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Raymond Luedeke papers

 Collection 0215-SCPA

Raymond Luedeke (b. New York, NY, 11 November 1941), a North American composer, clarinetist, and educator, was born a U.S. citizen but also became a naturalized citizen of Canada in 1988. He returned to New York in 2010. Luedeke earned a Bachelor of Music in music history from the Eastman School of Music in 1966, a Master of Music in composition from the Catholic University of America in 1971, and a Doctor of Musical Arts in composition from Northwestern University in 1976. His composition teachers include George Crumb, George T. Jones, and Alan Stout. As a clarinetist, he was briefly principal clarinet with the Colorado Philharmonic, studied at the Vienna Academy of Music on a Fulbright Grant (1966-1967), and then played clarinet in the U.S. Air Force Band (1967-1971). Luedeke served as a composition and clarinet professor at University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point (1971-1974), followed by a similar appointment at the University of Missouri, Kansas City (1976-81). In 1981, he became associate principal clarinet of the Toronto Symphony, where he stayed until his retirement in 2010. The collection consists of scores and part sets of his compositions from 1965 through 2016, recordings of his compositions from 1987 through 2015, and professional papers from 1966 through 2016.

Dates

  • 1965-2016
  • Majority of material found within 1980-2014

Use and Access to Collection

There are no restricted files in this collection. Performance editions are available from the American Composers Alliance (www.composers.com).

Duplication and Copyright Information

Copyright was not transferred to the University of Maryland with the physical gift of the scores. The composer or his publishers retain any copyright possessed in the collection. The University of Maryland Libraries is granted permission for the use in scholarly research by the Libraries’ patrons under fair use in Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act.

Extent

3.50 Linear Feet

Scope and Content of Collection

The Raymond Luedeke papers contains materials that span the period of 1965 to 2016; the bulk of the material dates from 1980 to 2014. The collection consists of published print scores and part sets. The collection consists of published print scores, part sets, recordings of his compositions from 1987 through 2015, and professional papers from 1966 through 2016.

Biography

Raymond Luedeke (b. New York, NY, 11 November 1941), a North American composer, clarinetist, and educator, became a naturalized citizen of Canada in 1988, but returned to New York in 2010. Luedeke earned a Bachelor of Music in music history from the Eastman School of Music in 1966, a Master of Music in composition from the Catholic University of America in 1971, and a Doctor of Musical Arts in composition from Northwestern University in 1976. His composition teachers include George Crumb, George T. Jones, and Alan Stout. As a clarinetist, he was briefly principal clarinet with the Colorado Philharmonic, studied at the Vienna Academy of Music on a Fulbright Grant (1966-1967), and then played clarinet in the U.S. Air Force Band (1967-1971). Luedeke served as a composition and clarinet professor at University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point (1971-1974), followed by a similar appointment at the University of Missouri, Kansas City (1976-81). In 1981, he became associate principal clarinet of the Toronto Symphony, where he stayed until his retirement in 2010.

Recordings of his music include Shadow Music with the Louisville Orchestra, The Transparency of Time with pianist Andre LaPlante and the Winnipeg Symphony, The Moon in the Labyrinth and The Lyre of Orpheus with harpist Judy Loman and the Orford String Quartet, Brass Quintet with the New Mexico Brass Quintet, Circus Music with the Hannaford Street Silver Band, and Ah, Matsushima! with violin/marimba duo Jacques and Michael Israelievitch. Quartetto Gelato has recorded Luedeke's arrangement of Maurice Ravel's Le Tombeau de Couperin and has performed it worldwide. He has received numerous grants and awards, among them prizes from the Manhattan Choral Ensemble, the Percussive Arts Society, the International Horn Society, and Northwestern University. His contest winning orchestral Fanfare, opened Toronto's Thomson Hall and his overture The North Wind's Gift was performed throughout Europe in the 1991 tour of the Toronto Symphony. Six Canadian orchestras jointly commissioned Luedeke's Tales of the Netsilik for narrator and orchestra.

Luedeke is also an experienced librettist and has collaborated with playwright Sean Dixon for his first opera, Wild Flowers, produced at The Guelph Spring Festival. Subsequently, he worked with director/dramaturge Tom Diamond to write the libretto for his second opera, The Magical Singing Drum, and the script for The Art of Love/Into the Labyrinth for two pianos, visuals and actor. In summer 2007, Leudeke established the music theater company, Voice Afire Pocket Opera and Cabaret, and produced three shows: Viva Pablo Neruda (I Confess, I Have Lived) based on the poetry of Pablo Neruda; Butterfly's Trouble, a re-invention of Puccini's opera; and Close Embrace relives the Golden Age of Argentine Tango.

Arrangement

This collection is organized into three series.

  1. Compositions, 1965-2016
  2. Recordings, 1987-2015
  3. Papers, 1966-2016

Custodial History and Acquisition Information

Gifts of Raymond Luedeke received in September and October 2015, as well as later in June, and in August 2016, and August and September 2017.

Title
Raymond Luedeke papers
Status
Completed
Author
Processed by Vincent Novara, October 2015, revised September 2016 and September 2017
Date
2015-10-28
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English

Revision Statements

  • 2016-10-28: EAD markup validated using Oxygen software by John Davis, October 2015.
  • 2016-10-19: EAD markup validated using Oxygen software by John Davis, October 2016.

Library Details

Part of the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library

Contact:
University of Maryland Libraries
8270 Alumni Drive
College Park MD 20742 United States