Thomas Schudel | The Canadian Encyclopedia

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Thomas Schudel

Thomas (Michael) Schudel. Composer, bassoonist, teacher, b Defiance, O, 8 Sep 1937; B SC music education (Ohio) 1959, MA music theory (Ohio) 1961, DMA (Michigan) 1971.

Schudel, Thomas

Thomas (Michael) Schudel. Composer, bassoonist, teacher, b Defiance, O, 8 Sep 1937; B SC music education (Ohio) 1959, MA music theory (Ohio) 1961, DMA (Michigan) 1971. He joined the faculty of the University of Regina in 1964, served 1975-8 as head of the music department, and continued in 1991 to teach woodwinds and theory. He was principal bassoon with the Regina Symphony Orchestra 1964-7 and 1968-70. He won first prize in the 1972 International Competition for Symphonic Composition at Trieste, Italy, for his Symphony No.1. Schudel has received commissions from, among others, the CBC, the Regina SO, and the Saskatchewan Choral Federation. His compositions until the early 1980s were largely dependent on instrumental colour. They were atonal, developing structurally from small motivic cells. His music then became more modal and tonal with a considerable amount of chromaticism. He is an associate of the Canadian Music Centre and a member of the CLComp.

Selected Compositions

Orchestra and Band
Symphony No. 1. 1971. Ms

Variations for Orchestra. 1976. Ms

Triptych. 1978. Concert Band. Ms

Prairie Wilderness. 1979. Str orch. Ms

Symphony No. 2. 1983. Orch. Ms

Elegy and Exaltation. 1984. Concert band. Ms

Piccolo Concerto. 1988. Picc, string orch, percussion. Ms

Chamber

Arietta and Scherzo. 1977. Bn, piano. Shawnee 1980

Chanson and Minuet. 1977. Fl, piano. Kendor 1987

Nocturne and Dance. 1977. Ob, piano. Shawnee 1980

Duel No. 1. 1980. 2 clarinet. Dorn 1982?

Four by Two. 1980. Hn, mar. Dorn 1982

Suite from Winterpiece. 1980. Ww quintet. Dorn 1981

Queer Cornered Cap (A. Campbell). 1982. Mezzo, fl, mar. Ms

Chronicles (P. Lane). 1984. Narr, alto, fl, oboe, trombone, percussion. Ms

Etchings. 1985. Hn, piano. Southern 1988

Line Drawings. 1985. Solo tuba. Cazes Cuivres. 1987

Incantations. 1986. Db, percussion. Ms

Edging Out (A. Campbell). 1987. Sop, fl, oboe, vibraphone. Ms

Intermezzo for Flute and B-flat Clarinet. 1987. Alry 1988

Pentagram. 1987. Saxophone quartet, percussion. Ms

Three Preludes, 1987. Harmonica, piano. Ms

Also works for violin and piano, brass, guitar, and other instr ensemble

Choral

Psalm 23. 1968 (rev 1974). SATB. Ms

Three Choral Compositions on Poetry of Robert Frost. 1981. SATB. Ms

Also three arrangements for SATB of writings by E.A. Poe (1981). All manuscript

Also works for piano (1977-85); three settings of poems by E. Dickinson for medium voice and piano (1981); and three works for bells, Celebration Suite, Jubilus, and Wascana Chimes, recorded by the Regina Bell Ringers (1988, Tunison BC-1201); all manuscript

Further Reading