LEE ACTOR
Composer
Composer and conductor Lee Actor (b. 1952) has won a number of awards for his compositions, most recently for Dance Rhapsody, which won second place in the 2011 American Prize for Orchestral Composition. Redwood Fanfare was one of three winners of the 2009 Ridgewood Symphony Orchestra Fanfare Competition, Concerto for Horn and Orchestra was the First Prize Winner in the 2007 International Horn Society Composition Contest, Variations and Fugue for Orchestra was a finalist in both the Columbia Orchestra’s 2007 American Composer’s Competition and the Holyoke Civic Symphony’s 2005 Composition Competition, and Prelude to a Tragedy was selected as a finalist in the Columbia Orchestra’s 2005 American Composer’s Competition. Conductor/composer Robert Ian Winstin has written, "Lee Actor's Prelude to a Tragedy is one of the best written new works I've had the privilege to conduct or record. It is clear, precise and very tightly written. It has a style that is completely original … an incredible orchestral tour de force as written by an immensely talented composer."
Actor’s orchestral music is characterized by its dramatic impact and emotional expressivity, featuring a striking use of harmony, counterpoint, motivic development, and lyricism with a fresh, modern flavor. These attributes are most prominent in Actor’s large-scale dramatic works. Conductor Jason Klein has written of Symphony No. 1: “Lee Actor ... is a composer of remarkable skill whose 3-movement symphony has strength, character, and generous helpings of brilliance and humor”, and described Symphony No. 2 as “… energetic, intense, and highly polished.” In a review of Concerto for Violin and Orchestra for the San Mateo County Times, Keith Kreitman wrote: “This is a major work deserving of national attention. … This concerto verges on masterpiece”. His work has been characterized by conductor Kirk Trevor as “… music of the highest quality in craftsmanship, inventiveness, and imagination.”
Actor has received commissions from the Palo Alto Philharmonic, the Redwood Symphony, the Mission Chamber Orchestra, the Silicon Valley Symphony, the Saratoga Symphony, the University of South Dakota, and the Skaneateles Festival. His first CD of orchestral works was released by MMC Recordings in June 2005, which Records International called "...one of the best new symphonic discs to have come our way." A second CD was released by Albany Records in April 2008, featuring Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, which was nominated for 2008 "Best of the Year" classical CD by Classical 94.5/WNED in Buffalo, NY. A third CD of orchestral music, featuring Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra, was released in April 2011 by Navona Records.
A former violinist with the Albany (N.Y.) Symphony Orchestra, Actor has advanced degrees in both engineering and music composition. He has studied composition with Donald Sur, Brent Heisinger, Charles Jones, and Andrew Imbrie, and conducting with Angelo Frascarelli, David Epstein and Higo Harada. Actor was named Composer-in-Residence of the Palo Alto Philharmonic in 2002, following his appointment as Assistant Conductor in 2001, and was Assistant Conductor of the Nova Vista Symphony from 2008-2010. He is a member of the American Music Center and ASCAP, who recently named Actor the recipient of an ASCAPlus award for the ninth consecutive year. He has received awards and grants from ASCAP, the American Music Center, the International Horn Society, and the Ridgewood Symphony Orchestra.
REVIEWS
Lee Actor: Violin Concerto
Nominated for 2008 "Best of the Year" classical CD by Classical 94.5/WNED
"The CD devoted to music of American composer Lee Actor is a keeper. ... The Slovak Radio Symphony is first-rate as conducted by Kirk Trevor ... Superb audio is another plus for this splendid release. Highly recommended! Let there be more recordings of music by this distinctive American composer."
— Robert E. Benson, ClassicalCDReview.com
"The Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra plays this rewarding music quite comfortably under Kirk Trevor, all of which adds up to a production that leaves you wanting to hear more from all concerned. Good job!"
— David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com
"...assured and idiomatic performances. ... [M]ost listeners will love this release."
— Ron Bierman, Music & Vision
"...recommended strongly."
— Paul Cook, American Record Guide
Orchestral Tour de Force
"Actor is [an] American composer to watch."
