My mission includes the restoration and dissemination of the highest musical and compositional standards to other musicians, students, and audiences that were taught to me by great masters of the twentieth century. An appointment within a respected university on an open ended basis would add to continue my already robust path of teaching, speaking, composing, and research articles.
Musical Summary
I am a musical descendant of the Karol Rathaus school of musicianship and compositional theory and practice. The roots of this date back to Brahms/Fuchs, then Franz Schreker, Rathaus, and the trio of composers at Queens College (Berkowitz, Fontrier, and Kraft). My body of composition work, teachings, writings and lectures are firmly grounded in these traditional western music composition techniques, which include extensive background in theory, Schenkerian analyis and its application towards advanced compositional thought and practice, and structural hearing. Other composers with whom I studied include George Perle, Hugo Weisgal, and Henry Weinberg.
Administrative and Institutional Summary
CEO of a corporate finance firm for approximately 20 years. The firm had offices and employees in multiple states, and hundreds of affiliate members throughout the USA. We provided advisory, consulting, due diligence, and finance placement services. Over the course of time we worked with hundreds of small and medium sized companies whose financing needs were several billion dollars in the aggregate. These leadership experiences are far beyond the scope of what is required administratively at universities for the teaching of music.
Media And Commercial Representation
Soda Box Music (boutique music agency) for original scoring for motion pictures, film, TV, video games, advertizing engagements worldwide.
Education
BA/MA combined degree in music composition (1976). Youngest graduate in the history of Queens College, CUNY at the age of twenty with a Masters in Music Composition. Various distinguished awards were received.
Masters thesis: Sextet For String Quartet Double Bass and Harpsichord (recording on YouTube).
MS in Accounting 1979: CW Post, Long Island University, School of Professional Accountancy.
Work And Professional Experience In Two Parts
Part I. Business and Corporate Finance
1979 – 2014: Accountancy, Corporate Finance, Corporate investments. See above for administrative and institutional summary.
Part II. Music
A. Teaching:
Queens College Faculty Assignment (at age 19): Courses taught included solfege, music appreciation, adult piano for non-musicians, and composition (assumption of the duties of Professor Gabriel Fontrier as a result of his illness).
B. Advanced Composition Consulting Services and Teaching For Over 30 Years:
I have been teaching and consulting with composers at all levels for several decades on an individual level. Senior composers that I work with require the strictest levels of nondisclosure relationships. I rarely charge fees for such services, and provide them on an ad hoc basis. Composers that I work with are both in the serious classical market as well as in media. A description of these services can be viewed at Music Score Doctor Services
C. 2014 – Present:
Full time composer (I have been composing music on a part time basis for most of my adult life)
D. Articles Published (four samples):
Three Dimensional Music Composition
Continuing Education For Composers – The Need and Opportunity
Composition Technique vs. Harmonic Technique
Just The Right Next Note – The Stuff They Don’t Teach In Music Composition School
Additional articles can be viewed available at this link on my website. https://stevenlebetkin.com/articles-and-musical-thoughts/
Some of these articles were also published by Huffington Post where I ran a music column at the invitation of Arianna Huffington.
E. Music Publication
My work is published by Subito Music Corporation. Several dozen scores are being uploaded at this time. You may check back periodically for new contributions. Click here.
F. Public Speaking, Seminars and Master Classes in Composition
I make it a policy to preside over master classes in composition at universities and conservatories around the world at institutions in cities where my works are performed. This included a four city tour of Turkey and hundreds of composers. I have also done this before the Conductors Guild in Fort Worth (video recording on YouTube), the College Orchestra Directors Association (CODA) in Boston at MIT, February 2019, and at Hillsdale College, Michigan for the premiere of Three Sunsets, April, 2019.
Selecting Film Composers, School of Visual Arts in New York.
http://filmandanimation.sva.edu/selecting-film-composers/
http://filmandanimation.sva.edu/guest-composer-blog-steve/
G. Compositions and Recordings
Most of my works are recorded and can be reviewed on my YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCV1RReLen9zY8weDDpe4bEw?view_as=subscriber
These include chamber works, song cycles, ballet, symphonies, large orchestral works, and much more.
Scores are available upon request.
H. Past and Upcoming Performances
My works have been performed around the world, including Europe, South America, and the USA.
Hillsdale Chamber Choir recently performed Three Sunsets for a capella choir on April 13, 2019 under the direction of James Holleman. The recording is now available on my YouTube channel.
Clemson Symphony Orchestra performed Libera Me – Fanfare for Freedom in April, 2019 under the direction of Andrew Levin. A recording was made and in production for upload to my YouTube channel.
Also coming up are performances of my Symphony for Band (world premiere on April 14, 2019 by the Queens Wind Symphony under the direction of Charles Neidich), Bagetelles for Piano (in Europe) a full production in the fall 2020 of Cycle of the Earth (ballet for symphony orchestra) in California, and a new orchestral commission at a university in the Washington, D.C. Area.
My Violin Concerto had its world premiere at Carnegie Hall in NY in October, 2017 under the baton of Maestra Amy Andersson and Orchestra Moderne. An archival study recording is available (Carnegie Hall prohibits commercial distribution). Score and archival recording is available.
I. Commercial Recording
A new album of music that represents a hybrid approach to classical, commercial, and novel media styles (“New Age Chamber Music”) was publicly released on November 23, 2019. It is available for listening and download at https://stevelebetkin.bandcamp.com/. The recording was composed, produced, and co-engineered by me using the most advanced DAW and sample libraries technologies in the market. Exclusive representation of this album for TV and film has been assigned to Soda Box Music.
References
Available upon request.