The music of Chappell Kingsland seeks to integrate elements from diverse musical cultures into a personal and compelling synthesis. His first full-length opera, Intoxication: America's Love Affair with Oil, was premiered in 2013 and hailed as "a surprisingly good show" (Peter Jacobi, Herald Times). He was the founder and first Artistic Director of New Voices Opera, a student-run opera company in Bloomington, Indiana. The Firebringers, commissioned by Reimagining Opera for Kids for their 2014-15 season, is his second operatic collaboration with brother/librettist Ben Allen-Kingsland.
Dr. Kingsland holds degrees in Composition from Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music (DM 2013, MM 2010) and in Composition and Organ Performance from the University of Rochester's Eastman School of Music (BM 2002). Chappell spent a year in Vienna, Austria studying privately with Chaya Czernowin. Other teachers have included Claude Baker, Don Freund, P. Q. Phan, David Dzubay, Aaron Travers, Augusta Read Thomas, Christopher Rouse, David Liptak, and Daniel Godfrey. He is currently Adjunct Professor of Aural Skills and Music Theory at the University of Denver's Lamont School of Music.
His compositional interests extend from opera to chamber music to church music, from Brazilian samba to rock music, from Balinese gamelan to Japanese koto. Recent projects have drawn inspiration from West African music (Dans l'espoir de ce jour), sci-fi (We're the Next Generation), modern dance (thinking/feeling), and social/environmental causes (Intoxication, Fracked, 350 parts per million). His works have won first prize in contests sponsored by the Percussive Arts Society, International Tuba-Euphonium Association, Indiana University, National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts, and the Atlanta Clarinet Association. His music has been performed in the United States, Austria, and Australia.
His works have been premiered by conductors Brad Lubman, Roger Kalia, Carlos Botero, Jeffrey Gershman, and Marla Wasson. He has written pieces for New Voices Opera, the IU New Music Ensemble, Eastman's Musica Nova, the Indiana University Symphonic Band, Gamelan Lila Muni, the Experimental Playground Ensemble, Safonia Women's Chorus, First Unitarian Society of Denver, First Universalist Church of Rochester, Jubilee! Summer Orchestra, Gannon University Flute Choir, and FUGU. Other works have been performed by the Indiana University Percussion Ensemble, violinist Chris Otto and cellist Kevin McFarland of the JACK Quartet, percussionist Mathias Reumert, baritone Reuben Walker, koto player Ryuko Mizutani, pianist Rory Cowal, and soprano Tiffany Blake Oliver.
He studied organ with Hans Davidsson, Katie Pardee and Michael Farris. His piano teachers were Tony Caramia and Carolyn Booth. His piano and organ recitals are noted for the diversity of their programming; this summer he is touring the East Coast with a program entitled Impressionism and Rock Piano.
Dr. Kingsland's compositions and arrangements are published through HoneyRock Publishing, Tuba-Euphonium Press, and at this website.
Dr. Kingsland holds degrees in Composition from Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music (DM 2013, MM 2010) and in Composition and Organ Performance from the University of Rochester's Eastman School of Music (BM 2002). Chappell spent a year in Vienna, Austria studying privately with Chaya Czernowin. Other teachers have included Claude Baker, Don Freund, P. Q. Phan, David Dzubay, Aaron Travers, Augusta Read Thomas, Christopher Rouse, David Liptak, and Daniel Godfrey. He is currently Adjunct Professor of Aural Skills and Music Theory at the University of Denver's Lamont School of Music.
His compositional interests extend from opera to chamber music to church music, from Brazilian samba to rock music, from Balinese gamelan to Japanese koto. Recent projects have drawn inspiration from West African music (Dans l'espoir de ce jour), sci-fi (We're the Next Generation), modern dance (thinking/feeling), and social/environmental causes (Intoxication, Fracked, 350 parts per million). His works have won first prize in contests sponsored by the Percussive Arts Society, International Tuba-Euphonium Association, Indiana University, National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts, and the Atlanta Clarinet Association. His music has been performed in the United States, Austria, and Australia.
His works have been premiered by conductors Brad Lubman, Roger Kalia, Carlos Botero, Jeffrey Gershman, and Marla Wasson. He has written pieces for New Voices Opera, the IU New Music Ensemble, Eastman's Musica Nova, the Indiana University Symphonic Band, Gamelan Lila Muni, the Experimental Playground Ensemble, Safonia Women's Chorus, First Unitarian Society of Denver, First Universalist Church of Rochester, Jubilee! Summer Orchestra, Gannon University Flute Choir, and FUGU. Other works have been performed by the Indiana University Percussion Ensemble, violinist Chris Otto and cellist Kevin McFarland of the JACK Quartet, percussionist Mathias Reumert, baritone Reuben Walker, koto player Ryuko Mizutani, pianist Rory Cowal, and soprano Tiffany Blake Oliver.
He studied organ with Hans Davidsson, Katie Pardee and Michael Farris. His piano teachers were Tony Caramia and Carolyn Booth. His piano and organ recitals are noted for the diversity of their programming; this summer he is touring the East Coast with a program entitled Impressionism and Rock Piano.
Dr. Kingsland's compositions and arrangements are published through HoneyRock Publishing, Tuba-Euphonium Press, and at this website.
My Philosophy
Music is my favorite form of art, for the totality of its embrace. It is surely the most mysterious form of human communication, for it is an abstract language of sounds, yet it can convey such specific feelings and thoughts. The most personal feelings can be understood by the widest audience. Performers and listeners can share an immediate experience guided by dots on paper written by composers long since dead. People in the same culture might have similar reactions to a piece, but someone from another culture will find it completely the opposite. Music is so often used to enhance other arts (theatre, dance, film, poetry, etc.), but it is also satisfying on its own. In today's interconnected world, people are listening to a more diverse range of music than ever before. My highest goal is that in my life's work, I can contribute something of lasting value to this art, and in doing so, contribute to the lives of many people.
Music is my favorite form of art, for the totality of its embrace. It is surely the most mysterious form of human communication, for it is an abstract language of sounds, yet it can convey such specific feelings and thoughts. The most personal feelings can be understood by the widest audience. Performers and listeners can share an immediate experience guided by dots on paper written by composers long since dead. People in the same culture might have similar reactions to a piece, but someone from another culture will find it completely the opposite. Music is so often used to enhance other arts (theatre, dance, film, poetry, etc.), but it is also satisfying on its own. In today's interconnected world, people are listening to a more diverse range of music than ever before. My highest goal is that in my life's work, I can contribute something of lasting value to this art, and in doing so, contribute to the lives of many people.