— Steven Schwartz, Classical Net
Lee Actor: Music for Orchestra
"[I]f there is anything that stands out here for me, it's the intense seriousness of purpose behind this meticulously crafted music—if this is not the "real thing," I don't know what is. ... All in all, the disc offers a portrait of a composer with a consistent voice and a sure-fire dramatic sense."
— Peter J. Rabinowitz, Fanfare magazine
"The recent orchestral music on this new MMC release shows [Actor] working in a lush, backwards-looking, modern-but-tonal language that recalls (as much as anyone else) Bernard Herrmann both in style and in its sense of drama. ... In short: Romantic with a capital "R". The Slovak Radio Symphony under Kirk Trevor play Actor's music with plenty of enthusiasm; their performances are thrilling ... Sonics are clear and strong."
— Mark Lehman, American Record Guide
"This is one of the best new symphonic discs to have come our way ... [Actor] mixes and blends the orchestral families quite expertly ..., creating very attractive colors and moods which accentuate the drama of the music and help draw in the listener."
— Records International
Expert Orchestration
"The four compositions on this recording ... are worth listening to — tonal, beautifully orchestrated and carefully constructed. ... I can't imagine better or more committed versions of this music than those of Kirk Trevor and the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra. Strongly recommended."
— Ron Bierman, Music & Vision
"... a disc beautifully performed and recorded in resplendent sound."
— Peter J. Rabinowitz, Fanfare magazine
General comments
"Actor is an important addition to today's musical scene. His music is imaginative, beautifully scored, he writes tunes, and he obviously has a sense of humor."
— Robert E. Benson, ClassicalCDReview.com
"Lee Actor is one of the refreshing new classical voices I have worked with recently. As a conductor who records a great deal of new American music, I was delighted to find a composer who could still use a traditional language with a freshness that made the music alive and interesting. ... His music is inviting, full of melodic invention, with a harmonic richness that keeps the ear and mind involved. This is music of the highest quality in craftsmanship, inventiveness and imagination."
— Kirk Trevor, conductor
"Lee is a wonderful composer, a real first-rate musician with an individual voice and superb craftsmanship. He deserves to be heard as widely as possible."
— Thomas Shoebotham, Music Director, Palo Alto Philharmonic
"[Actor's] music is ... extremely well crafted."
— John Story, Fanfare magazine
"Lee's music is effective, well-crafted, memorable, and challenging without being difficult to the point of frustration."
— Jason Klein, Music Director, Saratoga Symphony
Dance Rhapsody
"[Dance Rhapsody] has easily recognizable and catchy tunes, a wide variety of moods contained within an easily discerned formal structure, beautifully crafted orchestration, a dollop of humor (all too rare these days) and more than a few very exciting moments, including a sock-em ending. ... [A]n ideal work to either open or close a concert."
— Eric Kujawsky, Music Director, Redwood Symphony
"Lee Actor's Dance Rhapsody fulfills every conductor's need for an audience-pleasing, rip-snorting finale to a concert like Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances without the technical difficulties or the cost. The work is finely balanced between the pathos of the waltz and the bravura of the final Fandango. In between a wry set of Tangos gives the piece moments for the audience to smile at the humor Actor brings to such a stylized dance. The piece is playable by all good semi-pro and professional orchestras. It can look more difficult than it is, until you realize what a good string player Actor must be; the string passages are so well written, that what sounds incredibly brilliant can be played with just a little sectional rehearsal. It is a piece that will be immediately loved by the orchestra because Actor's writing shows off the orchestra to their best without being technically impossible. The work is of a length that it can have a short work before it or can stand on its own in the second half, giving you more rehearsal time for the piece. The end will be sure to bring audiences to their feet; if it doesn't, they are dead!"
— Kirk Trevor, conductor
"All I can say is WOW."
— Rebecca Wesley, past President, Palo Alto Philharmonic
Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra
"I have never heard a better work for the saxophone."
— Keith Kreitman, music critic
"This work is gratifying to perform: nicely structured and orchestrated, with a beautiful 2nd movement, and very accessible for the audience!"
