Philip Carlsen

Biography

Born in Coulee Dam, Washington, in 1951, Philip Carlsen studied at the University of Washington, Brooklyn College, and the CUNY Graduate Center, working principally with Robert Suderburg and Jacob Druckman, as well as with Stuart Dempster, William Bergsma, Mario Davidovsky, and Charles Dodge.  He has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Institute of Arts and Letters, and the Maine Arts Commission; a residency at the MacDowell Colony; and the 1989 American Composers Alliance/Town Hall Commission. 

The National Symphony Orchestra, in connection with its nationwide residency program, chose Carlsen to represent Maine in writing a new chamber work for premiere at the Kennedy Center that would “express the spirit of Maine’s people.”  Other commissions have come from the Portland Symphony Orchestra, the Bossov Ballet Theatre, the Sebago-Long Lakes Region Chamber Music Festival, the trio Penumbra, etc.  Carlsen’s solo piano piece “October,” recorded by his son Melsen, is available from Navona Records on the SCI CD series.

In addition to his orchestral, chamber, and vocal music for traditional Western musicians, Carlsen has also composed for Javanese and Sundanese gamelan, for Laotian khean, and for his own original instruments.  He has written and premiered five pieces for automobile orchestra in Farmington, Maine.  One of them, “ReinCARnation,” was encored in October 2015 in the courtyard of Schloss Mirabell in Salzburg.

Carlsen is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Maine at Farmington, where he conducted the orchestra and taught other music courses for 33 years.  He lives in South Portland, Maine, with his wife, the poet Jeri Theriault.

ACE Publications

80 title(s)
Composer Title SCORING/INSTRUMENTATION Year
Philip Carlsen IMPROMPTU Euphonium, Marimba
Philip Carlsen Dem ESCHART von Brunswick gewidmet 8 pianos in separate rooms
Philip Carlsen Gambangan solo marimba
Philip Carlsen At the Winter Window SATB chorus and piano
Philip Carlsen Rhizome Bass Flute, Trumpet, Vibraphone, and Double Bass
Philip Carlsen Cool Mosses Deep Flute Octet (piccolo, 4 C-flutes, 2 alto flutes, bass flute)
Philip Carlsen Fantazy a6 6 Trombones
5 Tenor Trombones, 1 Bass Trombone
Philip Carlsen Adrift Among the Willows Clarinet, Violin, Viola, and Cello
Philip Carlsen earth dance SATB choir, piano
Philip Carlsen Chompling Euphonium and Marimba
Philip Carlsen Strolling Grover's Row Big Band
Flute, Clarinet, A. Sax, T. Sax, Bar. Sax - 4 Trumpets, 3 Trombones, Bass Trombone - Piano, Drums, Bass
Philip Carlsen You Spotted Snakes SSA Chorus
Philip Carlsen Elegy for Al Cello
Philip Carlsen Able Was I 2 Cellos and 2 Sets of Block Drums
Philip Carlsen MIND THE KELP Four Cellos
Philip Carlsen Because it was there Trombone Choir
18 Trombones (May be done with as few as 12 or as many as 36)
Philip Carlsen Ephemera Bass Clarinet and Marimba
Philip Carlsen Bella Above Mezzo-Soprano, Cello, and Piano
Philip Carlsen Pour les sixtes Vibraphone and Marimba
Philip Carlsen Grandsire Triples Vibraphone and Marimba
Philip Carlsen Braided streams Marimba
Philip Carlsen When the Trees Came for Her Mixed Chorus, Soprano Solo, and Piano
Philip Carlsen Stutter Step Trumpet and Piano
Philip Carlsen Confused Prayer Mezzo-Soprano and Piano
Philip Carlsen Bereavement Status Mezzo-Soprano and Piano

Additional Works