Denise (Dede) Ondishko, Ph.D.

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P:My Score:Denise Ondishko

Denise Ondishko

Denise (Dede) Ondishko, Ph.D.

Denise Ondishko's works are "ground-breaking, imaginative, and beautiful," says Kyle Horch, classical saxophonist at London's Royal College of Music. Ondishko (b. 1960) is an American composer whose works cover a wide range of genres: orchestra, wind ensemble, solo voice or instrument, mixed choir, saxophone with digital audio, mixed choir, children's theater, and elementary school band. Ondishko's recent works are for full orchestra (Moments of Water, The Nightingale and Singing Strength of th...show more Denise Ondishko's works are "ground-breaking, imaginative, and beautiful," says Kyle Horch, classical saxophonist at London's Royal College of Music. Ondishko (b. 1960) is an American composer whose works cover a wide range of genres: orchestra, wind ensemble, solo voice or instrument, mixed choir, saxophone with digital audio, mixed choir, children's theater, and elementary school band. Ondishko's recent works are for full orchestra (Moments of Water, The Nightingale and Singing Strength of the Lowcountry) and emulate nature field recordings which she collected herself. Her chamber ensemble work, Without and Within is recorded on Opus One records, and Rush for percussion quartet and tape was premiered at the International Computer Music Conference in Montreal (1991). She has received prizes and awards from BMI, the US Federation of Music Societies, and the Eastman School of Music. Her commissioned works for saxophone and computer-synthesized tape have been performed extensively by Kyle Horch. Ondishko began playing the piano at age seven at the Peabody Preparatory (Baltimore, MD). She began composing at age 14 at The Walden School (Dublin, NH) and went on to complete a B.F.A. in piano (Conservatory) and composition at Carnegie-Mellon University (Pittsburgh, PA). Ondishko received her M.M. and Ph.D. degrees in composition from the Eastman School of Music (Rochester, NY). Her teachers include Joseph Schwantner, Samuel Adler, Warren Benson, Barbara Kolb, Leonardo Balada, Paul Dvorak, and David Hogan. She has done extensive research into the work of computer music pioneer Paul Lansky. She has taught composition at the Walden School and Oberlin Conservatory. After graduating, Ondishko raised a family while working in computer-networking for twelve years as an information technology management specialist (Unix) and has headed IT and telecommunications departments at several large institutions, including the University of Rochester (1986-1996) and Hunter College at City University of New York (1997-99). She changed careers in 1999 to become a public-school music teacher, earning the distinction of a National Board-Certified Teacher in early childhood music. She has taught public school music to every grade from pre-kindergarten to college in AZ, NY, OH, SC, and VA. Her passion is music integration with all subjects, and helping children explore the living language of music as they too write their own music. She is now retired and living with her husband in Palm Springs, CA where she enjoys writing and performing music. Ondishko is affiliated with BMI and can be reached via facebook. show less