Biography: Gary Nash

Gary Nash Ph.D.

Gary Powell Nash, a native of Flint, Michigan is Professor of Music at Fisk University in Nashville, TN where he teaches and coordinates courses in music theory, technology, composition, applied woodwinds and conducts the Fisk Jazz Ensemble. Nash is currently Interim Music Department Chair.

Nash holds a Ph.D. in Music Composition from Michigan State University. His former teachers include Jacob Druckman, Jere Hutcheson, Bernard Rands, Charles Ruggiero, Mark Sullivan, George Tsontakis and Ramon Zupko. As a composer of Western classical music, Nash has written musical works for orchestra, band/wind ensemble, choir, art songs (four in Chinese), electroacoustic works and instrumental chamber compositions, including two short film scores. His music has been performed in all major regions of the United States and abroad on the continents of Asia and Europe.
Nash has received numerous grants, commissions and awards for his compositions including Vanderbilt University Wind Symphony to compose On the Battlefield, With Certainty (2022) commemorating the opening of the National Museum of African American Music. Others include Southern Grandparents (2017) soprano, tenor and piano trio, commissioned by Delta State University for the Mississippi Bicentennial Celebration in 2017, 2007 UNCF/Mellon Foundation Faculty Seminar in Ghana, Tennessee Music Teachers Association Composer of the Year, 2005-6, Mississippi Arts Commission, American Composers Forum, Carnegie Hall and Fulbright, where he was Visiting Professor of Music Composition at University of the Philippines-Diliman, May 30, 2000 - March 28, 2001. Nash’s scores are published by Art of Sound Music, MusicaNeo and Tuba/Euphonium Press. 13 of his compositions are featured on compact discs/digital compilations with five of those appearing on Albany, Centaur and Citadel Records labels.

 

Education:

Ph.D. Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 1991-1996
Music Composition

M.M. Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, 1986-1989
Music Composition

B.M. Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 1982-1986
Music Education

Contact information:

Office Location: Room 105, Harris Music Building
Office Phone Number: 615-329-8528
Office email: gnash@fisk.edu

Gary Nash, Ph.D. Research & Publications

Black Composers and Their Music at Christmastime, a virtual lecture at Fisk University, December 4, 2020.

Print Publications

-Journey for Justice (2021) alto flute and harp duo. Published in Black Composer Miniature Challenge Anthology, An Anthology of 30 second pieces for flute, harp and flute/harp duo by 18 Black/African Diasporic Composers, 2022.

-Positive Negativity (2020) viola and piano duo. Published in Black Composer Miniature Challenge Anthology, An Anthology of 30 second pieces for piano, viola and viola/piano duo by 18 Black/African Diasporic Composers, 2021.

-The Sparrow (2012) tenor and piano. Published in anthology Modern Music for New Singers: 21st Century American Art Songs, North Star Music, LLC, 2021.
Giovanna’s Song and Dance (2011) band published by Devmusic Company, Biloxi, MS, September 2012.

-The Mission/Necrology (1985, rev. 2005) band/wind ensemble published by Devmusic Company, Biloxi, MS, September, 2012.

-Deformation IV (1992) tuba and piano published by Tuba/Euphonium Press, Annandale, Virginia, November, 1994.

-Various compositions and arrangements sold through Art of Sound Music, MusicaNeo.com and Sheet Music Plus Press musical distributors.

Commercial Recordings

-On the Battlefield, With Certainty (2022) symphonic wind ensemble. Recorded on the compact disc Music City featuring the Vanderbilt University Wind Symphony, Thomas Verrier, conductor.

-Ana’s Song and Dance (2011) and Hot Buttered Omelette (2011) trombone choir. Recorded on the digital compilation Hooked on Polyphony, Volume 1, Mike Hall, bass trombone.

-Six Interlocutions (2003) trumpet and percussion. Recorded on the compact discs Shreds: Music for Trumpet and Percussion from the 21st Century featuring Dave Kosyma, trumpet and Sarah Waters, percussion, Centaur Records, June 2015, Atmospheres featuring Sheryl Linch-Parker, trumpet and Don Parker, percussion by LP Productions, November, 2007, and Nuove musiche per Tromba 5 featuring Ivano Ascari, trumpet, January, 2005.

