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Jonathan Pieslak ’96
Jonathan Pieslak, music major class of 1996 and currently Assistant Professor of Music at The City College of New York (CCNY), was chosen as one of two recipients of the American Academy of Arts and Letters' Goddard Lieberson Fellowship for 2006. The Fellowship is presented to “mid-career composers of exceptional gifts” and carries a $15,000 stipend. It is one of 18 music awards announced by the Academy to be presented at its annual Ceremonial in May.
“This is an extraordinary recognition for Jonathan’s talents, and we at City College are proud that our students have the opportunity to study with musicians of his caliber at a public institution,” said CUNY City College Music Department Chair Professor Stephen Jablonsky.
Professor Pieslak, describing his music, said, “My music is influenced by the many musical genres that have shaped my life. As a kid growing up in the suburbs of Wilmington, Del., my first real pursuit of music came as an electric bassist, playing in jazz, Latin, and rock bands.
“My formal academic training in composition came later during my undergraduate and graduate years, and as a composer I often felt tension between my love for contemporary classical music and my performance roots in the rhythmically-driven elements from rock and Latin music. I think that the music I compose is the product of the different styles that have remained an important part of my musical life.”
His music has been performed and broadcast throughout the United States and internationally, entailing recent and upcoming collaborations with the Kiev Philharmonic, North/South Consonance, Plainfield Symphony Orchestra, Radio Resita, Resita, Romania), Lost Dog New Musik Ensemble, Oberlin College Concert Choir, Oregon Bach Festival, University Symphony Orchestra of the University of Michigan, and receiving acclaim in concert venues as “a powerful and intense statement” [The Michigan Daily] and “especially inspired” [The Eugene Register-Guard]. His orchestra work, severed, was recently recorded by the Kiev Philharmonic and included on ERM Media’s “Masterworks of the New Era, Volume 4” CD (available through www.amazon.com). He has been recognized with awards and commissions from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Jerome Foundation, American Composers Forum, American Music Center, National Federation of Music Clubs, MacDowell Colony, The City College of New York, Renée Fisher Composition Competition, Diana Barnhart Vocal Composition Contest, Archmere Academy, Richard Ross Music Award, State of Delaware, and the Hilton Head Jazz Society. His music can be heard at Jonathan's Myspace.
In addition to these compositional activities, Professor Pieslak is also an active theorist and performer. His research covers topics ranging from meta-theory to heavy metal analysis (including the music of Korn and the Swedish band, Meshuggah), to music and the war in Iraq. He has published numerous articles and presented papers at distinguished institutions and conferences including The Society for Music Theory, The Dublin International Conference on Music Analysis, The Music Theory Society of New York State, The International Association for the Study of Popular Music (IASPM) and others. As a performer, he is bassist in the band half.
Professor Pieslak holds Ph.D. and M.M. degrees from University of Michigan and a B.A. from Davidson College.