Shyly courting the limelight, composer and librettist Edward Ficklin focuses his creative energy on the various forms of music theater. He has realized his works in a number of unusual venues, like a store window near Grand Central Station and a vacant bank lobby near the World Trade Center (with the support of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and the September 11th Fund). His work has also been presented by American Opera Projects (Brooklyn, NY), Opera Company of Astoria (Astoria, NY), Little Opera Theatre of New York, the Spring Fever Festival (New York, NY), David Parker/The Bang Group (a collaboration with choreographer Lise Brenner) and Opera Vista (Houston, TX).
Internationally, his work has been presented by the Novi Sad Cultural Center (Novi Sad, Serbia) and the Staatstheater Kassel (Kassel, Germany). A selection of songs from his one-act opera, Context of Love Lives, is included here.
In addition to music theater, Edward has published articles and guides for composers for the American Music Center and Meet The Composer. His new media work includes “soundbiting”, an audio blog about urban existence, “Sounds Like Staten Island”, a forthcoming audio database of recordings made on and about New York City’s forgotten borough, and specialized databases of commissioned repertoire for the Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust, Schola Cantorum on Hudson and Meet The Composer.
Trained in classical composition and English literature at the University of Denver, Ficklin finds inspiration in the small details and sounds of everyday life. Since 2003, he has been actively involved in the composers collective, The South Oxford Six. This group of six composers is dedicated to presenting new works, collaborating, and training new generations of composers.
Edward also serves on the Artists Advisory Council of Fractured Atlas, a national service organization for independent and self-producing artists.
