Selected Works

Collaborations

  • Voice-Leading (2007)
    A 50 minute performance work that blends electroacoustic music, J. S. Bach, improvisation, and radiophonic treatment of interviews.

    Created in collaboraion with Leanne Zacharias

  • Experiential Extremism (2003)

    Interactive installation created with Elainie Lillios and Bonnie Mitchell.

Background

Gregory Cornelius is an emerging composer who is fascinated by the nature in which technology can expand and transform musical expression. Whether using software he has developed to aid in performance and composition or using a mixture of microphones, loudspeakers, and audio editors to listen into the sound, Gregory strives for clarity of idea and a sense of vitality in his creative work. His works often incorporate aspects of both acoustic and electroacoustic music.

Some of the recognition that Gregory has received for his works include a residency prize in the 34e Concours Internationaux de Bourges in 2007 and an honorable mention in the 2008 ASCAP/SEAMUS Student Commission Competition, which were both received for his electroacoustic composition Earth and Green (available on Volume 18 of the Music of SEAMUS CD series). In 2007, he also was invited to participate in the Composers Conference at Wellesley College, which included the premiere Handwoven for fourteen players.

Gregory was born in Hastings, Nebraska, spent his childhood trouncing through the snow in St. Paul, Minnesota, and throughout high school absorbed the rich sounds of jazz in various venues around St. Louis, Missouri. Since then, he has studied saxophone and composition at Truman State University and Bowling Green State University. His principal teachers include Warren Gooch, Burton Beerman, Mikel Kuehn, Marilyn Shrude, Elainie Lillios, Yevgeniy Sharlat, Dan Welcher, and Russell Pinkston with additional guidance from Gerard Pape, Yves Daoust, Louis Dufort, Alain Savouret, Paul Koonce, Larry Austin, and Jonty Harrison. In the fall of 2005, Gregory had the pleasure of working as a technician for Mario Davidovsky while he composed Synchronisms No. 11. Seeing firsthand the intensity and thoughtfulness of Davidovsky continues to be influential.

Gregory is working on a D.M.A. degree in music composition at The University of Texas at Austin, which he expects to complete in the near future.