-Two Songs (of Paul Laurence Dunbar) (1995) soprano and piano. Recorded on the compact disc Open Thine Heart, featuring Marcîa Porter, soprano on Albany Records, August, 2013. Deformation V (1993) bassoon and piano. Recorded on the compact disc Legacy, featuring Lecolion Washington, bassoon on Albany Records, August, 2008.

-Progressive Jazz Suite (2005) bass trombone solo. Recorded on the compact disc The Smell of Wet Dogs After a Summertime Rain, featuring Aaron Misenheimer, bass trombone, November, 2006.

-Three Ivory Magnolia Fantasies (2003) piano solo. Recorded on the compact disc Towards an African Pianism: An Anthology of Keyboard Music from Africa and the Diaspora, featuring Darryl Hollister, piano, September, 2005.

-Tradition and Innovation (2004) band/wind ensemble. Recorded on the compact disc Tradition and Innovation: 150 Years, featuring the Millersville University Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band, Daniel Heslink, director, December, 2004.

-A Fraternal Prelude (1997) band/wind ensemble. Recorded on the compact disc Out of the Depths featuring Myron K. Moss conducting the Keystone Winds of Pennsylvania on Citadel Records, January, 2004.

-Blues Impromptu (1995) cello solo. Recorded on the compact disc Music from Mount San Angelo, featuring Tanya Anisimova, cello, September, 1995.

-In Memoriam: Sojourner Truth (1992) orchestra. Recorded on the compact disc Symphonic Brotherhood: The Music of African-American Composers with Julius P. Williams conducting the Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic Orchestra of Zlin, Czech Republic on Albany Records, June 6, 1993.

Gary Nash, Ph.D. Professional Service

Post-Secondary Teaching

Fisk University, Nashville, TN, Professor of Music Theory/Technology. Teaching and coordinating courses in music theory, technology, composition, applied woodwinds and conducting the Fisk University Jazz Ensemble. August, 2003 - present.
Interim Director of Bands, April-May, 2022
Interim Music Department Chair, August, 2022 - present

Mississippi Valley State University, Itta Bena, MS, Associate Professor of Music Theory/Composition. Teaching and coordinating courses in music theory and composition, conducting the MVSU Clarinet Ensemble and assisting the director of bands. August, 1996 - July, 2003.

University of the Philippines-Diliman, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines, 2000-2001 U.S. Fulbright Scholar and Visiting Professor/Lecturer of Music Composition. June, 2000 - March, 2001.

Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, Graduate Teaching Assistant for Undergraduate Music Theory Classes. September, 1991 - May, 1995.

Other

Featured Guest Artist for Musician’s Corner Kidsville, a program of the Conservancy for the Parthenon and Centennial Park, Nashville, TN, May 19, 2017 - present.

So Cal Dream Drum and Bugle Corps, Fountain Valley, CA, Musical Arranger, and Musical Consultant, 2009 – 2010. Music City Legend Drum and Bugle Corps, Nashville, TN, Musical Arranger, Brass Technician, Musical Consultant and Co-fundraising Coordinator and Musical Director for sub group Legend Brass, 2003 - 2007.

Judge for musical composition contests by Georgia Parent Teacher’s Association, Vanderbilt University Blair School of Music and Kentucky Music Teachers National Association, October, 2003 - February, 2004.

Flint Community Schools and Flint International Institute, Flint, MI, Assistant to Chinese Language Arts Specialist for International Immersion Youth Summer Camp, June 17 - July 25, 2002.

Gary Nash, Ph.D. Conference Presentations

Guest Lecturer/Panelist for Marching with Purpose: The Legacy of HBCU Music Programs in Tennessee, a virtual lecture sponsored by the Tennessee Historical Society, February 14, 2023.

