Like the bards of old, Ishmael Wallace — composer, pianist, tenor, and teacher — finds a pathway in song to the world of Tradition, the golden world from which we spring.
He offers song and insight in an immersive podcast, The Voice of the Bard,
in his blog, Castalia,
and tutors music theory online.
A taste of The Voice of the Bard, “Der Neugierige” from Schubert’s “Die Schöne Müllerin”:
Ishmael’s books on music as a path (most recently, “Finding the Root: Music as a Key to Tradition”): https://www.amazon.com/author/ishmaelwallace
He was home schooled, and majored in piano and composition at the Curtis Institute (Diploma, Composition, 1993) and Mannes College (Master of Music, Composition and Piano, 1995). He performed and recorded with the Orfeo Duo, and, for 15 years, co-directed What a Neighborhood!, a series of concerts and workshops in New York City; he also taught at Mannes and coordinated two concert series at Columbia University. In 2018, he moved to Thailand, where he has taught as Guest Lecturer at Mahidol College of Music and the Princess Galyani Vadhana Institute of Music.
Composition Resumé
Diploma, Composition, 1993, The Curtis Institute of Music
Master of Music, Composition and Piano, Mannes College of Music, 1995
Composer 1984 — Present
Composer in Residence and Co-Director, 2003 – 2018 of What a Neighborhood!, a series of concerts and workshops in New York City, USA; taught Composition in workshops and composed works for performance
Teachers:
Robert Cuckson, Mannes College, 1993 — 1995
David Loeb, The Curtis Institute of Music, 1989 — 1993
Steven Stucky, private study, 1985 — 1987, 1988 — 1989
Selected Works (all performed in New York City)
Chamber Operas:
The Mountain and the Valley (text by the composer, Opera Pomme Rouge, 2016)
Baggage (text by the composer, What a Neighborhood!, 2005, Cantiamo Opera Theater, 2006)
The Stranger (Opera Corleone, 2004, 2005)
An Apparition at the Palace (The CoOPERAtive, 2001)
Song Cycles for Voice and Piano:
Songs from Novalis’ Fairy Tale (Columbia University, 2018)
A Flower of Mullein (What a Neighborhood!, 2009, Columbia University, 2018)
Epithalamion (What a Neighborhood!, 2009)
The Unforgotten Face (Roerich Museum, 2007, Columbia University, 2018)
Cantatas:
Mother and Child (soprano, baritone, gospel choir, clarinet in B flat, violin, and piano, on neighborhood oral histories and the Gospel of John, What a Neighborhood!, 2008)
Being There for Others (soprano, gospel choir, tenor saxophone, violin, and piano, based on neighborhood oral histories and texts by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Thomas Merton, Thich Nhat Hanh, and Malcolm X, What a Neighborhood!, 2007)
The West Harlem Christ (soprano, gospel choir, two classical choirs, violin, and piano, based on neighborhood oral histories, commissioned by a consortium of neighborhood organizations with funding from the Continental Harmony program of the American Composers Forum, What a Neighborhood!, 2006)
Piano Resumé
Diploma, Composition, Curtis Institute of Music, 1993
Master of Music, Piano and Composition, Mannes College of Music, 1995
Teachers: Richard Goode, Seymour Lipkin, Phiroze Mehta; lessons with Edward Aldwell, Carl Schachter, Mieczslaw Horszowski, Gary Graffman; chamber music coaching with Felix Galimir, Lorand Fenyves, Karen Tuttle, Syoko Aki
Solo Pianist 1984 — Present: performances in New York City, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Utah, and Toronto, repertoire ranging from Bach to works by young composers, including works by David Loeb, Robert Cuckson, Stephen Siegel, Nailah Nombeko, David Del Tredici; recorded From Ancient Times and Places, a solo CD of music by David Loeb, for Vienna Modern Masters
Art Song Tenor / Pianist (I sing and accompany myself at the piano) 2009 — Present: Recitals in New York City on the Music at St. Paul’s, Arts at Earl, and What a Neighborhood! series
Vocal Coach 2008 — 2018 Coached and accompanied some of New York City’s best young singers; also was Music Director for opera productions with Delaware Valley Opera, Garden State Opera, Opera Pomme Rouge, Friends and Enemies of New Music, Lyric Opera of New York, and other companies
Cofounder, Codirector, and Pianist of What a Neighborhood! (series of concerts and workshops, New York City) 2003 — 2018
Pianist of the Orfeo Duo (with Vita Wallace, violinist) 1984 — 2018: performances in New York City, Washington State, Italy, Canada, and Latin America, repertoire ranging from Bach to young composers; recorded complete Sonatas of Beethoven and Schumann and works by Enesco, Bruno Walter, Hans Pfitzner, David Loeb
Art Song Recital Resumé
Diploma, Composition, Curtis Institute of Music, 1993
Master of Music, Piano and Composition, Mannes College of Music, 1995
Art Song Recitalist, Tenor Voice and Piano 2009 — Present I give song recitals, singing and accompanying myself. Recitals in New York City on the Music at St. Paul’s, Arts at Earl, and What a Neighborhood! series, and at Suan Mokkh, Bangkok, Thailand.
Selected Programs:
Songs of the Journey (songs and piano pieces by Schumann, Schubert, Dvořák/Fisher, Clara Schumann, Mahler, Wallace, Apaiwongs, Lertpanyanuch, and His Majesty King Rama the 9th), The Shining Forth of the Word (Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder and songs by Strauss, Cornelius, Schubert, and Wolf)
Hymns to the Night (settings of poems by Novalis by Schubert, Reger, Marx, Schoeck, and Luise Reichardt)
Landscapes of the Heart (songs by Victor Herbert, Duke Ellington, Kay Swift, and living composers from New York City)
Alchemy in Lieder (songs by Wolf, Schubert, Schumann, Luise Reichardt, Berg, Schoenberg)
Teaching Resumé
Guest Lecturer in Keyboard Skills, Princess Galyani Vadhana Institute of Music, 2019 — Present
Guest Lecturer in Sight Singing, Mahidol College of Music, 2018 — 2019
Instructor, Keyboard Harmony and Score Reading, Mannes College, 2014 — 2016
Workshops in Composition for beginning composers of all ages and backgrounds, What a Neighborhood!, New York City, 2005 — 2018
Private lessons in Piano, Composition, Counterpoint, Ear Training, New York City 1995 — 2018
Contact me
ishmael.wallace@gmail.com
(66) 097-142-9513
My free newsletter: https://ishmaelwallace.ck.page/1c7fda45fe
Ishmael Wallace 