photo courtesy Patrice Madura

Biographical information Upcoming performances Discography List of works Contact information Adjunct Professor of Music Indiana University - Bloomington Distinguished Prof. of Music Emeritus San Diego State University

RECENT NEWS:

Ward-Steinman's choral suite, " fait accompli," was premiered May 27 by Cantori Domino at St. Augustine by-the-Sea in Santa Monica CA under the direction of Maurita Phillips-Thornburgh, their Artistic Director. It was commissioned by Dale Jergenson for the group and will be published by his company, Laurendale Associates.

Dr. Ward-Steinman has retired from San Diego State University to accept a position in the Composition Dept. at Indiana University-Bloomington.

The Indiana University New Music Ensemble under the direction of David Dzubay premiered a new version for chamber orchestra of Ward-Steinman's ELEGY FOR ASTRONAUTS Nov. 30. A new song cycle, SONGS OF THE SEASONS for High Voice and Fortified Piano will also be premiered later this year.

On Apr. 12 he gave a composition master-class at Florida State University and a concert of his piano compositions that included jazz and improvisation on notes from the audience.

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Dale A. Olsen, in "Reflections On American Music, The Twentieth Century and the New Millennium," a collection of essays presented in honor of The College Music Society, co-edited by James R. Heintze and Michael Saffle, published in 2000, looked at the compositional styles of five American composers of art music. David Ward-Steinman was cited by Olsen as one of five representative global, cultural, and/or transcultural American composers for the twenty-first century.

"Ward-Steinman has unique and visionary approaches to scholarship, teaching, and composition, making him a profound communicator interested in bridging cultures." Ward-Steinman has composed a number of works for what he calls "fortified piano," a term distinguishing the style from Cage's "prepared piano." The sounds achieved in such compositions as Sonata for Piano Fortified (1972) and Intersections II: "Borobudur" for Fortified Piano and Percussion (1989-1990) are strongly reminiscent of Balinese and Javanese gamelan orchestras. Night Winds requires five musicians to play many other instruments from non-Western cultures such as bamboo flute, clay ocarina, didjeridu, Aboriginal rhythimic sticks (Cuban claves), and other sound makers and whistles. "The effect of this composition is one of globalization (cultural blending, at the end of the globalization continuum) rather than transculturation because many different sounds from a variety of cultures are blended together to create an atmosphere rather than provide a conduit from one culture to another."

If you are interested in obtaining a copy of Dr. David Ward-Steinman's profusely illustrated treatise "Toward a Comparative Structural Theory of the Arts," drop us a line. We are currently determining availability and demand. Dr. Ward-Steinman's COMPARATIVE ANTHOLOGY OF MUSICAL FORMS is available from the Aztec Shops Bookstore.