Alan Theisen (b. 4 October 1981; Port Huron, Michigan) is a Ph.D. graduate assistant in the Department of Music Theory at the Florida State University.
Composing since the age of sixteen, he has produced a steadily growing body of work distinguished by its musical energy and concentration of expression.
Representative works by Theisen include a Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano, Variations on a Theme of Gretchaninov, Eclogue for flute, and the Concerto for Alto Saxophone and String Orchestra (premiered by soloist Lawrence Gwozdz and the Szczecin Philharmonic in 2004). Recent compositions and commissions include Ritorno for flute and cello and a Triple Concerto. Noted composer Dimitri Terzakis commends Theisen's oeuvre as being "the product of a unique talent."
As a saxophonist, Theisen has toured the United States and Canada with the Sax-Chamber Orchestra, performing at two World Saxophone Congresses (Montreal - 2000, Minneapolis - 2003). He studied the instrument with internationally-recognized performer Lawrence Gwozdz and participated in masterclasses with famed saxophone pioneer Jean-Marie Londeix. No stranger to the podium, Theisen has been a guest conductor with several ensembles.
In an effort to showcase both his own original compositions and pieces by other contemporary composers, he founded the Intégrales New Music Festival in 2005. Now an annual event, Intégrales NMF features world-premiere performances by nationally recognized musicians. Intégrales has expanded to include musical collaborations with artists, authors, and dancers.
Theisen wrote his undergraduate thesis on György Ligeti's Piano Etudes, and has authored several papers on topics including Elliott Carter, film editing, composition as analysis, and Michael Brecker.
Other interests include mathematics, film criticism, and philosophy; in addition, Theisen has performed the role of Oberon in a production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, for which he also wrote the incidental music.
Theisen lives with his wife (and puts up with their two cats) in Tallahassee, Florida.
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Saturday, April 22, 2006
Werner Wolf Glaser
 One of the Grand old men of Swedish music, the Västerås-based composer, teacher, and journalist Werner Wolf Glaser, has passed away just before turning 93 years old.
He was born on April 14, 1913 in Cologne. Glaser came via Denmark to Västerås during the Second World War. There, he founded the Västerås Music School in 1944. From 1944-59, Glaser was the conductor for the Southern Västmanland Orchestra Society, and was employed as a music critic by the Västmanlands Läns Tidning (VLT) from 1944.
Werner was an open and generous person, always with an open mind and a friendly word, and wrote a great number of works that in later years had somewhat of a renaissance, with several portrait concerts, recordings, and festivals devoted to his music.
Hans-Gunnar Peterson writes in Glaser’s biography at the STIM/Swedish Music web site:"In his extensive production, Glaser developed a modernistic tonal language, inspired by his background including among other things studies with Paul Hindemith. The sure melodic technique and the well-presented forms of his music showed that he had a quick inspiration, and that he had found a personal style in his craft. His rhythmic agility and elaborative techniques were driving elements for his imagination. His individual characteristics also included expressionistic attributes. He preferred to produce his expression with short, austere means rather than letting the tonal material flow over. Glaser prized highly music’s capacity to express intensity in scaled-down, controlled figures.”
Being a saxophonist, I've had the pleasure of performing / conducting a few of Glaser's works for the instrument. If you get the chance, listen to music by Glaser. It is well worth the time.
Rest in peace....
posted by Alan Theisen
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