Office of the Associate Deans
Grinnell College
1121 Park Street, 3rd Floor
Grinnell, Iowa 50112-0806
home 641/236-7190, work 269-3460
chenet@grinnell.edu
web.grinnell.edu/individuals/chenet/
Detailed Curriculum Vita

Education

1978 - 84 Ph.D. with honors in Music Composition, University of Chicago
1976 - 80 M.M. in Music Composition, Butler University, Indianapolis, Indiana
1972 - 75 B.A. with honors in Mathematics, University of Chicago

Employment

1983 - present: Associate Dean of the College (2004 - ), Blanche Johnson Professor of Music (1997- ), Associate Professor (1989-97), Assistant Professor (1984-89), and Instructor (1983-84), Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa

Leadership Positions

2003: Humanities Division Chair, Grinnell College (elected to replace deceased faculty member)
2003: Interim Director, Grinnell College Center for Prairie Studies
2003: Senior Warden, St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Grinnell, IA
1999-2001: Chair, Department of Music, Grinnell College
1997-98: Chair, Department of Music, Grinnell College
1997-98: Chair, Academic Computing Committee, Grinnell College
1995-97: Chair, Iowa Composers Forum
1993-94: Chair, Iowa Composers Forum
1993-94: Composer-in-Residence, Cedar Rapids Symphony Orchestra
1989-90: Co-Chair of Region 5, Society of Composers, Inc.
1990-93: Chair, Department of Music, Grinnell College
1987-89: Chair, Department of Music, Grinnell College

Service at Grinnell College

• Off-Campus Service
  
• External reviewer for Coker College Liberal Arts Studies Progarm and Music Department (2003)
• "The Arts and the Prairie", presentation for faculty workshop at Central College on "The Human Impact on the Global Environment" (2003)
• Jury for University of Iowa School of Music Pelzer Prize for music composition (2001, 1998)
• Two-day faculty workshop at Lawrence University on "The Arts, Multimedia, and the Internet: Teaching Artistic Creativity in the Digital Age" (2000)
• External reviewer for Williams College Music Department (1999)
• Iowa Composers Forum Board of Directors (1987-89, 1992-2003)
• Society of Composers, Inc. (National Council, 1989-90)

• Representative Compositions, Publications, Recordings, and Premieres
  
• 
  
• 2004
• Dvorak Variations for woodwind quintet; 12 minutes
  
• 1st perf: Cedar Rapids Beethoven Club Iowa Composers Concert, Daehler-Kitchin Auditorium, Coe College, Cedar Rapids, IA, 4/24/04

• 2003
• Posthumous Orpheus published in Society of Composers, Inc. Journal of Music Scores Vol. 34 (fall, 2003: 33-44)
• Fast Track for flute and guitar released on CD "Red Cedar Collection: American Music for Flute and Guitar" recorded by Boland-Dowdall Duo on Fleur De Son Classics label (CD FDS57960).

• 2002
• The Pale Queen of the Silent Night for Renaissance flute, mezzo-soprano, lute, and bass viol based on the poem "A Sonnet of the Moon" by Charles Best; 4:15 minutes. Released on CD "Sad Steps" recorded by Virelai on Riverrun label (RVRCD62)
  
• 1st perf: Royal Academy of Music, London, 10/25/02; additional performance at the University of Durham
• Elegy and Affirmation for cello and piano; 16 minutes (commissioned by the Blanden Memorial Art Museum with funding from the Iowa Arts Council)
  
• 1st perf: David Evenchick, cello, Eugene Gaub, piano, Blanden Memorial Art Museum, 9/22/02; additional performances University of Iowa Center for New Music, etc.
• "The Integration of Technology into Learning and Teaching in the Liberal Arts: A Case Study in a Changing Educational Culture," co-authored with Helen Scott, Associate Dean, and Jim Swartz, Vice-President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College at Grinnell College. Published in Liberal Education, Spring, 2002
• Compositions Prairie Autumn and "Places" from Oh Millersville! published in the special "Music in the Midwest" issue of the Platte Valley Review 30.1 (Spring, 2002): 51-52, 93-98, 116, and front/back covers
• Recordings of compositions Prairie Autumn, "Places" from Oh Millersville!, and "The Ice-Glazed Landscape" from Broken Ground released on CD included with the special "Music in the Midwest" issue of the Platte Valley Review 30.1 (Spring, 2002): CD tracks 2, 3, and 9; listings on pp. 3, 7-8, 10-11, and 117. Performed by the American Celebration Duo, soprano Melanie Ohm with pianist Gail Novak, and the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra and Grinnell Singers

