Harmony is central to the aesthetic and philosophy of the compositions of Paul Gallagher (1953-2011). His approach to just intonation ties deep structural harmony to programmatic explorations of the unity of existence.
Born in Pittsburgh, Paul Gallagher graduated from the Pennsylvania State University and received M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the State University of New York at Buffalo, where he studied composition with Morton Feldman and Lejaren Hiller and voice with Heinz Rehfuss.
His orchestral, instrumental, and vocal compositions have been performed in New York, Copenhagen, and Pittsburgh. His choreographed chamber opera, “Six Blind Men and the Moon,” was performed at the Kraine Theater in New York in 1998. The vocal work, “Kingdom of Mescal,” premiered in New York in 1992, and his orchestral piece, “Way of the Hopi,” premiered at the American Festival of Microtonal Music in 1986 at Merkin Hall in New York. His grants included a fellowship in composition from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a New York State Council on the Arts grant to produce a new music radio program, and grants from Meet the Composer.
He was invited to lecture on microtonality at the Young Nordic Music Festival in Copenhagen, and his works for just-tuned piano were presented in concert on Danish Radio. Performances include a chamber orchestra piece by the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, a choral work in New York by Melodious Accord, and numerous vocal and chamber pieces in New York and New Jersey presented by Composers Concordance, North/South Consonance, Composers Guild of New Jersey, New York Open Center, Phoenix, Composers’ Forum, Newark Museum and the New Jersey State Museum.