Darryl Kubian

Darryl Kubian (born February 19, 1966) is an American composer, thereminist, violinist, and audio/video engineer. His compositions have been commissioned and performed by North American orchestras, such as the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and Omaha Symphony, and he has written soundtrack scores for the Wildlife Conservation Society, National Geographic, Discovery Channel, Pangolin Pictures, NHK, CBS, The Learning Channel, and others.^[1] Darryl performs and records as a thereminist, including chamber and solo works by Herb Deutsch, Martinu, and others, and has also been a featured soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia of New York, and the NJ Symphony on theremin.^[2][3] He was the featured theremin soloist for the Lincoln Center Festival production of Danny Elfman's Music from the Films of Tim Burton.^[4] Darryl Kubian is a member of the first violin section of the NJ Symphony, and was the principle second violinist of the Brooklyn Philharmonic.^[5] Indigo Fox Media, Kubian's New Jersey-based audio/video production company, has recorded artists such as the Emerson String Quartet, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, members of the NY Philharmonic, New Jersey Symphony, and the Metropolitan Opera, among many others.^[6] He is married to violinist JoAnna Farrer.

Compositions

Symphonic

O for a Muse of Fire

In March 2015, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra premiered Darryl's latest work, O for a Muse of Fire, a concert overture for full orchestra and vocal soloist, based on Shakespeare’s Henry V.^[7] The work is dedicated to the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and its music director, Jacques Lacombe. The soloist for the premiere performances with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra was former October Project lead singer (and former Sony Classical artist) Mary Fahl. The vocal part is adaptable to different vocal ranges.

Reception

"O For a Muse of Fire" received positive reviews in its premiere performances. From Broadway World publication: "The overall composition is dramatic with flurries of vibrant musicality especially among the violins and brass. ... Mary Fahl has a dramatic, beautiful voice. This is a cinematic composition that builds steadily and majestically. One wishes Kubian had fleshed it out more. He will be a composer to keep one's eye on whether he pursues dramatic or cinema scores or continues in a classical venue."^[8] From The Star Ledger: "As the composer noted in an articulate pre-performance introduction, the music dealt with the conscience of the king, exploring matters earthly and spiritual and taking on sounds of both warfare and contemplation. ... a cinematic fabric with deep lower strings and soaring brass. Dissonant threads in sustained chords and warlike percussion contrasted warm, meditative passages. In an earthy alto, vocalist Mary Fahl sang passages of Shakespeare text and keened wordlessly in the work's more impassioned moments. A waterphone added an otherworldly tinge before a frenetic rise and the pound of battle drums led to a fittingly heroic conclusion."^[9]

3-2-1 Concerto for Electric and Acoustic Violin and Orchestra

During the 2007–08 season, the NJSO gave the premiere of Kubian’s 3-2-1 Concerto for Electric and Acoustic Violin and Orchestra — an NJSO commission dedicated to then-Music Director Neeme Järvi and NJSO Concertmaster (and soloist) Eric Wyrick. A preview about the Kubian and the new work was featured on NJN's State of the Arts. This NJN segment can be found online here: 3-2-1 on NJN's State of the Arts

Reception

The work was very well received in its premiere, and was subsequently broadcast on WQXR radio.^[10] From The Star Ledger review: "The piece balances the sort of electronic effects taken for granted in pop music with an open-hearted lyricism redolent of mainstream film scores, as it moves from an evocation of the Big Bang to a pool of idyllic repose to a cyclic, out-the-door rush. ... He [Eric Wyrick] triggered new colors with a pedal board at his feet, shifting from that initial serrated timbre to a sound like a celestial lyre; the violinist also set echoing loops into motion so that he accompanied himself along with the orchestra. The effect was so texturally engaging that one almost wished that Kubian had written a concerto entirely for electric violin (as John Adams did so well recently with "The Dharma at Big Sur") ... When Wyrick's electric violin soared above the orchestra again in full cry, the sheer lyricism was stirring, the instrument's hot edge searing away any sentimentality into something pure and affecting. ... Listeners seemed to enjoy the experience from the first note, with an attentive excitement in the air that isn't always there."

Eric Wyrick performed the work with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Michoacán in Mexico, in October of 2009.^[11] A CD of this collaboration was recorded and released.^[12]

Other works

Kubian’s The Maestro Waltz, a special 70th-birthday piece for Neeme Järvi, was the featured encore during a number of NJSO concerts; it is also mentioned in Järvi’s biography, The Maestro’s Touch. Other recent works include the symphonic overture Occam’s Razor, premiered in May 2009 and performed by the Omaha Symphony in March 2012.^[13]

TV/film

Darryl Kubian has composed scores for the Wildlife Conservation Society, National Geographic, Discovery Channel, Pangolin Pictures, NHK, CBS, and The Learning Channel. Highlights of his work with National Geographic include being the composer for the children's show "Really Wild Animals" show,^[14] and "Jaws and Claws." For the Wildlife Conservation Society, Darryl has composed soundtracks for USAid, and the US Department of Defense.^[15]

Thereminist

Darryl has performed as theremin soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra of New York, and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. In July 2015, Darryl was the featured theremin soloist for the Lincoln Center Festival's production of Danny Elfman's Music from the Films of Tim Burton. In the same month, Darryl performed as theremin soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Ravinia festival, again performing works by Danny Elfman.^[16] The Lincoln Center performances were filmed by Live from Lincoln Center and will be broadcast on PBS stations beginning October 30, 2015.^[17] As theremin soloist with the NJ Symphony, Kubian has performed Bachianis Brasileires No. 5 by Villa-Lobos, the theme from Star Trek, and the Spellbound Suite by Miklos Rozsa.^[18][19] He has performed the Martinu Fantasia for Theremin, Oboe, Piano and String Quartet with the Concordia Chamber Players, and the Bronx Arts Ensemble.^[20] He has performed both solo and chamber works as part of the Parlance Chamber Concert Series,^[21] the Ridgewood Concert Band, and Manchester Music Festival. Darryl’s performance of Two Songs Without Words for Theremin and Piano by Herbert Deutsch, is featured on Deutsch’s CD release of his works, “From Moog to Mac.”^[22]

Violinist

Darryl is a member of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra’s first violin section, and former principal second violinist of the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra. A jazz musician and improvisor, he has performed with trumpeter Randy Brecker in a Charlie Parker program entitled “Bird Lives!” and has arranged and performed Ellington’s “Sacred Songs” in collaboration with the Jazz Studies Program at Rutgers University. Kubian has performed and improvised with Nigel Kennedy, Al Jarreau, Rufus Reid,^[23] Bobby Short and Renée Fleming. He has recorded with Trevor Pinnock, Malcolm Bilson, Meredith Monk, Bruno Weil, Zdenek Macal^[24] and Phillip Glass.^[25]

Audio/video engineer

Darryl Kubian is the audio/video engineer of his production company, Indigo Fox Media. Kubian has recorded the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Ridgewood Concert Band, NY Flute Club and the Chesapeake Chamber Music Festival.^[26] Indigo Fox Media records and produces both audio and video for the Parlance Chamber Concert series in Ridgewood, NJ., which frequently features members of the Metropolitan Opera and NY Philharmonic, and other ensembles. Darryl has recorded and produced CD's and audio work for The Elements Quartet, the Halcyon Trio, and Mixed Flock Ensemble,^[27] as well as members of the NJ Symphony Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera and NY Philharmonic.

References