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Charles Griffin was born in New York in 1968. He earned his B. A. in voice and composition and M. A. in composition from Queens College, City University of New York, and a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. He has studied composition with Bruce Saylor, Judith Lang-Zaimont, Dominick Argento and Stephen Paulus. He has received grants from ASCAP, Meet the Composer, Queens Council on the Arts and New Dramatists; in 2001 he was chosen to receive an orchestral reading by the Plymouth Music Series orchestra as part of the American Composers Forum’s Orchestral Reading Project, as well as the Dale Warland Singer’s New Choral Music Commissioning Program; has won an ASCAP Foundation Grant to Young Composers and the LADO Award; and was finalist in the Tolly Guitar Composition Contest and the Chautauqua Choral Composition Contests, among others. In 2002 he will enjoy two choral residencies, writing four pieces for NYC’s St. Ignatius Loyola, St. Bartholomew’s Church, Temple Emanu-el Synagogue and the Frank Sinatra High School for the Arts. He is currently fulfilling commissions from The Darkwood Consort (ID) and pianist Teresa McCollough (CA) and scoring a short film, City Hall. His works have been performed throughout the U.S. and in Cuba, Mexico, Canada and Europe by such ensembles as The Meridian String Quartet, The Amherst Sax Quartet, and The Quintet of the Americas, in such venues as Merkin and Weill Recital Halls in New York, Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, the Landmark Center in St. Paul, Caruth Auditorium in Dallas, and the Aspen, Spoleto and International Cervantino Festivals. Previous commissions have come from baritone soloist Derrick Pennix, the Westchester Chamber Orchestra, Ethos Percussion Group, the California-based Piedmont Choirs, from Goliard Concerts for a collaborative work with visual artist Karen Fitzgerald, The Lark Ascending together with the Lyric Arts Trio, and pianist Marc Peloquin. Since 1995 Griffin has worked as a freelance copyist, orchestrator or arranger on projects for Phillips Classics, Jessye Norman, Hugh Downs, Yo Yo Ma, and President Clinton’s Inauguration. He is a member of ASCAP, former Director of the New York Chapter of the American Composers Forum, and on the board of directors of the Long Island Composers Alliance. His compact disc recordings include From the Faraway Nearby by the Goldspiel-Provost guitar duo; Vernacular Dances by California-based pianist Teresa McCollough, The Persistence of Past Chemistries by Ethos Percussion Group and Agnus Dei by the Piedmont Choirs. He has taught on the adjunct faculty of New Jersey City University and is currently an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Hofstra University. |
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