UA Music Professors Receive Awards for Compositions

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - A professor who composes music for documentaries and another who writes orchestral pieces have been chosen as award recipients by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. The ASCAP awards recognize James R. Greeson and Robert Mueller for their original compositions and performances, and include smallmonetary grants to help further their musical endeavors.

"It's nice to get this recognition, especially from an august group of composers," Greeson said.

Both Greeson and Mueller have received the ASCAP award in previous years.

Greeson, who has taught at the U of A for 23 years, composes music for documentaries when he is not teaching. He describes his compositions as an attempt to match the emotional content of the scene in the documentary he is writing for.

"I was self-conscious in college about my music background," Greeson said. "I kept thinking, 'Someone like me doesn't write music.' Then at some point, I thought, 'Well, maybe I do.'"

He has been composing original musical scores for journalism professor Larry Foley's documentary films since 1995. Foley said Greeson's talent has elevated his own work to a higher level.

"His music gives the perfect feel and mood for my stories, whether the film is about early Arkansas explorers, Razorback football players, or victims of tuberculosis," Foley said. "I wouldn't even think of producing a film without an original Jim Greeson musical score. He is an Arkansas treasure, and my career has been blessed by his talent."

Mueller writes pieces for orchestras, and has taught at the U of A for 16 years. He also plays organ at a local church.

"I learn a legend and then try to tell it with my music," he said.

Mueller was promoted to full professor last year. Music department chair Stephen Gates considers him a brilliant scholar and composer.

"Just as the great masters wrote for whomever was around, or whomever commissioned the work, Mueller is able to write for all kinds of soloists," Gates said. "He writes in a style thoroughly contemporary, but at the same time listenable, appreciable and appreciated by the audience."

The ASCAP awards are granted by an independent panel and are based upon the value of each writer's catalog of original compositions, as well as recent performances in areas not surveyed by the society. Greeson and Mueller each submitted an inventory of their compositional activity - their compositions, commissions, awards, recordings and premiers - from the previous year.

"It's based on quantity and quality of the performances," Greeson explained. "The quality is in the sense of the venue. . A piece played in a living room is not as important as one played in a concert hall."

Mueller's compositions were featured throughout the United States, while Greeson was recognized with several nominations and awards for various documentaries he composed.

The panelists granting the awards are Peter Filichia, drama critic for the (Newark) Star Ledger; Peter Keepnews, a journalist specializing in jazz and popular culture; Melinda Newman, West Coast Bureau Chief of Billboard; Pat Prescott, veteran radio personality who currently hosts the morning show on KTWV ("The Wave") in Los Angeles; Michael Morgan, conductor of the Oakland-East Bay Symphony Orchestra; H. Robert Reynolds, professor emeritus at the University of Michigan; and Steve Smith, classical music critic for Time Out New York.

ASCAP is a membership association of more than 140,000 composers, songwriters, lyricists and music publishers. It is a clearinghouse for creators and users of music. Its customers, or licensees, encompass all those who want to broadcast or perform copyrighted music publicly, such as radio and television broadcasters, cable programmers, live concert promoters, symphony orchestras, shopping malls, bars and Web sites. ASCAP collects and distributes funds to support composers depending on their audiences.