Biography
Born and raised in New York City, composer-vocalist-conductor Charles Farmer Coleman has lived an extraordinary musical life that began as a boy soprano in the Metropolitan Opera and has recently triumphed when Kristjan Järvi led the London Symphony Orchestra in performing his two works Drenched and Bach Inspired.
After a brief apprenticeship in musical composition at the Turtle Bay Music School he entered the Manhattan School of Music where he earned his Masters Degree studying with composers David Noon and Eric Lundborg. At Manhattan he met Kristjan Järvi with whom, he and Gene Pritsker, founded The Absolute Ensemble. Coleman was named Composer-in-Residence of the Ensemble in 1997.
The Absolute Ensemble has come to symbolize a special blend of modern classical music; a synthesis of jazz, rock and traditional music, probably best expressed in Charles Coleman's "Absolution," written in 1999 and recorded on ENJA NOVA, a CD that was nominated for the "Best Small Ensemble Performance" Grammy in 2002.
As of this writing Charles Coleman has written more than 100 compositions including 'Five Songs of Mother Goose' (1993) for Soprano and Piano which was published by Vanguard Music in 1993. 'Young Words' for Chamber Ensemble was commissioned in 1995 by Litchfield Performing Arts of Connecticut and was choreographed and performed by the Pilobolus Dance Company. Elegy (1995) for String Orchestra , 'Westside Nocturne' (1997) for Solo Piano , 'Tracks' (1998) for Chamber Ensemble and 'Pastorale' (1999) for Flute, Cello and Guitar (1999) followed.
After his funky 'Rut Strut' for Chamber Ensemble was performed in the New York Public Theatre's Joe's Pub in 2000, Coleman received a commission to write a major symphonic work celebrating the opening of The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra's 2001-2002 season with its new Music Director, Paavo Järvi. 'Streetscape' for Full Orchestra is a furious walk through the streets of Coleman's native Manhattan, was first performed on September 14, 2001, in Cincinnati, three days after the destruction of the World Trade Center. 'Streetscape' has since been performed several times by various groups such as the San Francisco Symphony and the Riga Festival Orchestra of Latvia.
Many commissions followed including 'Pavement' (2002) with the Dogs of Desire chamber orchestra conducted by David Alan Miller. 'Latarnia' (2005) for Bassoon and Orchestra performed by The Riga Chamber Players under Normunds Sne. And 'Red Oak Dawn' (2006) premiered by New Jersey Symphony under the baton of Neeme Järvi.
In early 2007, Coleman spent five weeks as the resident composer of the Cincinnati Symphony teaching, composing and lecturing as part of "Music Alive," a program that partners the "Meet the Composer" Foundation with the American Symphony Orchestra League. The main event of this residency featured the Cincinnati Symphony commissioned world premiere of his 'Deep Woods', performed on May 3, 2007 at the CSO Music Hall conducted by Paavo Jarvi. Coleman returned to New York the following week to premiere his chamber opera "Redemption" commissioned by Golden Fleece Ltd.
In 2013, his Violin Concerto was premiered by Violinist, Tatiana Berman with the Constella Music Festival in Cincinnati, OH and later given it's European premiere in Pärnu, Estonia. Over the last few years, Coleman's work with Kristjan Järvi has continued to flourish with a series of works and arrangements for the Baltic Sea Philharmonic and the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, including works like 'Drenched' and 'Bach Inspired' (both works, later performed by the London Symphony Orchestra) along with his orchestration of Philip Glass' 'Aquas da Amazonia' which was recorded for and released on Orange Mountain Music.
Coleman's work as a composer, orchestrator and producer has appeared on many CDs, notably "Absolute Mix" (CCn'C 00702) which won the German Record Critics Award in the year 2000. He has served as the producer of four CDs.
In his work as a Baritone and Conductor, Coleman has championed the music of Gene Pritsker, Luis Andrei Cobo and Elias Tannenbaum among many others. He performs regularly with Composers Concordance, Golden Fleece Ltd. and is a regular performer at the "Taci Opera Nights" which take place every Saturday at the Papillion Bistro in NYC.
