From Young Composers

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General Facts

YoungComposers.com Alias: EnigmusJ4

Staff group: Editors

Member since: June 22, 2007

Born: April 21, 1990

Location: Pennsylvania, United States

Personal Webpage: J4 Homepage

James Householder, 18 years of age, will be a senior in the Penn-Trafford High School, where he is an avid and ambitious member of the band. In addition to his primary instrument, piano, he seconds with violin, and is additionally self-taught in various other instruments. He is also an enthusiastic composer and arranger of music ranging from solo piano to full orchestra, thus his interest in a wide variety of instruments. His compositional style is often identified as neo-classical or neo-romantic and among his sources of inspiration for music and composition are such greats as Bach, Beethoven, Mozart and Debussy, and others such as Richard Strauss, Franz Liszt, John Williams, Nobou Uematsu, Michiru Oshima, Philip Glass, traditional Celtic music, and band music by composers such as Gillingham and Whitacre to name only a couple.

Biography

Home schooled as a child until 6th grade, James Householder spent the beginning of his seventh grade year in McClure Middle School in McKeesport, Pennsylvania where he was initially introduced to the concept of band music and instrumental ensemble and was inspired to take up the violin. In 2002, he moved to the city of Greensburg where he immediately got involved with the school band and began piano and violin lessons under David and Mary Volker respectively. In 7th and 8th grade he played mallet percussion with the band and additionally performed solo piano works such as Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No.2 and several movements of the self-composed suite, Depictions of Persons. In addition to his performances with the middle school, he played piano for the jazz band and was invited to the high school band concert as an assistant mallet percussionist and student composer of the work, Rhapsody No.7 in Bb for Concert Band.

As a freshman in the Greensburg Salem High School, James Householder immediately joined the marching band in which continued played mallet percussion and began playing clarinet for the concert wind ensemble. In addition to his band-related performances, he has also accompanied for the Seton Hill Music Program. It is also at this time that he became a member of the Westmoreland Youth Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Mr. William Starnes (currently directed by Mr. Morrie Brand). When he moved to Harrison City in mid-2006, he was immediately enrolled in the Penn-Trafford School District and likewise its quad-A class marching band under the direction of Mr. Thomas Monteleone, former bassoonist. James had performed with the front ensemble during the marching band season and now plays tuba/Sousaphone in marching band and trumpet in jazz band. He is currently principle horn with the concert wind ensemble. Under the studies of his private teachers, he has also performed both piano and violin in private recitals and additionally performed with the 2007 PMEA honors band on horn and 2008 District Band on tuba.

Instruments

Main/primary instrument: Piano.

Others: Violin, flute, Bb clarinet, Bb trumpet, F horn, BBb tuba, descant recorder, mallet percussion, guitar.

Hopefully soon learning: Euphonium/baritone horn and bassoon.

About: James began self-taught piano at age 12 and it remains his primary instrument. He has only had lessons in piano and violin at present, all other instruments are entirely self-learned. James also enjoys the ability to play music using only his hands, an art referred to as "hand whistling", or sometimes "hand cooing". He enjoys a full 1 and 1/2 octave range spanning from Bb4 to G6 and cordially invites any composers to write concert works for such an "instrument". He has also been known to experiment with straws, rubber bands, rulers, pencils, and other household items in pursuit of music-making.

List of works:

This is only a list of completed or finished compositions. Although the majority here are listed as opera (pl. opus), none of them are formally published and a new list will be created upon any formal publication. For a full list of complete and incomplete works including a listing by date, see List of Compositions by James Householder.

Earlier Works

• Op.1 Two Fantasias
  • No.1 in C major "Spring Spirits"
  • No.2 in Ab major
• Op.2 Three Preludes
  • No.1 in G major "Trillium"
  • No.2 in Ab major "The King's Courts"
  • No.3 in D dorian "Suffocation"
• Op.3 Two Marches
  • No.2 in B minor "Marche Espanole"
  • No.3 in F# minor "Tanze Marziale"
• Op.4 String Quartet in G major
  • I Vivace
  • II Allegretto Grazio
  • III Rondo Allegro
• Op.5 Two Valses
  • No.1 in G minor 'Allegretto Grave'
  • No.2 in C major "Tarantino"
• Op.6 Rhapsodies for Concert Band
  • No.1 in E minor "Totentanze"
  • No.2 in C minor
  • No.3 in Ab minor
  • No.4 in C major
  • No.7 in Bb major
• Op.7 Poco Pezzis
  • No.1 'Minuet in F'
  • No.2 'March in F'
• Op.8 String Quintet in A major (unfinished/WIP)
  • II Romanze
• Op.9 Depictions of Persons, suite
  • No.1 in G minor "Andy Smith"
  • No.2 in C major "Samantha McClain
  • No.3 in E minor "Anthony Triano"
  • No.4 in G major "Toshua Knopp"
  • No.5 in E major "Erika Sheare"
  • No.6 in C major "Lindsay Brewer"
  • No.8 in G major "Dylan Craig"
  • No.9 in D major "Sarah Sopher"
  • No.10 in C# major "Samuel Agusto"
  • No.11 in E major "Linsey Schrum
  • No.16 in F major "Racheal Smith"
  • No.20 in F minor "Samuel Roha"
  • No.22 in E lydian "Ashley Linden"
• Op.10 Valse in G minor "Valse in Blue Notes"
• Op.11 "Celeste" for band

Most Recent Works:

• Op.12 Duet for Two Bassoons
  • I Allegro soave
  • II Andante scherzando
  • III Largo melancolico - furioso e irato - pesante (excluded)
  • III Presto giocoso
• Op.13 Pieces for Brass Choir (composed for various Conceptual Music Competition rounds)
  • I Coronation in Bb major
  • II Todesmarsch in D minor
  • III Der Erlkönig in D minor
• Op.14 "Reflections of New Years" for Three Violoncelli and Two Contrabassi
• Op.15 "Variations on John Brown's Body" for Horn and String Orchestra

Notable W.o.I. and Other Works

• WoI.13 Brass Quintet in Eb (unfinished/WIP)
• WoI.17 Five Note Funk (composed for a YC challenge)
• WoI.18 Marimba Moments (composed for a YC challenge)
• WoI.24 Sad Incidental Music (unfinished/WIP)
• Techno Musaak I
• Techno Musaak III
• Harmonization on a Theme by Upstart, "Dutch Jig" for Three Recorders
• Celtic Variation on Seikilos Epithet" for Baroque Orchestra

Current Projects

• IN.30 "Night and Day" for full orchestra (for a YC competition)
• IN.31 "Pieces for Solo Piano"
• IN.32 Rondo for Tuba and Piano
• A work for Theremin and piano (for a YC competition)

Significant Repertoire