The quintessential American composer, RIP
RIPThe composer Ron Nelson, who died on December 24 aged 94, was once described by the conductor Leonard Slatkin as ‘the quintessential American composer’. Slatkkin added: ‘he has the ability to move between conservative and newer styles with ease. The fact that he’s a little hard to categorize is what makes him interesting.’
Nelson, who taught at Brown University, write for larges orchestra, chorus and prolifically for wind ensembles. He lived with his wife Michele in Scottsdale, Arizona.
He outlined his work in an interview with Bruce Duffie.
Nelson’s passing was a great loss for the Arizona music community. Local wind ensembles and community orchestras really enjoy playing his beautifully written music. It would be so nice if his wonderful, tuneful, exciting music could get recorded as very little is on CD so far. RIP.
I had no knowledge of Mr. Nelson or his music until reading this article, but I truly appreciate your sense of loss of a gifted musician who contributed to a local community of musicians by both his presence and output.
What does his current discography contain?
Is much more of his music available on streaming services, such as this example here on YouTube?
Check out Holidays and Epiphanies by the Dallas Wind Symphony, one of their best albums. It’s got Rocky Point Holiday, Sonoran Desert Holiday, Lauds, Pebble Beach Sojourn, etc. A must-have for any fan of wind bands or Ron Nelson: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nP0sCG4xEe9gP55Al0QOunqgb8pvd_dYk&si=h7pPH06lFVviVPfl
Just for accuracy’s sake: Pebble Beach Sojourn was recorded by the Dallas Wind Symphony, but it’s on their Pomp and Pipes album, not the all-Ron Nelson disc. Sorry about that mix-up on my part. Here’s that recording: https://youtu.be/7yC44utTF5U?si=5t7WapKK3lqsxMdk
And yes, it is based on themes from Rocky Point Holiday. 🙂
Thank you for the clarification. I was with the Dallas Wind Symphony on the Pomp And Pipes recording and was disappointed with the miss attribution
The concert band work, Rocky Point Holiday, is a good example of how excellent his work is:
https://www.google.com/search?q=band+rocky+point+holiday&pws=0&gl=us&gws_rd=cr#fpstate=ive&gws_rd=cr&vld=cid:f25de4d6,vid:IX6mVC5KSOA,st:0
I didn’t recognize his name at first but then you mentioned “Rocky Point Holiday,” which I remember playing in high school. Wonderful music.
The very first music I hear in the New Year! Wow! I hear so many influences in the ideas, but it comes across as his own thoroughly integrated language. Superbly conceived and written… And masterfully performed. Happy dance as I make my tea!
Prof. Nelson told a funny story about when Wendy (then Walter) Carlos enrolled in Nelson’s counterpoint class during the early 1960s and wrote a computer program that would complete his homework assignments for him…. many decades before generative AI came along!
R.I.P.
One of his works is the “Overture for latecomers”, which I would love to hear. How about it, Mr. Slatkin?
Exuberant!!!!
I performed and conducted many of his pieces for concert band. Marvelous tonal music that was contemporary and listenable to a wide audience.
Yet again…. Please reread this stuff and amend it before uploading content. It undermines the credibility of the site!
RIP Ron. What an amazing person/
composer/musician he was. I had the pleasure of meeting him back in the 90’s in Columbia, Md, he gave me a George Winston CD (which I still have) that he said he absolutely loved his piano music, to this day I often wonder what George Winston would have thought of his music? Heres to Infinity Ron, cheers!!!