Composer - Clarinetist
The music of Mexican-American composer and clarinetist Victor Rangel (b.1996) seeks to represent the emotional essence of stories, processes, sentences, and sometimes just words. Rangel’s approach is influenced by the study of formal logic, which assesses arguments by abstracting the content – thus getting rid of any ambiguity and vagueness naturally created by language – in order to fully and solely assess the form.
Commissions for Rangel’s music have come from distinguished groups such as the Houston Symphony, Houston Grand Opera Co., Lyric Theatre @ Illinois, White Snake Projects, Apollo Chamber Players, and the AURA Contemporary Ensemble. Additionally, Rangel’s music has been performed by the Fidelio Trio, New Music on the Point, University of Chicago New Music Ensemble, University of Georgia Rote Hund Muzik, Richard Nunemaker (clarinet), Christopher Otto (violin), and Alex Sopp (flute), and has been under the direction of Nathan Gunn, Christopher Rountree, and Casey Robards. Rangel has appeared on Houston Public Media (KUHF) and has collaborated with the Houston Ballet Academy, Houston Grand Opera High School Voice Studio, and the Aurora Picture Show.
Rangel holds degrees in music composition from the University of Houston (BM) and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (MM). He is currently pursuing a doctoral degree at Michigan State University, where he studies composition with Zhou Tian and clarinet with Mingzhe Wang. Additionally, he has studied composition with Rob Smith, Stephen Montague, Carlos Carrillo, Stephen Andrew Taylor, Eli Fieldsteel, David Ashley White, and Michael Remson; and clarinet with Iura de Rezende, Chester Rowell, and Bernadetta Nguyen. As a clarinetist, Rangel has performed professionally in orchestras, wind bands, and chamber groups.
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