ArtistInfo

Jack Fortner

*1935
Composer of Classical and Electronic

Jack Fortner - composer Jack Fortner was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1935. He began the study of composition at the Julliard School of Music in New York in 1960. He received his bachelor’s degree in music at Aquinas College in 1959 and his master’s degree in music and A. Mus. D. (Doctor of Musical Arts) at the University of Michigan in 1965 and 1968, respectively. He was a conductor and member of the composition faculty at the University of Michigan from 1966 to 1970. In 1970, he joined the composition faculty at California State University, Fresno. In addition to teaching, he served as the music director of the Sinfonia Chamber Orchestra in Grand Rapids, Michigan, from 1964 to 1967 and the Merced (California) Symphony from 1971 to 1977. He was the assistant conductor of the Grand Rapids Symphony from 1964 to 1965 and the conductor of the Contemporary Directions Ensemble at the University of Michigan from 1966 to 1970. Fortner has also served as a guest conductor of the Detroit Symphony and in Germany and Romania. He is also the artistic director of Orpheus, a professional chamber music ensemble dedicated to the presentation of unusual music of all eras. Some of his most well known compositions are Trois Gymnopédies, Sonnets and Für Eloisa. Of note is his piece called Symphonies, which he composed for the celebration of the 1,200th anniversary of the founding of the city of Münster, Germany.

Genres

• Classical
• Electronic

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