— Emily Ray, Music Director, Mission Chamber Orchestra
"Lee Actor's virtuosic saxophone concerto takes us on an exciting musical quest that is mysterious, heartfelt, uplifting and invigorating. It is a wonderful and valuable addition to the saxophone repertoire!"
— Debra Richtmeyer, Professor of Saxophone, University of Illinois
"I think it should be in the library of every classical sax player."
— Jason Klein, Music Director, Saratoga Symphony
"[A] truly enjoyable piece for both soloist and audience."
— Ashu, saxophonist
"Something I think conductors have needed for a long time is a sax concerto that is not necessarily Ibert, Glauzunov or Debussy Rhapsody. This is a concerto that I believe saxophonists will be learning because of its versatility. Conductors should note that the piece is a finely intertwined work for chamber-sized orchestra that gives the orchestra a beautiful role as accompanist. The concerto has a slow movement to die for, (I have said that before about Actor's Violin Concerto, but it is true that he writes these incredible slow movements that you keep listening to over and over), a brilliant third movement and a finely crafted opening movement. Lee's skills as a musical craftsman are so strong – I never get the feeling in any of his works that this movement has gone on too long or this was not developed enough – his works always seem to be the right length, the right balance and designed to please both audience and performers alike. This work is one that saxophonists should be licking their chops to get into, and conductors don't have to worry any more about trying to program around rather awkward sax concertos that we have in the repertoire. This concerto can follow a Mozart overture and precede a Tchaikovsky symphony with no problem. Go listen, then go program..."
— Kirk Trevor, conductor
Opening Remarks
"[A] work I can recommend without hesitation to any colleague..."
— Jason Klein, Music Director, Saratoga Symphony
Meditation for Violin and Orchestra
"Meditation is a deeply felt and perfectly executed lyric for violin and orchestra. I highly recommend it to violinists and conductors alike."
— Andrew Levin, conductor
Concerto for Horn and Orchestra
" ... an accessible and pleasing work for horn and orchestra."
"Outstanding construction, excellent pacing and proportion. Fine interplay between soloist and orchestra. A true concerto! (Wish I'd written it!)"
"Great scoring and orchestral writing. The sounds are quite introspective and/or evocative — especially 1st and 2nd mvts."
— comments from judges of the 2007 IHS Composition Contest
" ... a master work of melody, harmony, and rhythm. It is expertly orchestrated to enhance the glorious and challenging horn solo. The horn writing is technically brilliant with an intuitive and masterful understanding of the instrument. The orchestral accompaniment is crafted beautifully, grabbing and holding the attention of audience and performers alike. This is a fantastic composition that should please a broad range of music lovers ... I believe this marvelous new work will become part of the standard Horn Solo repertoire. It is a real privilege and honor to have presented the premiere performance of the Concerto for Horn and Orchestra."
— Michael Paul Gibson, Music Director, Silicon Valley Symphony
" ... a fantastic new work which certainly will sit at the helm of modern brass concertos. It is full of emotion, color, and contrast. Lee's writing uses the horn to full effect and exploits all of the heroic, lyrical, and subtle capabilities of the instrument. Although it certainly offers great challenges to the performer, the writing is very idiomatic and lies well within the limits of an accomplished player. The music is full of wonderful themes, great excitement, and beautiful colors (drawing from both new and old harmonic languages). Most importantly, the concerto for horn is greatly accessible, allowing the audience to be swept along as the music flows. On a personal note, I thoroughly enjoyed playing the concerto and very much look forward to the next performance opportunity!"
— Bernhard Scully, Principal Horn, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra
"This striking work ... has distinctive themes that are both assertive and lyrical, a physical length (14:00) and combination of forms that are listener-friendly, and a sense of musical unity that is very appealing. ... This is a terrific piece for an audience and I expect it will get a lot of play."
— Jeffrey Snedeker, The Horn Call (journal of the International Horn Society)
"It's a terrific piece ... lots of of rhythmic energy ... the slow movement is just gorgeous ... the writing is really something special."
