Dates

• Existence: November 11, 1944

Biography

Luedeke, Raymond. Composer, clarinetist, b New York 11 Nov 1944, naturalized Canadian 1988. He attended the Eastman School of Music, Rochester (1966), the Vienna Academy of Music, (1966), the Catholic University of America (1971), and Northwestern University (1976). After graduating from the ESM, he was briefly principal clarinet with the Colorado Philharmonic and then studied 1966-7 at the Vienna Academy of Music on a Fulbright Grant. He played clarinet 1967-71 in the US Air Force Band and concurrently studied composition with George T. Jones at Catholic U in Washington, DC. He taught composition and clarinet 1971-4 at the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point, and studied composition with George Crumb in Philadelphia in the summer of 1973. He continued his composition studies 1974-6 with Alan Stout at Northwestern U in Evanston, Ill. He then taught clarinet and composition 1976-81 at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, and in 1981 became associate principal clarinet of the Toronto Symphony.

As a composer Luedeke has been praised for his imaginative scoring, his outstanding craftsmanship, and his ability to write music that is appealing to performers and audiences alike. He has cited Ives, Britten, Lutoslawski, and Crumb as major influences. Conservative and avant-garde styles frequently interact in his own music in what he has termed a 'counterpoint of opposites'. His works have won Northwestern University's Fericy Award (Sonata for viola and piano), the Missouri Contemporary Music Competition in 1978 (Mystery Madrigals) and 1980 (Fancies and Interludes II), the 1981 International Horn Society Composition Competition (Fancies and Interludes III), the 1983 Percussive Arts Society Composition Contest (Fancies and Interludes IV), and the fanfare competition for the opening of Roy Thomson (Fanfare). Canadian musicians and organizations to have commissioned works from Luedeke include the Alliance for Canadian New Music Projects (Three Lyrical Studies), the Canadian Saxophone Quintet (Garbage Delight), Rivka Golani (My Secret Life), Judy Loman (The Moon in the Labyrinth), Nexus (Silence!), radio station CKLN (String Quartet), the York Winds (Nocturnal Variations), and the TS (Shadow Music; The Transparency of Time, jointly with André Laplante; Tales of the Netsilik, jointly with the Calgary Philharmonic, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, MSO, Orchestra London Canada, and Quebec Symphony Orchestra; and The North Wind's Gift, jointly with the Calgary Philharmonic and Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, and performed by the TS on its 1991 European tour). Luedeke is a member of the CLComp and an associate of the Canadian Music Centre and the American Composers Alliance. He is an affiliate of BMI.

Source: Elliot, Robin. Raymond Luedeke: Encyclopedia of Music in Canada. 2008. The Canadian Encyclopedia. 16 April 2008 /www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com>.

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