Composing

Above and Beyond (United States Marine Band)
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Rudolf and Jeanette (Music of Remembrance)
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Infernal (Seattle Symphony)

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Gerard Schwarz is also a prolific and dynamic composer studying with such distinguished mentors as Paul Creston, Rodger Sessions, Jacob Druckman, Milton Babbitt, Vincent Persichetti and Pierre Boulez. He is a graduate of the High School of Performing Arts and The Juilliard School and has honorary doctorates from The Juilliard School, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Seattle University, Cornish College of the Arts and the University of Puget Sound.

His arrangements include Richard Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier Suite, Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande Suite, Humperdinck’s Hansel und Gretel Suite and Webern’s Langsamer Satz and are performed by orchestras worldwide. Holiday Classics and Echoes, including arrangements and original compositions, were released by Naxos in 2010 and 2011 respectively (8.572673 and 8.559679 ).

In Memoriam (Naxos 8.559379), is performed by Music of Remembrance and cellist, Julian Schwarz and was named the Best New Work of 2005 by Seattle Weekly.  Rudolf and Jeanette (Naxos 8.559641), written in memory of Schwarz’s maternal grandparents who died in a concentration camp,  was premiered by Music of Remembrance in its original form as a chamber ensemble piece and later in 2008 as a full orchestral version by the Zagreb Philharmonic. Fanfare magazine described the work  as “poignant and deeply moving,” and Gramophone magazine as “an affecting blend of tender and disquieting utterances,”

Human Spirit (2008) is based on on words by Aaron Copland and was composed for children’s choir and chamber ensemble and subsequently performed in its full orchestra version in 2011 by the Seattle Symphony.  Two duos for violin and cello were premiered in 2008 by Julian Schwarz and Maria Larionoff at the awards ceremony honoring Schwarz as First Citizen of Seattle. His Trio for Horn, Violin and Piano was premiered in 2010 and described by MusicWeb International as “ingeniously constructed within its thoroughly accessible romantic idiom.” Above and Beyond, premiered by ” The President’s Own ” United States Marine Band in March 2012 will be released by Naxos in 2013, and  A Journey,  a large scale orchestral tone poem was premiered in July 2012 at the Eastern Music Festival. A String Sextet will be premiered at the Eastern Music Festival in 2013.