— Steven Amundson, Conductor, St. Olaf Orchestra
Symphony No. 2
"[T]he slow movement and finale are terrific, moody and ebullient by turns, and once again there's no questioning Actor's ability as an orchestral writer."
— David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com
"Mr. Actor's new symphony is a powerful, exciting work, one that deserves to be an important part of the modern orchestral repertory."
— Thomas Shoebotham, Music Director, Palo Alto Philharmonic
" ... energetic, intense, and highly polished. ... Holst-like grandeur, Shostakovich-like excitement, and thoroughly Actor-like character, structure, and accessibility."
— Jason Klein, Music Director, Saratoga Symphony
"The concluding third movement, with its driving and joyful ostinatos, is the highlight [of Actor's Symphony No. 2]."
— Ron Bierman, Music & Vision
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra
"[Actor's] violin concerto could easily become a favorite on today's concert scene. ... [T]he conclusion of Meditation, with its high harmonics, is exquisite, and the final movement is a dazzling showpiece."
— Robert E. Benson, ClassicalCDReview.com
"Lee Actor has crafted ... a wonderfully tuneful, beautifully scored violin concerto that very easily could find its way into the modern repertoire. ... [T]he whole piece is written so well that the result is just what you'd think most people would want: a work that's traditional in feel but fresh in expression."
— David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com
Peninsula Composer's Gem Deserves Masterpiece Status
"For many years I've harbored a secret wish to be present at the introduction of a great musical work. Peninsula composer Lee Actor has granted my wish with a first performance of his Concerto for Violin and Orchestra ... This is a major work deserving of national attention. ... This concerto verges on masterpiece"
— Keith Kreitman, San Mateo County Times
"Lee Actor's ebullient and gorgeously romantic Violin Concerto is surely going to become an American classic. It is a global work, appreciated by all listeners, the luscious harmonies, the technically brilliant writing for the violin, the wonderful interplay between soloist and orchestra. I don't want to say who it sounds like, because it sounds like Actor ... [I]f you are looking for something new to excite your audience with, this is the real thing."
— Kirk Trevor, conductor
"The [Violin Concerto] is a giant step forward for Actor. If it gets the concert performances it deserves, it will surely be a crowd pleaser. ... Pip Clarke's passionate style is an ideal match for this hyper-romantic concerto..."
— Ron Bierman, Music & Vision
"... [Actor's] Violin Concerto could become a classic ... Actor's concerto does have all the melodic sway of Barber's classic piece."
— Paul Cook, American Record Guide
"... significantly engaging ... completely entertaining ... Overall, it's a delightful piece and one I would gladly hear again."
— John Orr, Palo Alto Daily News
"Lee Actor's [Violin] Concerto [is an] excellent piece, so well written, creative, natural and fresh."
— Patricio Aizaga, Music Director, Orquesta Filarmónica del Ecuador
"To have a piece of music written for you, especially one so exceptional, is indeed a great honor. I have truly loved working with this concerto, and have found it both challenging and fulfilling. The music is exciting, passionate and highly romantic, the latter being especially true of the slow movement – which is my favorite, filled with beautiful melodies and writing throughout. ... [Lee is] a composer who really knows his music and all that he is trying to communicate with it. I do hope that the concerto will gain performances all over the globe and I am sure it will become a favorite with audiences. Bravo Lee!"
— Pip Clarke, violinist
Concerto for Timpani and Orchestra
"The piece is fun, jazzy and written perfectly for the instrument! I had a blast performing it!"
— Stuart Chafetz, Principal Timpanist, Honolulu Symphony
"The Actor Timpani Concerto gives an opportunity for Music Directors to finally present their timpanist ... in an audience friendly twelve minute concerto that really pulls off the impossible – namely to make the Timpani as exciting as some of its mallet brothers in the percussion section. The work, while providing the usually visual treat of crossing hands (and flying sticks!) also has much melodic interest for the soloist, as well as a jazz oriented rhythmically driving main theme. Real fun for those concerts where you would like to feature your own players."
— Kirk Trevor, conductor
"... upbeat and entertaining."