• 2001
• Recording of composition Rural Symphony released on CD "Images of Rural America: Music by Chenette and Copland" issued by the Office of the President, Grinnell College
• Skipped Stones, electronic music with video projections; my portion 13 minutes, composed in collaboration with two students, Molly Gardner and Matthew Warne, total duration 40 minutes
  
• 1st perf: Haiku North America Conference, Boston, MA, 6/29/01

• 2000
• Fast Track version for flute and piano; 3:30 minutes
  
• 1st perf: the University of Iowa Center for New Music, 10/13/00
• Rural Symphony for orchestra; 15 minutes (commissioned by the Blanden Memorial Art Museum for the Fort Dodge Area Symphony as part of the American Composer Forum's "Continental Harmony" project funded by the National Endowment for the Arts)
  
• 1st perf: Fort Dodge Area Symphony, Phillips Middle School Auditorium, Fort Dodge, IA, 10/15/00
• Composition Fast Track for flute and guitar published in the The Red Cedar Collection: Artistic Celebration for the 21st Century by Merion Music, Incorporated of Theodore Presser Company
• Fast Track for flute and guitar; 3:30 minutes (commissioned by Red Cedar Chamber Music for the Boland-Dowdall Duo)
  
• 1st perf: Boland/Dowdall Duo, Cedar Rapids (IA) Museum of Art, 2/12/00

• 1999
• Composition "Wake, Sweet Muse" and arrangement "Dear Harp of My Country" from The Bright Harmonic String for treble choir and harp published by Boosey & Hawkes (M051471706 & M051471713)
• Composition "Wake, Sweet Muse" and arrangement "Dear Harp of My Country" from The Bright Harmonic String for treble choir and harp released on CD "All of the Above" produced by Boosey & Hawkes. Drake Chorale cond. by Eric Knapp
• Prairie Autumn for soprano and piano released on CD "American Song" recorded by American Celebration Duo on Innova label (#529)

• 1998
• Hyperbole for solo piano; 8 minutes
  
• 1st perf: Cedar Rapids (IA) Beethoven Club, Daehler-Kitchin Auditorium, 4/18/99; additional performances by contestants in City of Varna, Bulgaria piano competition 5/26 and 5/27/00, broadcast on Bulgarian National Television

• 1997
• The Bright Harmonic String for treble voice choir and harp (or piano) based on poem by Thomas Moore and anonymous; 13 minutes (commissioned by the Des Moines Children's Choir)
  
• 1st perf: Drake Chorale, Eric Knapp, cond. 10/24/98, excerpts performed previously by the Des Moines Children's Choir, Eugene Wilson, cond. in Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Iceland
• Strings in the Earth for treble voice choir and harp (or piano) based on a poem by James Joyce; 4 minutes (commissioned by the Des Moines Children's Choir)
  
• 1st perf: Des Moines Children's Choir, Eugene Wilson, cond, 11/14/97

• 1996
• Broken Ground for choir and orchestra; 37 minutes
  
• 1st perf: Des Moines Symphony Orch & Grinnell Singers, Joseph Giunta, cond., 5/11, 5/12, and 5/19, 1996, broadcast statewide over Iowa Public TV 5/22/96

• 1995
• Posthumous Orpheus for mezzo-soprano and lute; text by Edward Hirsch; 8 minutes
  
• 1st perf: King/Heringman Duo, London, England and Grinnell, IA, 9/15 /95 and 9/29/95

