Eli Parrish
Biography
Eli Parrish (b. 6 October 2001) is an American composer, conductor, clarinetist and student.
In 2023, Mr. Parrish was a student at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga. As a student of Davor Vincze, Katherine Young, and Adam Mirza, he frequently collaborates with other young composers in the Emory composition studio to curate showcases and workshops for new music.
Parrish studies orchestral and wind ensemble conducting with Paul Bhasin. He conducts and serves as music director for the Emory Pep Band and the Emory Young People's Concert Orchestra. As a student conductor, Parrish has rehearsed and premiered original compositions and standard repertoire featuring the United States Army Band Brass, artist affiliates at various universities, and the Emory Wind Ensemble.
Mr. Parrish's instrumental mentors include Atlanta Symphony Orchestra clarinetists Laura Ardan (principal emeritus) and Marci Gurnow (associate principal). He currently[2023] serves as principal clarinetist in the Emory University Symphony Orchestra and Emory Wind Ensemble in addition to various chamber ensembles.
Parrish began his compositional career with a niche for wind instruments and symphonic bands. His music has been performed across the United States and Europe with premieres at the Teatro Amilcare Ponchielli (Cremona, Italy), Cortile Palazzo Fodri (Cremona, Italy), the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts (Atlanta, Ga), and the University of the South's Guerry Hall (Sewanee, Tenn.). His works for chamber groups, solo instruments, and large ensembles explore theatrics, environmentalism, and sound-to-color. Parrish's recent festivals include the Cremona Summer Music Festival (2023), Darmstadt Summer Festival (2023), and the Sewanee Summer Music Festival (2022).
In support of his 2023-2024 honors project, The Unifying Principles of Performance and Compositional Intent, Parrish was awarded the John and Mary Virginia Foncannon Conducting/Coaching Scholarship through the Mu Phi Epsilon Foundation. Other honors associated with this project include Parrish's fellowship as the 2023-2024 Music Scholar in the John H. Gordon Stipe Society and recipient of the Katherine Blumenthal Award.
Works for Winds
- Fanfare for an Introvert (2022)
- Feathers of Burgundy and Gold (2022)
Resources
- Eli Parrish, personal correspondence, February 2023
- Eli Parrish website Accessed 26 February 2023