Delivered Lecture Black Composers and Their Music at Christmastime, a virtual lecture at Fisk University, December 4, 2020.

One of 20 composers featured and celebrated for WFCL, 91.1 Classical, Nashville, TN Local Composers Month, July, 2019.

Composer/Clinician for Woodwind Day, University of Tennessee, Martin, featuring a lecture recital and performance of River City Promenade (2018) saxophone sextet, November 17, 2018, Martin, TN.

Lecture/Master Class as visiting guest composer for Graduate Composition Seminar at University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, October 4, 2017.

Featured Composer and Panelist for the Composers of Color Collective Conference, North Carolina Central University, Durham, North Carolina, May 27-28, 2016.

Featured Composer and Clinician for Mansfield University Saxophone Studio Concert and Symposium, Mansfield, PA, November 2, 2013.

Lecture/Master Class as visiting guest composer for Music of Living Composers Concert, Campbell University, Buies Creek, NC, March 21, 2013.

Lecture/Master Class at North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, March 21, 2013.

Commissioned Composer Residency, St. Gerard School Band, Lansing, MI, May 21, 2012

Visiting Lecturer in Music Residency, University of Alaska-Anchorage, Anchorage, AK, April 15-18, 2008. Visiting Guest Composer for Ho Chi Minh City Music Conservatory Contemporary Music Festival, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, September 26 - 28, 2007.

Composer in Residence with Banda Sinfonica Union Musical Utielana, Valencia (Utiel), Spain, December 21- 26, 2006.

Visiting Guest Composer for “Dimensions in New Music”, Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, TN, November 13, 2006.

Visiting Guest Composer Residency, Ohio Northern University, Ada, OH, March 8 - 10, 2006.

Visiting Guest Composer Residency for State University of New York Onondaga Community College/Syracuse University Collaborative Music Project, Syracuse, NY, November 10 - 11, 2005.

Visiting Lecturer in Music Residency, Philander Smith College, Little Rock, AR, February 14 - 15, 2005.

Composer in Residence with Opera Memphis for “Singing in Memphis, A Community Concert, May 1 - 2, 2004.

“Music of the Philippines, Academia and Beyond”, a presentation delivered at Southeastern Composers League AnnualConference, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, March 7, 2003.

Gary Nash, Ph.D. Courses

MUS 100, Elements in Music, Fall Semester, 2012, Spring Semester, 2014

MUS 101, Materials in Music Theory, Fall Semester, 2003 - present

MUS 101LAB, Materials in Music Theory Lab, Fall Semester, 2022 - present

MUS 102, Materials in Music Theory, Spring Semester, 2003 - present

MUS 102LAB, Materials in Music Theory Lab, Spring Semester, 2023 - present

MUS 120, Introduction to Music Technology, Spring Semester, 2005 - 2022

MUS 191, Principal Woodwinds, Fall Semester, 2003 - present

MUS 192, Principal Woodwinds, Spring Semester, 2003 - present

MUS 201, Materials in Music Theory, Fall Semester, 2003 - present

MUS 201LAB, Materials in Music Theory Lab, Fall Semester, 2022 - present

MUS 202, Materials in Music Theory, Fall Semester, 2003 - present

MUS 202LAB, Materials in Music Theory Lab, Spring Semester, 2023 - present

CORE 220, Creative Arts, Spring Semester, 2020

MUS 227, Jazz Ensemble, 2003 - present

MUS 229, University Band, Spring Semester, 2022

MUS 281, Independent Study, Music Composition, Fall Semester, 2004 - present

MUS 282, Independent Study, Music Composition, Spring Semester, 2005 - present

MUS 291, Principal Woodwinds, Fall Semester, 2018 - present

MUS 303, Counterpoint, Fall Semester, 2003 - present

MUS 305, Orchestration, Spring Semester, 2004 - present

MUS 381, Independent Study, Music Composition, Fall Semester, 2005 - present

MUS 382, Independent Study, Music Composition, Spring Semester, 2006 - present

MUS 384, Techniques of Teaching Woodwinds, Fall Semester, 2013 and 2016