User talk:64.231.26.156/Article

Fred Onovwerosuoke (last name pronounced, oh-noh-well-oh-suoh-keh) ranks among American composers redefining and expanding the landscape of modern classical music. Born in Ghana to Nigerian parents, Fred Onovwerosuoke moved to the United States and eventually naturalized as American citizen. His compositions are as varied and diverse as his background, and have been taken up by musicologists, composition students, orchestras and chamber musicians, worldwide. "FredO", as friends and colleagues call him, has actively composed since the late 1980s, but it was the contribution of his short musical skit to Robert De Niro, The Good Shepherd, that immediately brought his name much needed notice. Onovwerosuoke's works have been featured in audio recordings, films, documentaries and radio, including Robert De Niro's film, The Good Shepherd, William-Chapman Nyaho's CD, ASA and Hymes/Hollister's CD African Art Music for Flute and his demo CD, Landscapes of Africa: Music for Orchestra is a much-demanded item for orchestral conductors shopping for classical music by non-European descent composers. His numerous awards include the ASCAPLUS Award, as well as Honorable Mention by the Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute. His new book, Songs of Africa: 22 Pieces for Mixed Choirs published by Oxford University Press has quickly become a favorite among choral directors across the United States and globally. The book of rhythm studies, Twenty-four Studies in African Rhythms, published in two volumes by the African Music Publishers, has become widely sought by pianists and other musicians who have transcribed some of the studies for chamber music instruments. His other significant publications are distributed by the African Music Publishers and on Amazon. Fred Onovwerosuoke serves on several boards and is a voting member of The Recording Academy (The Grammy) and other professional bodies. He has been Editor of the Voice of African Music newsletter (ISSN: 1938-2332), a newsletter he founded in 1993. Onovwerosuoke maintains an active schedule as conductor, lecturer, cross-cultural educator, and composer-in-residence. A more exhaustive list of compositions by Fred Onovwerosuoke can be found on his website, fredomusic.com, and the list includes many works for orchestra, a varied combination of chamber music groups, as well as for solo vocal and choral groups. James Manheim of AllMusic.com writes that "Onovwerosuoke's rhythmic language would be worthy of analysis by students of the long process by which a common African-American language, musical and verbal, evolved out of the multiplicity of cultures of the enslaved. The overall effect is kinetic, colorful, and imposing — any symphonic programmer looking for music that will meet urban constituencies halfway should hear this disc." Perhaps John von Rhein of the Chicago Times was more visual when he noted that "Fred Onovwerosuoke's brief "Fanfare for Strings and Timpani," in its world premiere, was a rousing evocation of a Nigerian war dance, complete with the clanging of machetes -- fortunately only simulated." Commentators at the influential American Record Guide, in the May/June 2009 issue, note of Onovwerosuoke's Twenty-four Studies in African Rhythms, that "These kinetic pieces easily get under one’s skin and they sound like they are fun to play." And MusicWeb International Music critic, Bob Briggs writes that "Fred Onovwerosuoke [in Nyaho's CD, Asa, MSR Classics 1242] gets things off to a cracking start with his Studies in African Rhythm. This is strong music with a very individual voice. Each piece imitates a dance or musical pattern and they make a very attractive suite, with lots of variety and plenty of fun. These six come from a set of 24 and I yearn to hear the others. This taster is really too good to miss..."