Coleman, Michael

Michael Coleman

Prize winner composer of the ICC “The contemporary piano 2018” for his work for solo piano “Two Bagatelles”
Honorable mention to the ICC “The contemporary piano 2018” for his work for solo piano “Seville Rag”  

Michael Coleman received his doctorate from the University of Maryland and holds degrees from the University of New Orleans and the University of South Alabama, studying with Lawrence Moss, Jerry Sieg, and Carl Alette. He has participated as composer/pianist in numerous new music programs and festivals in the U.S. and Russia and has also had works performed in Costa Rica, France, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. Among his awards are First Prize in the 1989 Res Musica Baltimore Competition, First Prize in both the 1991 and 1992 NFMC National Composer’s Competitions, Artist Fellowship Grant from the Alabama State Council on the Arts (1995), two Silver Medals in the 2017 Global Music Awards, and First Diploma in the National and International Categories of the 2018 & 2019 Golden Key Piano Composition Competitions.

As pianist, he has premiered his own works and works by Merab Gagnidze, Kari Henrik Juusela, Jerry Sieg, and Sergei Zhukov. His “The ’96 Etude” was recently performed by Steinway Artist Kadisha Onalbayeva at Carnegie Hall on June 6, 2018. Kadisha Onalbayeva also premiered “Arman” (Piano Concerto No. 1) in 2016 with the Louisiana Sinfonietta under the direction of Dinos Constantinides. His “String Quartet No. 1” will be released on a new CD in 2019 titled “Alabama String Quartets” by the Amernet String Quartet. He is on the faculties of Pensacola State College and the University of West Florida, and is organist/music director at Zion Lutheran Church in Silverhill, Alabama.

mcoleman@uwf.edu

Prize winning composition for solo piano “Two Bagatelles”

Two Bagatelles (1995) are written for solo piano and are dedicated to the Alabama State Council on the Arts and were among Coleman’s composition projects during his ASCA Artist Fellowship grant term of 1994-95. The two works are composed in a slow-fast tempo scheme. Bagatelle I could be described as an introduction or prelude to the more rhythmically animated Bagatelle II. Coleman premiered Two Bagatelles in September, 1995 at Pensacola Junior College, Pensacola, Florida (now known as Pensacola State College).

Honorable mention composition for solo piano “Seville Rag”

Seville Rag is a traditionally structured four-section rag for solo piano that was originally titled Pensacola Rag. The title was later changed to Seville Rag at the suggestion of tubist and music colleague Tim Jackson. The work has a few occurrences of 5/8 and 3/4 meter to give the work a slightly unpredictable flow. The title of the work is derived from The Seville Quarter, which is a group of restaurants and bars located in downtown Pensacola and is known for its live entertainment and thriving night-life. This work is composed for and dedicated to pianist Bobby van Deusen, who has been a very popular and frequent performer in these establishments. One of van Deusen’s performances of Seville Rag took place at the Evenings at Old Seville Square concert series in Pensacola where he performed the work with Tim Jackson (tuba) and Steve Maniscola (drums) in front an audience of several thousand.