 10, Compiled and edited by Richard Miles, 470-476. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2015.
  • Hamilton, Craig V. "Shenandoah." In Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Volume 12, Compiled and edited by Andrew Trachsel, 455-459. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2021.
  • Kitelinger, Shannon. "JS Dances." In Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Volume 6, edit. & comp. by Richard Miles, 652-659. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2007.
  • McCallum, Wendy Zander. "Symphony No. 2: "after Hafiz"." In Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Volume 11, Compiled and edited by Richard Miles, 1026-1039. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2018.
  • McCallum, Wendy. "Baron La Croix's Shuffle." In Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Volume 9, edit. & comp. by Richard Miles, 496-504. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2013.
  • McCallum, Wendy Zander. "Circa 1600." In Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Volume 12, Compiled and edited by Andrew Trachsel, 521-531. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2021.
  • McCutchen, Mathew G. (2009) An Examination of the History and Winning Pieces of the National Band Association's Composition Contest: 1977-2008. Florida State University, Doctoral Dissertation.
  • Miles, Richard B. 2000. Teaching Music Through Performance in Band. Volume 3. Chicago: GIA Publications. pp. 666.
  • Morehouse, Christopher. "Fantasy on 'In Dulci Jubilo'." In Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Volume 11, Compiled and edited by Richard Miles, 549-556. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2018.
  • Popejoy, James. "Court Music." In Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Volume 6, edit. & comp. by Richard Miles, 775-782. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2007.
  • Schallert, Gary. "Spangled Heavens." In Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Volume 9, edit. & comp. by Richard Miles, 404-415. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2013.
  • Speck, Gary A. "Baron Cimetiére's Mambo." In Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Volume 6, edit. & comp. by Richard Miles, 753-761. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2007.