Audiences from Toledo to New York City to Boston will be treated to music by up-and-coming composer
Timothy Stulman this fall and next year. Stulman is pursuing his doctor of musical arts degree in
contemporary music at Bowling Green State University with Distinguished Artist Professor Marilyn Shrude.
Stulman was among five composers to receive a prestigious First Music commission from the New York Youth
Symphony, an independent, not-for-profit institution dedicated to enriching the lives of young people
through the study and performance of music. His orchestral work "Element Cycle" will be
premiered by the symphony on March 7 at Carnegie Hall.
"I based the work on the five Chinese elements: earth, metal, water, wood and fire," Stulman
explained.
Boston audiences can hear another of Stulman’s pieces, "Deaf Ears Hear No Crying," tonight in
Seully Hall at the Boston Conservatory and on Saturday at First Church. The piece was chosen
competitively for performance by Juventas New Music Ensemble, which is dedicated to playing new music by
young composers. Also on the program will be "Murmurs from Limbo" by BGSU alumnus Steven Rice.
Stulman’s "Glass" will be premiered by the Toledo Youth Orchestra on Oct. 18 at the Peristyle
in the Toledo Museum of Art. Stulman wrote the piece at the request of Dr. Kenneth Thompson, youth
orchestra director and BGSU music education faculty member, in commemoration of the city of Toledo’s
heritage. "When I go out as a guest conductor of high school and honor bands across the country, I
can support his work by using this piece," Thompson said.
"That was very helpful to my career," Stulman said appreciatively.
Shrude, who has worked with Stulman since he was a high school student in Findlay, said, "His music
is very colorful and imaginative. It tends to be atonal in nature but not inaccessible. There’s always a
strong narrative thread that draws you into his musical intention."
Among Stulman’s interests are Chinese music, language and culture. He spent two years in the Shanghai
area of China and speaks Chinese fluently. Many of his compositions are influenced by Asian thought.
Stulman has been at BGSU since 2004, also receiving his master’s degree in music composition here.
