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John Carmella (b. 1957)
John Carmella, a New York City resident since 1988, is a New Jersey born and raised composer who likes to combine popular and serious elements in his works. He was a music major for four years at New Jersey's Kean College where he studied trumpet, music theory, music history, counterpoint and composition, receiving his BA in 1979. His musical idols over the years have included many of the European masters (especially Bach and Beethoven) and the great American songwriters (especially Gershwin and Kurt Weill). Brassworks 4, a New Mexico-based publisher and ensemble, has published several brass sextets by Mr. Carmella including Prelude and Fugue in D minor, Military Scherzo and The Big Apple Grind. The Bay Brass, San Francisco's illustrious ensemble, gave the world premiere of Prelude and Fugue in D minor at their annual Grace Cathedral Christmas concert of 2003, while The Big Apple Grind was premiered five months later by Brassworks 4 in the group's home state. Earlier compositions by Mr. Carmella include In Just Spring, an unpublished collection of more than a dozen classical and popular pieces arranged for piano and other instruments. Three pieces from this collection, Fugue in F, Early Flowers and In Just Spring, have been performed multiple times since 2005 by such ensembles as The Con Grazia Wind Quintet and Sirens of Portland, Oregon, The Miami Wind Quintet of Oxford, Ohio, and The Forsyth Wind Quintet of Atlanta, Georgia. In 2004, Mr. Carmella embarked on a new musical journey by writing the first 6 of his Reveries, fanciful and sentimental piano compositions based on unusual modes. He has continued to compose 5 or 6 new reveries every year since, making the number 28 to date. In 2006, Mr. Carmella used the phrygian mode to compose The Temple of Cybele, a 12-minute-long tone poem for small orchestra.
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