Dr. Donald Appertconductor & composer
  • Home
  • About
  • News and Press
  • Awards and Accolades
  • Season Schedules
  • Audio
  • Photos
  • Video
  • Contact
  • Linda Appert, Soprano
  • Blog On the Road
Picture



the
Musical Biography of
 Dr. Donald L. Appert


   Donald Lawrence Appert has appeared as a guest  conductor in Japan, Australia, Central America, and  throughout Europe. In Italy La’ovadese wrote, “…the  performance of the ‘Serenade in C Major’ of  

Tchaikovsky, under the exceptional direction of Appert,  was in such a style that it brought out the elegance and  grace of the melodic lines with Mozartian inspiration.  …The L’Orchestra Sinfonica Città di Grosseto…  performed the Barber ‘Adagio’ with rare effectiveness,  emphasizing its intrinsically rich melody.” Giornale di  Sicilla praised his interpretation of Nielsen’s First  Symphony as “lyrical with an airy freshness,” and his  conducting as “precise, painstakingly accurate, and diligent.”
   In the United States, he has appeared as a guest  conductor of the Vancouver (Washington) Symphony, the University of Texas – Arlington Symphony  Orchestra, the Eastern Washington University Symphony Orchestra, and the University of Central Arkansas  Symphony. In March 2017, Dr. Appert guest conducted the Satu-Mare Philharmonic (Romania) in a concert,  which featured his Concertino for Bass Clarinet and String Orchestra. 


 2020 has been a banner year for the Maestro as he was the 2020 WINNER: The American Prize in Orchestral  Programming / Vytautas Marijosius Memorial Award—community division for his work with the Clark  College Orchestra and The Jewish Community Orchestra of Portland and he also received the Clark College  Exceptional Faculty Award. As one of only five musicians chosen, Dr. Appert received the 2015 Honored Artists of The  American Prize, the Honored Artists being "...individuals who have proven themselves to be musicians of "sustained  excellence" over a number of seasons as contestants in the competitions." Adding to this distinctive honor is his 2011  The American Prize in Orchestral Programming – Vytautas Marijosius Memorial Award for his work with the Oregon  Sinfonietta. The results of The American Prize 2017 – 2018 competition show the Oregon Sinfonietta receiving an  Honorable Mention for the Ernst Bacon Memorial Award for the Performance of American Music for their performance  of Dr. Appert's Concerto for Viola and Orchestra, with world-renowned violist Brett Deubner, and placing as a Finalist in  the category of Orchestral Performance for their performance of Scriabin's Symphony No. 2 in C minor, Op. 29. The Clark  College Orchestra placed as a Semi-Finalist in the Orchestral Performance category for their performance of Berlioz'  Symphonie fantastique, and as a Semi-Finalist for the Ernst Bacon Memorial Award for their performance of Dr. Appert's  Sacred Song Cycle. The American Prize honors received in 2016 for Dr. Appert and his orchestras include receiving 3rd  place in Orchestral Programming for his work with the Jewish Community Orchestra, the Oregon Sinfonietta being  named as a semi-finalist and the Clark College Orchestra as a finalist in Orchestral Performance, and the Clark College  Orchestra receiving 2nd place for the Ernst Bacon Memorial Award for their performance of Ewazen's Palmetto Suite for  Alto Trombone and Orchestra. Dr. Appert has received numerous previous honors from The American Prize, which  include placing as a semi-finalist in Orchestral Composition – Professional Division for his Fantasy for Contrabass and  Orchestra and Northwest Triptych. The Oregon Sinfonietta and the Clark College Orchestra have also received previous  honors from The American Prize in Orchestral Performance.  
 Dr. Appert was awarded the 2015 ASCAPLUS Award in recognition of his performances in Italy and the  United States. His awards in previous years were for performances in Romania, Qatar, Europe, Central  America, Japan, and the United States. Dr. Appert is the recipient of the 2014 Clark County Arts Commission  Lifetime Achievement in the Arts Award, and in 2009, he received the Washington Community College  Humanities Association Exemplary Status Award in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the  Humanities.  
 As a member of ASCAP, most of Dr. Appert's compositions have been published and his works have been  performed throughout the world. Contrapunctus (Mirrors) for flute and trombone was commissioned by Dr.  Philip Martinson, Second Trombone, Oklahoma City Philharmonic and its World Premiere will be at the  International Trombone Festival in Osaka, Japan at a time to be announced. Dr. Appert composed his Violin  Concerto for the concertmaster of the Oregon Sinfonietta, Darrell Hunt, which was performed in November of  2019. His Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, commissioned by, and for, Jeffrey Butler of the Houston 
Symphony, had its world première to great applause on June 17, 2018, with Mr. Butler as soloist and the Clark  College Orchestra accompanying him. In 2016, the world première of Dr. Appert's Concerto for Viola and  Orchestra was performed by acclaimed violist Brett Deubner and the Oregon Sinfonietta. Mr. Deubner also  performed Dr. Appert's Fantasy for Viola and String Orchestra with the Clark College Orchestra.  Internationally acclaimed bass clarinetist Rocco Parisi and his Bass Clarinet Quartet commissioned Dr. Appert's  Quartetto Basso, which the quartet premièred in June 2013. Other works by Dr. Appert include Nara  Variations, In the Similitude of a Dream, Thru a Glass Darkly, Elegy, and Who Shall Know? for a cappella  choir. Dr. Appert's music can be heard via the Internet on his publisher's website at http://harmonicservicesgroup.com/c/donaldappert/orchworks.html. His music can also be heard on his website  at http://www.maestrodonappert.com.  
 Dr. Appert received his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music in Trombone from the New England  Conservatory of Music, and he earned his Doctor of Musical Arts in Orchestral Conducting at the University of  Kansas. Dr. Appert has studied conducting with Riccardo Muti, Otto Werner Mueller, Maurice Abravanel,  Daniel Lewis, Fredrik Fennel, George Lawner, and Richard Pittman. He was one of fourteen conductors chosen  to participate in Helmuth Rilling’s Master Class at the 1992 Oregon Bach Festival. His trombone teachers  include Ronald Barron, John Coffey, and Tyrone Breuninger. He has performed as a trombonist with the  Kansas City Symphony, the Virginia Symphony, the Virginia Opera Orchestra, and the Springfield  (Massachusetts) Symphony. In the Fall of 2020, Dr. Appert will begin his 31st year at Clark College,  Vancouver, Washington, where he is a Professor of Music and Chair of the Music Department, and is the Music  Director and Conductor of the Clark College Orchestra. Additionally, he is the Music Director and Conductor  of the Oregon Sinfonietta and the Music Director/Conductor of the Jewish Community Orchestra, both in  Portland, Oregon. Dr. Appert lives in Vancouver, Washington with his wife Linda, a coloratura soprano and  active voice teacher. They have two daughters: Laura, a violist, and Rebecca, a violinist. Both are graduates of  the University of Cincinnati College – Conservatory of Music. 


Music Links

Chamber Music Society of Oregon
  upcoming concert schedule
Jewish Community Orchestra

Clark College Music Department


Publishing Links

Harmonic Services Group
My publisher's website, where one can find information on parts for my compositions.
Kagarice Brass Editions www.kagarice.com  - Maskil for Alto Trombone and Piano
 
Nichols Music Company http://enspub.com/nmc.htm - Lamentation for Trombone Choir and Threnody for Trombone Choir
 
​any work of mine that was published by TAP Music Sales is now to be found at Hickeys Music at this address:

https://www.hickeys.com/search.php?q=Donald+Appert 

Proudly powered by Weebly