Tom Schnauber
Chair, Department of Performing Arts; Associate Professor of Performing Arts
Ph.D., M.Mus., University of Michigan; B.Mus., University of Southern California; Adv. Stud. Cert. SMPTV
Office hours: See Office Door
Other times by appointment
Office: Administration Building, Room 462
Phone: (617) 264-7772
E-mail: schnauth@emmanuel.edu
German-American composer Tom Schnauber is currently Chair of the Performing Arts Department at Emmanuel College in Boston. A former member of Composers in Red Sneakers, he is Co-Founder and Co-Director of the arts organization WordSong. He holds a Ph.D. in composition and theory from the University of Michigan. He has also studied French horn performance, ethnomusicology, and did a small stint in Hollywood scoring films no one will ever see.
Professional Highlights
A versatile composer, Schnauber enjoys writing for a variety of ensembles. His list of more than three-dozen works includes music for unaccompanied instruments, chamber ensembles, solo voice and vocal ensembles, string orchestra, percussion ensemble, and symphony orchestra. He has written opera, musicals, and incidental music for stage productions by Toledo University, Coe College, Emmanuel College, and Ann Arbor's Wild Swan Theater.
Schnauber has won several awards for composition, including both the grand prize and the music director's prize from the Chamber Orchestra Kremlin's 2006 International "Homage to Mozart" competition; the American Composer's Award from the Columbia Orchestra; and the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival Meritorious Achievement Award for Original Musical Score. Excerpts from his ungrand opera With Such Friends...were selected and performed by the New York City Opera as part of the VOX 2007 Showcase of New American Opera. The entire opera was premiered in August, 2010 by the Bluegrass Opera in Lexington, KY.
His music has been performed throughout the United States as well as in Germany, Italy, Spain, Russia, and Taiwan by ensembles such as the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra Kremlin, the Columbia Orchestra, the NIH Philharmonia, Freon Ensemble, the Avalon String Quartet, and The Great Noise Ensemble. He has received commissions from ensembles such as the Annapolis Chamber Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra Kremlin, The Cambridge Madrigal Singers, Brave New Works, and the Falls Church Chamber Orchestra. Publishers of his music include Dramatic Publishing, Imagine Music Publishers, and Classical Vocal Repertoire.
In addition to writing music and teaching, Tom Schnauber has conducted various ensembles, including the Cannon Valley Regional Orchestra, the Minnesota Symphonic Winds, and a fully staged production of The Gondoliers by the University of Michigan Gilbert and Sullivan Society. He is an avid collector and passionate listener of LPs and CDs, and enjoys hiking, playing with his kids, and all things Star Trek.
Current Research
Schnauber continues to compose music for various venues and programs. He is also Co-Founder and Co-Director the arts organization WordSong, which has presented nearly 30 performances throughout New England of his works and works by other contemporary composers. WordSong is a new concert format in which one text is presented in multiple, newly composed settings and is the focus of directed conversation among composers, performers, and audiences. Schnauber also writes concert reviews for the online music journal Boston Musical Intelligencer, and is a regular guest-lecturer for Rockport Music.
Courses Taught
- ABCs of Music Notation
- Harmony Through Creative Composition
- Read and Sing
- Composition (Directed Study)
- Song: From the Monks to the Monkees
- Music-Theater Through the Ages
- Musics of the World
Awards/Honors Received
- Schnauber has won awards for composition from ASCAP, the Kennedy Center, the Columbia Orchestra, and the Chamber Orchestra Kremlin.
Significant Publications/Presentations/Panels
- His music has been performed throughout the United States as well as in Germany, Russia, Italy Spain, and Taiwan; and is published by, among others, Dramatic Publishing, Santa Barbara Music Publishers, and Classical Vocal Repertoire.
