- David P. Sartor
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David Sartor (rhymes with "Carter") is an American composer and conductor of symphonic, chamber and choral music, and is Adjunct Professor of Composition at Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, Tennessee.
Contents
Music
Sartor is the composer of Synergistic Parable for Symphonic Band, for which he won the American Bandmasters Association's Ostwald Award for Symphonic Band Music, and Polygon for Brass Quintet, which received the National Fine Arts Award. Other notable works include Metamorphic Fanfare, commissioned by the Knoxville, TN Symphony Orchestra, Thy Light Is Come for chorus, organ, brass and timpani, commissioned by Christ Episcopal Church in Nashville, Tennessee and showcased at the Washington National Cathedral by the Cathedral Choral Society, Black Ball Counts Double for String Orchestra, which received a commendation in England's Oare International Composing Competition, Reveries for String Orchestra, winner of the Burlington (VT) Chamber Orchestra's 2009 Composer Competition and a Finalist in the Fauxharmonic Orchestra's Adagio Composition Contest, and Concerto for Orchestra, a Finalist in the Columbia Symphony Orchestra's American Composer Competition.
Sartor's compositions have been recognized with more than two dozen awards from ASCAP, Meet The Composer, Delta Omicron and New Music for Young Ensembles, among others. His music has been featured at the Tanglewood and Aspen Music Festivals, the International Double Bass Festival, the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, the International Music Festival in San Jose Costa Rica, The World's Largest Organ Concert, the Sewanee Summer Music Festival, and at Carnegie Hall, with broadcast performances on National Public Radio and local affiliates. As Guest Composer, Conductor and Lecturer his engagements include the Washington National Cathedral, Illinois State University, Middle Tennessee State University, the Nexus Chamber Orchestra and California State University, sponsored by New York City’s Meet The Composer Foundation. Additionally, Sartor is an alumnus of the acclaimed Steven Scott Smalley Film Scoring Workshop and, to date, he has scored more than two dozen video documentaries and features.
In June 2007, Sartor was awarded the Thor Johnson Memorial Commission by the Delta Omicron Foundation. The Johnson Commission, awarded every three years to a distinguished concert music composer, funds the creation of a new work to be featured at the organization’s Triennial Conference. Sartor's work for string quartet, Passages, was premiered on July 17, 2009 at the 2009 Triennial Conference by the Atlantis String Quartet; the performance also coincided with and celebrated the 100th anniversary of Delta Omicron. Following the premiere, Sartor was inducted as a National Patron of Delta Omicron in recognition of his accomplishments as a composer and conductor.
Sartor's works are recorded on the ERM Media label and are published by E.C. Schirmer, Shawnee Press, and Metamorphic Music. He currently resides in Middle Tennessee with his wife, the author Nancy Sartor.
Early life and education
Sartor was born May 25, 1956, in Nashville, Tennessee. The son of high school principal Grayl Bruce Sartor and elementary school teacher Kathleen Lipscomb Sartor, he began piano studies at age 5 with his grandmother, Sallie Lipscomb, a local piano instructor. In elementary school Sartor continued piano lessons and also began trumpet lessons, performing with his elementary school band.
Sartor attended McGavock High School in Nashville, where he was a charter member of the school's award winning Wind Ensemble and marching band under the direction of Kenton J. Hull Jr. Both Hull and Bobby Jean Frost, the school's piano and music theory teacher, encouraged Sartor's development as a composer, performer and conductor. While a student at McGavock he was Principal Trumpet in the Nashville Youth Symphony the Middle Tennessee Honor Band and the Tennessee All-State Orchestra, and frequently organized ensembles which he conducted in performances of his own compositions. He received his formal musical education at the Blair School of Music, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and the University of Tennessee, studying composition with John Anthony Lennon and David Van Vactor and conducting with Donald Neuen, with performance concentrations in trumpet, piano and percussion. Following graduation he continued the study of conducting with Karen Lynne Deal and in workshops with Kenneth Schermerhorn and John Morris Russell.
Musical Philosophy
"Composition is an act of faith. While most composers strive for artistic excellence in their work, music also serves to communicate. Without willing players and attentive audiences, any composition is merely a complex set of instructions. Every piece of music, whether new or historical, is a testament to its composer's faith in the partnership among composer, performers, and audience."
(From Mr. Sartor's web site. Used by permission.)
