Christopher Lee Fraley, Composer
Kailua Kona, HI
Chris@FraleyMusic.com
(425) 829-9654 (Hawaii time zone)
Summary
Extensive experience in writing classical choral, chamber, symphonic, and vocal music. Works include over thirty choral settings, eight orchestral tone poems, two operettas, string quartets, a piano sonata and two piano trios. For a complete list, visit www.FraleyMusic.com, where several sample recordings and perusal scores are available. My desire is to write pieces that are accessible and yet are emotionally engaging and with musical depth. My favorite composers include Beethoven, Schubert, Saint Saëns, Janácek, and Josquin, among others. I also enjoy modern artists including Polyphia, Jacob Collier, The Decemberists, Sting, Peter Gabriel, and King Crimson.
Experience
August, 1997 to Present – Fraley Music, Inc., Seattle, WA. Classical music composer. Since leaving my day job in 2001 to dedicate more time to composing, I have completed my first symphony, eight orchestral tone poems, and a third string quartet, as well as many other works. I continue to write choral music and classical concert music on commission.
2022 – Created two arrangements of choir anthem Of the Father’s Love Begotten: SAB, Handbells, and Flute (F. 180a) premiered by The Highlands choir, Wyomissing, PA, and SAB and Organ (F. 180b), premiered by Atonement Lutheran Church choir in Wyomissing, PA.
2021 – Created arrangement of Let All Mortal Flesh keep silence (F. 165b) for SAB and Handbells, premiered by The Highlands choir, Wyomissing, PA.
2020 – Kona Choral Society commissioned Island Home (F. 178). A Light exists in Spring (F. 177). Launch of Pitch Matters. Interviewed on Moveable Do podcast.
2019 – Moved to Kona, Hawaii. Missa Historiae (F. 155) used as service music at Church of the Ascension, Chicago. Anacortes High School choir (WA) performed Hine ma tov (F. 163c).
2018 – Premiere of Kyrie from Missa Dramatica (F. 174) by Radiance. Release of Kyrie on Radiance’s CD Locally Sourced (Radiance was called Vox16 in 2018). Opus 7 performed The Plains (F. 154). Created SA arrangement (F. 142b) of Wind of the Western Sea.
2017 – Release of Stories, a CD of a cappella music composed by Fraley, performed by the Byrd Ensemble. Premiere of Reminiscence (F. 166) and concert premiere of He was born in Spring (second movement of An End (F. 156)). Missa Historicae (F. 155) used as service music at Church of the Ascension, Chicago.
2016 – Premiere of Break, Break, Break (F. 170) by Radiance. Release of Brightest and Best (F. 169) video. Premiere of My Shepherd Will Supply (F. 171) for cello and piano.
2014 – Premiere of Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence (F. 165) by the Cascadian Chorale on December 13 & 14. Premiere of I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say (F. 168) at Holy Cross Episcopal in Redmond, WA, on August 31.
2013 – Commission from Gaithersburg Community Chorus, Gaithersburg, MD for, and premiere performance of Hine Ma Tov (F. 163). Premiere of String Quartet No. 3 (F. 158) and Lost Delight (F. 157b).
2012 – Premiere of Wistful Wind (F. 152). Commission from Gaithersburg Community Chorus, Gaithersburg, MD for, and premiere performance of Let Us Be Merry (F. 160).
2011 to 2012 – Composer-in-Residence for Cascadian Chorale.
2011 – Premiere of The Plains (F. 154). Premiere of Missa Brevis (F. 155) by Cascadian Chorale, Bellevue, WA.
2008 – Premiere of To Sarah (F. 151). Premiere of Now Thank We All Our God (F. 153).
2006 – Premiere of Reborn by Living Water (F. 144).
2003 – Premiere of String Quartet No. 2 (F. 123) and Dry Gin Kiss (F. 119) at a recital concert entitled Paintings of Song on November 15, 2003, at the Music Center of the Northwest. Performers include the Finisterra Piano Trio. Other works performed include Fish Trio (F. 127), Eire’s Call (F. 131), and The Crossing (F. 108).
2003 – Premiere of the Fish Trio (F. 127) by the Max Aronoff Viola Institute (MAVI), Tacoma, WA. at the Aronoff Chamber Music Series on July 1, 2003.
2003 – Premiere of the Eire’s Call (F. 131) by the Foss High School Orchestra, Andrea Bryant director, in a benefit concert at Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall, Benaroya Hall in Seattle on May 15, 2003. This event was sponsored by the Composer Residency Program of the Seattle Composer’s Alliance in conjunction with Gilda’s Club of Seattle.
2001 to 2002 – Commission from Pittsburgh Civic Orchestra, Pittsburgh, PA. The PCO commissioned Fanfare for Life, a symphonic fanfare in memory of the conductor’s sister. Premiered 11-May-2002.
1997 to 1999 – Worked on several projects for Chaspen Foundation for the Arts, Redmond, WA, including two Young Composer’s Grants: the first in 1997 to write Red Riding Hood, a children’s operetta which premiered Oct-1997; the second to write and record Frog Prince, a children’s operetta which premiered Nov-1998. In 1999, a second set of performances of Red Riding Hood in Nov-1999 at Meydenbauer Center’s theater, for which a video is available.
1995 to Present – Continuing private composition studies with Dr. Peter (Nagy-Farkas) Wolf.
1991 – Published paper on sound synthesis, based on undergraduate research. Fugue: A Functional Language for Sound Synthesis, Roger B. Dannenberg, Christopher Lee Fraley, Peter Velikonja. IEEE Computer 24(7): 36-42 (1991), available online.
Fall 1985 – Spring 1989 – B.S. in Computer Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA. Balanced my technical training by simultaneously pursuing my musical interests. Courses taken include standard harmony and music history courses, classical guitar lessons, and two semesters each of Electronic and Computer Music, Poetry Workshop, and composition lessons from Eduardo Alonso-Crespo. For my undergraduate research project, wrote a LISP and C system for generating and processing sound sample files, ultimately culminating in a research paper published in the IEEE (see Fugue above). Also pursued research projects on the use of wave guide filters to model brass instruments, and on re-synthesis techniques to simulate wind instruments.
Background
Raised in Reading, PA, in a musical family. Played the cello for ten years before switching to a more portable instrument, the guitar. Four-time International Science and Engineering Fair finalist, with projects ranging from mathematics to natural language processing using computers. Avid computer programmer, also enjoy woodworking and gardening.
References available upon request.
