David Fetherolf

composer, music editor, master engraver

Born in New York City in 1956, David Fetherolf started studying the violoncello at the age of five. Having learned two clefs by the age of seven, he decided to learn the treble clef by teaching himself, using both the piano in his parent's home and the organ in the chapel of the church where his grandmother worked.

As a young adult, Mr. Fetherolf enrolled in the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Massachusetts as a non-degree student to study Violoncello. While at Longy his focus shifted from performance to composition. Eventually he moved to New York City, where he qualified for a Masters degree in Music Composition from the Purchase College Conservatory of Music in Purchase, New York.

Mr. Fetherolf's views have been enriched over the years by many teachers, including: Guido Brand, Alvin Brehm, Bruce Coppock, Richard Cornell, Edgar Grana, Anthony Newman, Vladimir Padwa, and Nathan Stuch as well as by his close working relationships with composers such as Chou Wen-chung, Eleanor Cory, and Ursula Mamlok.

Fetherolf's works have been played in the United States, Europe, and Central and South America. He has received awards and grants from the American Music Center, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust, the Helen F. Whitaker Fund, the Mamaroneck Schools Foundation and the Chase Manhattan Bank as well as several private grants and fellowships. His works have been premiered at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, at St. James Hall, London, and have been selected to represent his country by the United States Information Agency. He has been involved with five International Festival of New Music for Orchestra programs in Olomouc, Czech Republic and received commissions from groups as diverse as The Mamaroneck Schools Foundation (USA) and the Gamavilla Quartet (CZ). Fetherolf is one of the original members of Random Access Music, a group of composers in the New York City area who work under the aegis of the Astoria Music Society.

Mr. Fetherolf's day job, Editor/Production Manager, Premiere Works for G. Schirmer/AMP in New York City keeps him enmeshed in contemporary music. He has lectured extensively to young people on the aesthetics and philosophies of 20th century music and has worked closely to realize musical projects with artists as diverse as the composer Chou Wen-chung, pianist Steven Smith, and Rick Scott of Cuneiform recording artists Birdsongs of the Mesozoic.

Fetherolf has recordings available on the Vienna Modern Masters and Albany Record labels.