john sichel biography
John Sichel's String Quartet #3 received its premiere on January 28, 2007 at an 'Artistic Club Luba' concert in Englewood, New Jersey. New York Philharmonic musicians Vladimir Tsypin, Lisa G. Kim (violins), Kathy Greene (viola) and Sumire Kudo (cello) were the featured performers. Vladimir Tsypin and pianist Eri Osuka gave the first performances of Mr. Sichel's 3 Miniatures in Tokyo, Japan on November 12, 2006. The first performance of Mr. Sichel's Piano Trio occurred on April 30, 2006, on a New York Philharmonic Ensembles chamber music program at Merkin Hall, with Lisa G. Kim, Eric Bartlett and Susan Walters performing.
Mr. Sichel's Francesca Da Bimini, commissioned by the National Symphony, was premiered by that orchestra in December of 2003, with Leonard Slatkin conducting. Pianist Lenore Fishman Davis gave the first performance of Mr. Sichel's Concerto Mystico II in March of 2003, with the New Philharmonic of New Jersey, Leon Hyman conducting. Other recent works were written for and performed by Duo Fresco (Christopher Kenniff, guitar and Brett Deubner, viola), soprano Irina Mozyleva, and the Toy Piano collection of the University of California at San Diego. Mr. Sichel has composed extensively in many genres. His most recent compositions include a clarinet quintet, five piano sonatas and a sonata for piano, four-hands, as well as a number of songs and short choral works.
A compact disc of Mr. Sichel's solo works and duets was released in 2002 on the Musician's Showcase label (MS 1071). Two of his Five Chamber Marches were included on the album "Frantic Antics" by the wind band Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (Newport Classics NPD 85644) and his Three Places in New Jersey was recorded by the Slovak Radio Orchestra, Joel Suben conducting, for Opus One Records (CD #170). His orchestrations of music by the 20th Century composer Anthony Scarmolin have been recorded for the Naxos and Centaur labels. His music is published by Puna Music and Ludwig Music, as well as his under his own imprimatur, Great Horned Music.
Mr. Sichel studied at the Yale School of Music, where his teachers included Jacob Druckman, Nicholas Maw and Martin Bresnick, and from which he received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in 1990. He is a lifelong resident of New Jersey, and currently lives there with his wife and two sons. He teaches theory, composition, piano, music history and rock-and-roll history at Raritan Valley Community College and is the curator of the A. Louis Scarmolin Trust. His hobbies include birding, astronomy and fiction writing.
John can be reached at: