Gregory Fritze papers, 2010-2011

Collection

Identifier: BCA-059

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Gregory Fritze papers comprises two folders of material pertaining to the development of the graduate degree program at Berklee’s campus in Valencia, Spain, including a proposal for a Master of Arts Degree in Symphonic Band Studies.

Dates

Creation: 2010-2011

Creator

Fritze, Gregory, 1954- (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research by appointment. Advance notice is required for access because materials are stored offsite.

Conditions Governing Use

Materials from Berklee Archives are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. Permission to examine materials, or to obtain copies, does not imply the right to publish, exhibit, or broadcast them, in whole or in part. Visitors and researchers are solely responsible for determining the copyright status of any materials they may wish to use, making fair use determinations, investigating the owner(s) of the copyright and, where necessary, obtaining permission for the intended use. For additional information regarding copyright, fair use, and reproduction services, please consult our Access and Use Policies.

Biographical / Historical

Composer, arranger, educator, and tubist Gregory “Greg” Fritze (1954- ) was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Composition from Boston Conservatory in 1976 and a master’s degree in Composition from Indiana University in 1981. He taught in the Composition department at Berklee College of Music from 1979 to 2016, serving as assistant chair (1991-1998) and chair (1990-1991, 1999-2012); leading wind, brass, and jazz tuba ensembles; and conducting the Concert Band for fifteen years (1983-1999). In 1991, he received an Outstanding New Leader Award from Berklee. Fritze was also Principal Tubist with the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra for more than thirty years, a member of the Cambridge Symphonic Brass Ensemble, and a frequent performer with Boston Ballet.

Fritze's first association with Spain was in 1988 when he composed the piece Festival Overture especially for a Valencian band under Maestro Francisco Carreño Garrido. Fritze became a regular visiting composer to Spain, receiving a Fulbright Senior Research Grant in 1997 to research compositions for wind instruments by Spanish composers. Fritze also participated in the development of Berklee’s music program in Valencia, which opened in 2011, and for which he developed workshops and designed the curriculum for a symphonic band major.

Gregory Fritze has written over 100 compositions for orchestra, band, chamber ensembles and soloists, and won over sixty awards for his compositions, including the Ibla Grand Prize, eleven awards from ASCAP, and a Walt Disney Fellowship. His composition A Day in Valencia was the featured composition performed by the winning band in the highest category of the International Certamen in Valencia in 2011.

Extent

.25 Cubic Feet (2 folders)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Two files pertaining to the development of the graduate degree program at Berklee’s campus in Valencia, Spain.

Arrangement

Material is arranged chronologically.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated by Gregory Fritze in September 2015.

Deaccessioned Material

37 bound volumes of original compositions (1976-2001) for symphonic band, orchestra, chamber ensemble, and solo instruments, were deacessioned in December 2022 and transferred to the Albert Alphin Library per donor request. These volumes comprise both published and unpublished compositions, and include several competition-winning pieces, commissions, as well as compositions designed for educational purposes.

Processing Information

This collection, which originally also comprised a collection of scores, was inventoried by Nicole Kwan as received in October 2015; it was rearranged chronologically by Thomas Wandborg in 2022. In the course of obtaining formal donation paperwork from the donor, it was determined that only the material pertaining to the Valenca program be retained in the Archives and the scores to be transferred to Alphin (see Deaccessioned Material note).