Musicatlas
Music
| Opus | Title [subtitle] | Key | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Not (yet) classified | |||
| Hit and Run | ?? | ||
| Independent Party | ?? | ||
| River of Jewels | ?? | ||
| Zoom In | ?? | ||
| Four Carols | 1989 | ||
| Almighty God | 1991 | ||
| Global Warming | 1991 | ||
| I'm Determined | 1991 | ||
| Circular Psalm | 1992 | ||
| How Great Thou Art | 1992 | ||
| How Majestic | 1992 | ||
| If We Could See | 1992 | ||
| More Abundantly | 1992 | ||
| Walk With Me | 1992 | ||
| What a Mighty God | 1992 | ||
| American Variations on Swing Low Sweet Chariot | 1993 | ||
| Goin Home | 1993 | ||
| Love Lifted Me | 1993 | ||
| Angels We Have Heard on High | 1994 | ||
| Frederick's Fables | 1994 | ||
| Mary Had a Baby | 1994 | ||
| Silent Night, Joyful Night | 1994 | ||
| A World of Carols | 1995 | ||
| Dance for Martin's Dream | 1997 | ||
| More Seasons | 1999 | ||
| Homies & Popz | 2000 | ||
| Fairest Lord Jesus | 2001 | ||
| Holy Holy Holy | 2001 | ||
| Jesus is Real | 2001 | ||
| Tribute | 2001 | ||
(From his biography on his web site.)
With a "keen ear for musical color and a deft ability to adapt structural elements from popular music into the symphonic idiom" (Houston Chronicle), Michael Abels has gained widespread recognition for his orchestral pieces Global Warming and Frederick’s Fables. Global Warming has been given nearly 100 performances by orchestras including Chicago, Cleveland, Atlanta, Houston, Baltimore, Louisville, Columbus, Indianapolis, Dallas, Detroit, Nashville, Phoenix, West Virginia, New Mexico, Tucson, Savannah, Dayton, and Toledo as well as the Civic Orchestra of Chicago.
Dance for Martin’s Dream, a piece expressing both sorrowful and joyous moments in the composer’s experience with Martin Luther King’s legacy, was commissioned by the Nashville Symphony and performed in Nashville in January 1998. Dance for Martin’s Dream has also been performed by the Cleveland Orchestra and several others.
His most recent orchestral work, Tribute, was commissioned by the National Symphony Orchestra, and was premiered November 8th, 2001 under the direction of Marin Alsop. Inspired by the heroes of the September 11th attacks, Tribute was the first piece performed by the NSO written after those tragic events.
Other works include American Variations on "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" for trumpet and orchestra premiered by Doc Severinsen and the Phoenix Symphony, and More Seasons, performed by the St Paul Chamber Orchestra and others. Abels has also arranged gospel music for Reverend James Cleveland. Some of his arrangements for gospel choir and orchestra are heard annually on the PBS special Atlanta Symphony Gospel Christmas. The Abels gospel arrangements are regularly performed by orchestras throughout the United States.
Frederick’s Fables -- four pieces, based on the collection by Leo Lionni, entitled "Frederick," "The Greentail Mouse," "Theodore and the Talking Mushroom," and "Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse" -- was commissioned by Philip Brunelle’s Plymouth Music Series of Minnesota. Parts I and II were premiered with James Earl Jones as narrator in October 1994. Parts III and IV were also premiered by the Plymouth Music Series with Garrison Keillor narrating. Frederick’s Fables has since been performed by the Philadelphi a Orchestra with Martin Bookspan, and by other ensembles. Abels himself has narrated the piece at Kennedy Center for the National Symphony (DC), and also for the Springfield (MA) Symphony.
His 40-minute opera Homies & Popz, was commissioned by Los Angeles Opera, and premiered in May 2000 at high schools throughout Los Angeles County. It tells the true story of the Compton Homies & the Popz, a cricket team organized by noted activist Ted Hayes to provide an alternative to gangs for inner-city youth and homeless adults.
Life
Born in Phoenix, Arizona, Michael Abels grew up in rural South Dakota where he began piano lessons at an early age. He attended the University of Southern California, studying with James Hopkins and Robert Linn. In 1984, he was named Outstanding Senior among student composers for his composition Queries, scored for two pianos and prepared piano. In 1985-86, he studied West African music with Alfred Ladzekpo at the California Institute for the Arts. Aside from his activities as a composer and arranger, Abels is an amateur triathlete.