Eric Funk

Composer

Bozeman, MT 59715

Eric Funk is an American contemporary classical composer and conductor. Originally from Deer Lodge, Montana, he currently resides in Bozeman, Montana, where he teaches music courses at Montana State University.


(Cover photo courtesy Rick Smith/Montana PBS)

CHORAL AND VOCAL WORKS

LARGE CHORAL WORKS:

  • One Hundred Years of Hope: written for the 100th birthday of Hope Lutheran Church, Bozeman, MT; Soprano solo, Baritone solo, SATB, Organ; text by June Billings Safford: "Fugue for JS Bach"
  • Dichroism: chorus, chamber orchestra, percussion and piano, two movements; original text by composer
  • Earth Is New Begun: chorus, string orchestra and brass, one movement; text by Edmund Blunden
  • Choral Suite from the Opera “Pamelia”: chorus, children’s choir, soprano solo, baritone solo, symphony orchestra, one continuous movement
  • Mandel’shtam: double symphony orchestra, large chorus, two soloists (sopr., bar.), solo string quartet, five movements; three texts by Osip Mandelstam in Russian
  • Requiem, Op. 84 (SATB, Orchestra)
  • Cantata, "Set this dry, boring place on fire" (in memory of Albert Bellante): scored for electric guitar, gamelan, oboe, trumpet, alto voice, tenor voice, string quartet, SATB, string orchestra.

OTHER CHORAL WORKS:

 

  • Abyss: chorus a cappella, one movement
  • Canon: chorus a cappella, one movement
  • And in the Spring: chorus and organ or piano, one movement

 

  • Introit and Benediction: chorus a cappella, two movements
  • The Rose of Sharon: chorus a cappella, one movement
  • A 20th-Century Madrigal: chorus a cappella, one movement
  • The Seasons, Op. 56a: chorus and piano (4 hands), one movement; text based on an Assiniboine legend about the origin of the seasons
  • “I Drink to the Ruined House” [SATB, a capella]
  • Alleluia [SATB, a capella]
  • Sacred Service [SATB, piano]
  • “Your Beautiful Blue Eyes”, Op. 114a [SATB]
  • "So hallowed and so gracious is the time" [SSATB] commissioned by Montana State University "Montanans" for the 50th anniversary of Madrigal Dinner. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jzYGZBsrm8
  • Choral Concerto, Op 133 [SSAATTBB], three movements, settings of texts by Murray Steinman (2015)
  • Trees, Op 138 ballet music for voices and two pianos; text by Richard Powers

OPERAS: 

  • Sanctuary: chamber opera in one act for solo tenor, horn, contrabass, three percussionists and tape; original libretto by composer; horn, ‘cello, contrabass, piano and three percussionists, three acts
  • Pamelia: full opera for five vocal leads, full chorus and symphony orchestra; libretto by Linda Peavey and Ursula Smith; three acts (1989 Centennial Opera for Six Northern Plains States)
  • Anna Akhmatova, Op. 78, One-act opera-ballet for contralto, dancers, and chamber orchestra
  • The Men, Op. 119, 2 baritones, male chorus, brass choir and percussion ensemble

 

LARGE VOCAL WORKS:

  • The Seasons, Op. 56: Baritone and chamber orchestra, one movement; text based on Assiniboine legend about the origin of the seasons
  • Sequentia: Contralto, oboe, oboe d’amore, bass clarinet, bassoon, horn, trombone, bass trombone, ‘cello and bass drum; a setting of nine poems by Paul Celan with ten instrumental interludes, nineteen short movements, in German 
  • “Like a Captive Lion," Op. 110, soprano, clarinet, string quartet, settings of 9 poems by Marina Tsvetaeva ***
  • Villancicos, Op 106, soprano & string quartet, settings of three 15th c. Spanish love songs from a woman’s perspective ***
  • Harriet Jacobs: A Tribute, Op 129 for soprano and chamber orchestra; setting of text by Harriet Jacobs "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" (1861)

SOLO VOCAL WORKS: 

  • Champs de Blé aux Corbeaux, tenor, flute and ‘cello; text by John Haek
  • Canticum, contralto, harpsichord, piano and percussion, two movements; medieval Latin text 
  • For I Am as a Lark, soprano and pipe organ, two movements 
  • Before My Hair Turns Gray, soprano and piano; text by Sally Wheeler ***
  • Four Songs on Poems by Sara Teasdale, soprano and piano ***
  • Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night, mezzo-soprano and piano; text by Dylan Thomas ***
  • What Ships Set Sail, soprano and piano ***
  • Góngora, baritone, flute, bassoon, trombone, ‘cello; five poems by Luis de Góngora, in Spanish; composed at Künstlerhaus Schloss Wiepersdorf, Brandenburg/Germany 
  • Canto X, tenor, four trombones, bass trombone, tuba; setting of Paradiso, Canto X by Dante, in Italian; composed at Künstlerhaus Schloss Wiepersdorf, Brandenburg/Germany 
  • Wiepersdorfer Bild, mezzo-soprano, tenor, piano and chimes; text by Christian Utz and Amanda Aizpuriete in German and Latvian; composed at Künstlerhaus Schloss Wiepersdorf, Germany
  • Universe--Solitude, soprano and violin; text by Samuel Beckett; composed at Künstlerhaus Schloss Wiepersdorf, Brandenburg/Germany 
  • Villancicos, Op. 106a, soprano voice, piano 
  • "Like a Captive Lion," Op. 110a, soprano voice, piano [15 minutes duration]
  • "I am the last man on earth and I cannot remember my name", Op 131 for male voice and percussion, written for Payton MacDonald's Continental Divide Bicycle Tour & film "Sonic Divide"
  • The Morton Canons, Op 128 for baritone voice and chamber ensemble, text by Bruce Morton
  • A Little While, Op 143 for soprano, piano, and double bass, setting of a poem by the same name written by Emily Bronte, composed for Sarah Poole (Great Britain)

 

     *** Recorded by Elizabeth Croy on What Ships Set Sail? The Songs of Eric Funk ; available for purchase here

 

Copyright Eric Funk, 2013