Christopher Lee Fraley, Composer
Woodinville, WA 98077
C h r i s @ F r a l e y M u s i c . c o m
(4 2 5) 8 8 1 - 5 2 8 6
Summary
Extensive experience in writing classical chamber, symphonic, and
vocal music. Works include a symphony, two operettas, eight orchestral tone
poems, string quartets, a piano sonata and two piano trios. For a complete
list, visit
www.FraleyMusic.com. Several sample recordings are available
online. My
desire is to write pieces that are accessible and emotionally engaging,
yet musically deep. My favorite composers include Beethoven, Schubert, Saint Saëns, Janácek,
and Josquin, among others. I also enjoy modern artists including Sting,
Peter Gabriel, Sarah McLaughlin, Styx, and King Crimson.
Experience
August, 1997 to Present – Fraley Music, Inc., Seattle, WA. Classical
music composer. Since leaving my day job in 2001 to dedicate my
time to composing, I have completed my first Symphony, eight
orchestral tone poems, and a second string quartet, as well as
many other works. I continue to write classical concert music on commission and grants.
2008 – Premiere of To Sarah (F. 151). Premiere of Now Thank We
All Our God (F. 153).
2006 – Premiere of Reborn by Living Water (F. 144).
2003 – Premiere of String Quartet No. 2 (F. 123) and Dry Gin Kiss (F.
119) at a recital concert entitled Paintings of Song on November 15,
2003 at the Music Center of the Northwest.
Performers include the Finisterra Piano
Trio. Other works performed
include Fish Trio (F. 127),
Eire’s Call (F. 131),
and The Crossing (F. 108).
2003 – Premiere of the Fish Trio (F. 127) by the
Max Aronoff
Viola Institute (MAVI), Tacoma, WA. at the
Aronoff Chamber Music Series on July 1, 2003.
2003 – Premiere of the
Eire’s Call (F. 131) by the Foss High School Orchestra, Andrea
Bryant director, in a benefit concert at Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital
Hall, Benaroya Hall in Seattle on May 15, 2003. This event was sponsored
by the Composer Residency Program of the
Seattle
Composer’s Alliance in conjunction with Gilda’s Club of Seattle.
2001 to 2002 – Commission from Pittsburgh Civic Orchestra,
Pittsburgh, PA. The PCO commissioned Fanfare for Life, a symphonic
fanfare in memory of the conductor’s sister. Premiered 11-May-02.
1997 to 1999 – Worked on several projects for Chaspen Foundation for
the Arts, Redmond, WA, including two Young Composer’s Grants: the first
in 1997 to write Red Riding Hood, a children’s operetta which premiered
Oct-97; the second to write and record Frog Prince, a children’s
operetta which premiered Nov-98. In 1999, a second set of performances
of Red Riding Hood in Nov-99 at Meydenbauer Center’s theater, for which
a video is available.
1995 to Present – Continuing private composition studies with Dr.
Peter (Nagy-Farkas) Wolf.
1991 – Published paper on sound synthesis, based on undergraduate
research. Fugue: A Functional Language for Sound Synthesis, Roger B.
Dannenberg, Christopher Lee Fraley, Peter Velikonja. IEEE Computer
24(7): 36-42 (1991), available
online.
Fall 1985 - Spring 1989 – B.S. in Computer Engineering, Carnegie
Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA. Balanced my technical training by
simultaneously pursuing my musical interests. Courses taken include
standard harmony and music history courses, classical guitar lessons,
and two semesters each of Electronic and Computer Music, Poetry
Workshop, and composition lessons from
Eduardo
Alonso-Crespo. For my undergraduate research project, wrote a LISP
and C system for generating and processing sound sample files,
ultimately culminating in a research paper published in the IEEE (see
Fugue above). Also pursued research projects on the use of wave guide
filters to model brass instruments, and on re-synthesis techniques to
simulate wind instruments.
Background
Raised in Reading, PA, to a musical family. Played the cello for ten
years before dropping it in favor of a more portable instrument, the
guitar. Four-time International Science and Engineering Fair finalist,
with projects ranging from mathematics to natural language processing
using computers. Avid computer programmer (my technical resume may be
found here),
also enjoy woodworking and gardening.
References available upon request.