Dan Siegler

American composer
Dan Siegler
Born
Alma materBennington College (B.A.)
Occupation(s)Composer, sound artist
AwardsBessie Awards

Dan Siegler is an American composer and sound artist from New York City.[1][2] During his career, Siegler has ventured into a number of mediums, including dance, live theater, and television.[2] Siegler is a recipient of the Bessie Awards for his work with Pam Tanowitz.[3]

Early life and education

Siegler was born in New York City and began playing piano at the age of four.[4] Siegler has stated that he developed a love for rock music in high school, where he was also involved in friends' theater and dance performances.[5] He attended Bennington College in Bennington, Vermont, where he received his bachelor's degree (B.A.) 1984.[6][7]

Career

In 1997, Siegler was a recipient of the Abe Olman Scholarship, whose recipients have included artists such as John Legend.[8] Siegler is a recipient of the New York Dance and Performance Awards, more commonly known as the Bessie Awards, having received the award for his work with Pam Tanowitz.[3] During his collaborative efforts with Tanowitz, Siegler notably employed unconventional sounds such as that of running water and "staticky buzzes" to compliment instruments such as the piano and bass.[9] According to The New York Times, Siegler produced the original score to the second half of Tanowitz's "the story progresses as if in a dream of glittering surfaces".[1]

Siegler was a 2019 resident at Art Omi and a composer-resident at Exploring the Metropolis. (EtM)[10][11] Siegler also received a virtual commission from the Guggenheim Museum in New York, and was formerly an artist-in-residence at the UCLA Center for the Art of Performance (CAP UCLA).[12][13] As a lecturer, Siegler has taught at the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University.[14] Additionally, Siegler has written for publications such as the New York-based Gothamist.[4]

Concrète Jungle

Siegler is noted for his work of sound art Concrète Jungle, which debuted in 2019. Citing inspiration from the musique concrète method of electroacoustic music,[15] Concrète Jungle was described by The New Yorker as a piece of art that "employs urban sounds, sampled and reorganized, to evoke a bygone New York City".[16] Concrète Jungle was composed through the assemblage of recorded conversations with hundreds of New York residents, with ambient sounds complimented by improvised dancing.[17]

Musical style

According to The New Yorker, Siegler's work has been influenced by the avant-garde jazz genre, hip-hop group Public Enemy, as well as No Wave.[16] In 2013,The New York Times described Siegler's work as one that "teases and goads with brass cadences, drums and the murmur of surf".[18] Siegler has cited composers Hildegard Westerkamp and Pierre Schaeffer as a major influence on his work.[5]

Personal life

Siegler married Pam Tanowitz in 1998.[19] As of 2016, Siegler is a resident of Chelsea, Manhattan.[20]

Selected works

  • Concrète Jungle (2018-2021)
  • Ghost Sentence (2016)[21]
  • Read the Following Before Playing (2015)[22]
  • Untitled 4, Pour Hommes (2014)
  • The Spectators (2013)
  • St Newey Blues (2012)
  • The Party I Didn't Go To (2010)
  • Unnatural Sounds (2010)
  • Be In The Gray With Me (2009); Bessie Award winner[3]
  • The Other Side of the Street (2008)[23]
  • Errors (2007)

References

  1. ^ a b "Claudia La Rocco on Maria Hassabi, Pam Tanowitz, and Justin Peck". www.artforum.com. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  2. ^ a b Anderson, Jack (1997-12-02). "DANCE REVIEW; Journeying Into the Darker Recesses of Mind and Myth". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-02-20.
  3. ^ a b c "MANCC Artists Ralph Lemon and Pam Tanowitz win Bessie Awards". FSU College of Fine Arts. 2016-11-01. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  4. ^ a b "The Discreet Virtuosity of Dan Siegler | Faena". Faena. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  5. ^ a b "Insider Interview: composer Dan Siegler". Classical Music Communications. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
  6. ^ "WEDDINGS; Pamela Tanowitz And Dan Siegler". The New York Times. 1998-09-13. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-02-20.
  7. ^ ""Concrète Jungle" | Bennington College". www.bennington.edu. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  8. ^ "Abe Olman Scholarship | Songwriters Hall of Fame". www.songhall.org. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  9. ^ "Pam Tanowitz: A World Apart". The New Yorker. 2013-06-07. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  10. ^ "2019". artomi.org. Retrieved 2022-02-19.
  11. ^ "Roster of Choreographers and Composers". Exploring the Metropolis, Inc. 2016-04-05. Retrieved 2022-02-19.
  12. ^ "Virtual Commissions". The Guggenheim Museums and Foundation. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  13. ^ "2020–21 SEASON - UCLA's Center for the Art of Performance" (PDF). University of California, Los Angeles. 2020.
  14. ^ "Bio | Dan Siegler". Mason Gross School of the Arts. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  15. ^ "Concrète Jungle // Dan Siegler". The Invisible Dog Art Center. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
  16. ^ a b "Concrete Jungle". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  17. ^ Leckert, Oriana (2019-10-15). "The Best Things To Do In NYC This Week, From Mogwai To Spooooooky Pumpkins". Gothamist. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
  18. ^ Seibert, Brian (2013-05-16). "A Meet-Up of Freedom, Innovation and Intensity". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  19. ^ "WEDDINGS; Pamela Tanowitz And Dan Siegler". The New York Times. 1998-09-13. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
  20. ^ Schmidt, Samantha (2016-09-20). "Chelsea Residents Grapple With a Close Call in Their Neighborhood". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
  21. ^ "WORK". Dan Siegler. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  22. ^ "In With The New". Facts and Arts. 2015-02-02. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  23. ^ Sulcas, Roslyn (2008-03-06). "In Balanced Movements, Clean, Spare Choreography". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  • Dan Siegler's website