Howard Yermish: Finding the Horizon for Double Bass and Piano/Harp

About the Composition

Originally written for Susan Wulff, double bass, in 1999. Updated version in 2018 for harp.

About the Composer

Howard Yermish (b. 1971, Philadelphia, PA) has a Bachelor of Music from the Eastman School of Music (1994) where he graduated with highest distinction, and a Masters of Music from the USC Thornton School of Music (1996) where he was named the outstanding student in composition.

Recently, Mr. Yermish was commissioned by the Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia to write a work for chorus, orchestra, and boys choir for their 20th Anniversary concert in 2002 based on text by poet Mark Strand. Silver Reflections was performed on May 19, 2002 at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia.

Named the regional and national winner of the Society of Composers student composition competition, his work Five Images has been performed by the Kansas City NewEar Contemporary Music Ensemble (1997), by the New York New Music Ensemble at the California State University Summer Arts Festival (1997), by members of Continuum and the Debussy Trio at the Oregon Festival of American Music (1997), by the USC Contemporary Music Ensemble (1997), by the Arizona State University (2001) and at the Society of Composers National Convention by the Indiana New Music Group (1998). His work for bowed piano and percussion, Ritual, was awarded the ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer Award (1998), and was performed by the USC Percussion Ensemble at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (1997). He has won many composition prizes including a Presser Foundation Music Award (1998), the Halsey Stevens prize (1997), the Jimmy McHugh prize (1996), the Hans J. Salter prize (1995), the Louis Lane prize (1994), as well as awards through ASCAP including Young Composer's Awards (1993, 1998) and the Max Dreyfus Scholarship (1991). He has been nominated for awards by the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1993), and has received a Composition Fellowship for the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival through the Yale School of Music (1993). During his graduate work at USC, Yermish taught courses in ear training and composition. From 1997 through 2000, he was the artistic director and conductor of the Digital Renaissance Consort, an ensemble dedicated to the performance of new American music and community outreach.

His teachers have included Samuel Adler, Warren Benson, Donald Crockett, Stephen Hartke, Christopher Rouse, Allan Schindler, Joseph Schwantner, and Frank Ticheli.