— Ron Bierman, Music & Vision
"... an excellent concerto ... a contemporary work that is traditional in concept and exciting for the timpanist."
— George Frock, Percussive Notes
Prelude to a Tragedy
"Lee Actor's Prelude to a Tragedy is one of the best written new works I've had the privilege to conduct or record. It is clear, precise and very tightly written. It has a style that is completely original, yet harkens back to another time ...
'Prelude to a Tragedy' ... is an invitation to experience an incredible orchestral tour de force as written by an immensely talented composer."
— Robert Ian Winstin, conductor
"Most striking might be the Prelude to a Tragedy, beautifully crafted and woven together in a Scriabinesque-type tone poem."
— Kirk Trevor, conductor
"The Prelude is as well crafted, artistically composed piece as I've heard."
— Dr. Jesse Ayers, composer
"The music grips the listener at once and holds him in its spell."
— Mark Lehman, American Record Guide
"... [a] concentrated and powerful work ..."
— Peter J. Rabinowitz, Fanfare magazine
"This piece is one of the best new works I have had the privilege to conduct. It is one of the best new works I have ever heard. The Prelude immediately captures our attention, sweeping us forward on an unforgettable and incredible journey. The composition is clear, expertly constructed, exciting, and unbelievably powerful! The full orchestra is challenged with new, but somehow familiar music that only gets better and better after each playing and each hearing. The haunting and tragic melody stays with us long after the music ends."
— Michael Paul Gibson, Music Director, Silicon Valley Symphony
Symphony No. 1
"Lee Actor ... is a composer of remarkable skill whose 3-movement symphony has strength, character, and generous helpings of brilliance and humor."
— Jason Klein, Music Director, Saratoga Symphony
"The Symphony is exceptional in its cohesiveness. In the course of thirty minutes, we always know where we are with this work. I have rarely been one to program new American Symphonies, but in the past five years I have found two that make my list: Samuel Jones' third and Lee Actor's first."
— Kirk Trevor, conductor
"[The first movement] is tense and dramatic in its martial belligerence and larger-than-life sweep, while the central 'Lament' spins off long, entwining melodic lines over an insistent pulse to reach a climactic proclamation of tragic defiance ... [The final movement] is brisk, assertive, and ultimately triumphant, its sumptuous orchestral panoply calling up Holst's Planets. This is a composer who thinks in big, bold gestures and heroic emotions."
— Mark Lehman, American Record Guide
"... a formally tight work, both in terms of its overall architecture ... and in terms of the intricate interconnections among the fundamental thematic and motivic materials. Still, ... the work's power lies even more in its atmosphere than in its structural ingenuity."
— Peter J. Rabinowitz, Fanfare magazine
"[T]he 34-minute, three-movement symphony stands quite comfortable as pure music in the best examples of its genre."
— Records International
"... a worthy piece of music ... broadly faithful to [the symphonic] tradition ... well scored and instrumented."
— Keith Kreitman, San Mateo County Times
Redwood Fanfare
"... uses the full orchestra to brilliant effect."
— Eric Kujawsky, Music Director, Redwood Symphony
"The Redwood Fanfare, not surprisingly, is a bit showier—but even here, Actor plays with traditional gestures in a challenging way."
— Peter J. Rabinowitz, Fanfare magazine
"... very impressive and memorable."
— Keith Kreitman, San Mateo County Times
Variations and Fugue for Orchestra
"There's a wide variety of mood here; but it's held together not only by its formal processes but also by a gravity of intention that gives the work a strong, and slightly disturbing, expressive pull."
— Peter J. Rabinowitz, Fanfare magazine
Peninsula Symphony Wows With Local Work
"The concert opened with ... Variations and Fugue for Orchestra (2001), an early indicator of [Actor's] emerging style. He is neither a modernist nor a traditionalist, but falls somewhere in between.
I find it impossible to do justice describing his musical sounds in words, but I am able to write this: He is a marvel at orchestration, a master of selecting and blending the tonal colorations of the various instruments in the orchestra and packaging these into very full musical phrases."
— Keith Kreitman, San Mateo County TImes