Major Compositions
MEDIEVAL MANIFESTO Unaccompanied Contrabass.
VARIANTS FOR SOLO TROMBONE Unaccompanied Trombone.
PRELUDE ON WILLIAM BILLINGS' "WHEN JESUS WEPT" Organ.
POSTLUDE ON WILLIAM BILLINGS' "PARIS" Organ.
OPEN DOOR Organ.
SIMPLE BLESSING Organ.
AFFECTATIONS Brass Quintet.
POLYGON Brass Quintet.
THRICE TOLD TALES OF THE POMEGRANATE FOREST Trumpet, Violin, Bass Clarinet.
ILLUSIONS Large Percussion Ensemble.
BLACK BALL COUNTS DOUBLE Version A - String Quartet. Version B - String Orchestra.
DIPLOMATIC SUMMIT 4 Double Basses.
DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY 2 Violas, 2 Violoncellos.
DIPLOMATIC SOLUTION 4 Violoncellos.
FANFARE a4 2 Bb Trumpets, 2 Trombones.
CAT'S EYE 4 Bb Trumpets, 4 F Horns, 2 Trombones, Bass Trombone, Euphonium, Tuba.
ASCENSION 3 Bb Trumpets, 4 F Horns, 2 Trombones, Bass Trombone, Euphonium, Tuba, Timpani.
PARABOLA 4 Bb Trumpets, 4 F Horns, 2 Trombones, Bass Trombone, Euphonium, Tuba, Timpani.
DIES IRAE 4 Bb Trumpets, 4 F Horns, 2 Trombones, Bass Trombone, Euphonium, Tuba, Timpani.
CRIMSON 6 Bb Trumpets, 5 F Horns, 2 Trombones, Bass Trombone, 2 Euphoniums, 2 Tubas, Timpani, 2 Percussionists playing Suspended Cymbal, Crash Cymbals, Bass Drum and Giant Tam-tam, Optional Organ
PASSAGES String Quartet
REMEMBRANCE Flute and Piano
MEDITATION Cello and Piano
THY LIGHT IS COME S.A.T.B. Choir and Organ, with optional Brass and Timpani.
WE WILL BE GLAD S.A.T.B. Choir, Organ, 2 Trumpets, 2 Trombones, Timpani.
PSALM 67 S.A.T.B. Choir, Organ, Trumpet.
WELCOME, CHRISTMAS DAY! Version 1 - SATB Chorus, 2 Percussionists (1st plays Marimba, 2nd plays 4 Tom-toms and Suspended Cymbal). Version 2 - SATB Chorus, 1 Marimba Version 3 - SATB Chorus, Piano
CROWN HIM! SATB Choir, Orchestra, Optional Organ
SEARCH YOUR HEART FOR CHRISTMAS SATB Choir and Violoncello
AMID THE CRUEL WINTER'S SNOW SATB Choir and Celesta
VENI EMMANUEL - FANTASY OF ABSTRACTIONS Symphonic Wind Ensemble.
SYNERGISTIC PARABLE Symphonic Wind Ensemble.
GOVERNOR'S CUP MARCH Concert Band
O WORSHIP THE KING Symphony Orchestra.
METAMORPHIC FANFARE Symphony Orchestra.
CONCERTO FOR ORCHESTRA Symphony Orchestra.
REVERIES String Orchestra.
Honors
Awards received by Sartor include the American Bandmasters Association's Ostwald Prize for Symphonic Wind Ensemble Music, the National Fine Arts Award, a New Music for Young Ensembles composition prize, a “highly commended” award in England’s Oare String Orchestra's Third Annual International Music for Strings Composition Contest, and twenty-two consecutive ASCAP awards for compositions which hold a unique prestige value. He was a finalist in both the Columbia Symphony Orchestra’s American Composer Competition and the Fauxharmonic Orchestra's Adagio Composition Contest and in 2009 won the Burlington (VT) Chamber Orchestra’s Composer Competition with his Reveries for String Orchestra.
Sartor was inducted as a National Patron of Delta Omicron, an international professional music fraternity on July 17, 2009 in honor of his achievements in composing and conducting. [1][2]
External links
- David P. Sartor web site
- The American Music Center profile
- ABA Ostwald Award
- American Composers Forum profile
References
Categories:- 1956 births
- Living people
- 20th-century classical composers
- 21st-century classical composers
- American composers
- University of Cincinnati alumni
- University of Tennessee alumni
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