Composer James Tenney Leaves York U On High Note

TORONTO, May 24, 2000 -- Composer James Tenney, York University Distinguished Research Professor, is retiring after 24 years in the Department of Music. He is moving on to take up the prestigious Roy E. Disney Family Chair in Musical Composition in the School of Music at the California Institute of the Arts.

Tenney is world-renowned as a composer of avant-garde music. He was a pioneer in the field of electronic and computer music, working at the Bell Telephone Laboratories in the early 1960s to develop programs for computer sound-generation and composition. A performer as well as composer and theorist, he has appeared with the ensembles of Harry Partch, John Cage, Philip Glass and Steve Reich, among others. His chamber, orchestral and electroacoustic works have been commissioned, performed and recorded by leading North American and European soloists and ensembles. He has also written extensively on music acoustics, computer music, musical form and perception.

During his tenure at York University, Tenney received numerous honours, including a major restrospective in the New Music America festival, two Festschrift publications and the first Jean A. Chalmers Award for Music Composition from the Ontario Arts Council. A dedicated teacher, he has helped develop a new generation of Canadian composers and performers, among them Jon Siddall, Nic Gotham, Allison Cameron, William Beauvais, Don Ross and John Gzowski. He was named Distinguished Research Professor in 1994 in recognition of his outstanding contributions in the field of contemporary music.

"Both his students and his faculty colleagues have been very fortunate during Jim's time at York," said Fine Arts dean Phillip Silver. "He constantly explores new territory through his musical creativity, and he has shared that with all of us."

James Tenney and his wife, Lauren Pratt will be honoured with a special tribute and retrospective concert on June 4 at Toronto's Music Gallery, co-sponsored by Musicworks Magazine and CBC Radio's Two New Hours. Tenney will conduct some of Toronto's leading musicians in performances of his own compositions. For concert details, please call the Music Gallery at 204-1080.

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For further information, please contact:

Carol Bishop
Communications, Faculty of Fine Arts
York University
(416) 736-2100 ext. 20421
email: cbishop@yorku.ca