• 1994
• Triple Feature for chamber orchestra; 19 minutes
  
• 1st perf: Cedar Rapids Symph Chamber Orch, Christian Tiemeyer, cond., 2/4/94

• 1986-93
• Eric Hermannson's Soul, opera based on Willa Cather's short story of the same name, libretto by the composer; 98 minutes
  
• 1st perf: Scott McCoy, tenor, Jean McDonald, soprano, et al. with the Iowa Chamber Ensemble, Jonathan Knight, cond., 9/11/93 and 9/24/93, Grinnell and Iowa City, IA

• 1993
• Prairie Autumn for soprano and piano based on poem by Willa Cather; 4 minutes
  
• 1st perf: Margie Marrs, soprano, Sharon Kay Stang, piano, 4/20/97; version with chamber ensemble premiered at the National Conference of the Society of Composers, Inc at Indiana University in 1998

• 1992
• Oh Millersville! for soprano and orchestra; texts by James Norman Hall; 24 minutes
  
• 1st perf: Dubuque Symph Orch, Kristie Tigges, sop, Nicholas Palmer, cond., 2/22/92

• 1989
• Liberty from the Tyranny of 12 Equal Tones for synthesized horn quartet in 19 note equal temperament; 18 minutes
  
• 1st perf: Iowa Composers Forum, 9/10/89; performed at the Society for Electroacoustic Music National Conference in Baton Rouge, 10/14/90

• 1985
• Fantasy and Fugue on BACH for piano trio; 11 minutes
  
• 1st perf: Galliano and Mirecourt Trios, 11/14/85 and 12/13/85; also principal players of Canadian National Chamber Orch, International ASUC convention, Toronto, 3/7/86

• 1983
• Chamber Symphony for 31 Instruments; 14 minutes
  
• 1st perf: Netherlands Radio Chamber Orch, Ernest Bour, cond., ISCM World Music Days, 10/4/85; perf by the St. Paul Chamber Orch, Enrique Diemecke, cond., 4/8/88

• 1982
• Redolence for solo harp; 4 minutes
  
• 1st perf: New England Conservatory, 4/15/82 ; International Harp Congress,Vienna, 7/7/87

• Representative Awards, Commissions, Grants, and Fellowships
  
• 2002: $3,500 "American Spirit" Project Grant from the Iowa Arts Council to compose Elegy and Affirmation
• 2001: $500 commission from the Blanden Memorial Art Museum to compose Iowa Visions for a book unveiling and reading
• 2000: $10,000 commission from the Blanden Memorial Art Museum for Rural Symphony as part of the "Continental Harmony" project of the American Composers Forum funded by the National Endowment for the Arts
  
• 2000: $1,000 commission from Red Cedar Chamber Music for Fast Track for flute and guitar
  
• 2000: $250 residency grant from Meet the Composer for public presentation at premiere of Fast Track
• 1999: $6,000 grant from the Iowa Arts Council for "Mid-America Composers Festival" (four-day joint conference of the Iowa Composers Forum and Region V of the Society of Composers, Incorporated)
• 1995: $34,000 in commissioning funds from the Iowa Sesquicentennial Commission, the Des Moines Symphony, and Grinnell College for Broken Ground for choir and orchestra
• 1993: $12,000 in grants the Iowa Arts Council, the Grinnell Area Arts Council, and the Grinnell College President's Office for the premiere of Eric Hermannson's Soul
• 1992: $600 commission from the Iowa Music Teachers Association for Four Character Pieces for flute and piano
  
• 1992: $1,350 residency grant from Meet the Composer and the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra for public programs connected with performance of Oh Millersville!
• 1991: $1,100 Commission from the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra for an orchestral version of Oh Millersville!
  
• 1991: $300 Margaret Fairbanks Jory Copying Assistance Program Grant from the American Music Center to aid in preparation of parts for Dubuque Symphony performance
• 1987: Selected as a Scholar-in-Residence at the Rockefeller Foundation's Bellagio Study and Conference Center, Bellagio, Italy (turned down because of family circumstances)
• 1986: MacDowell Colony Fellowship
  
• Grinnell College Harris Faculty Fellowship, a full salary grant plus $5000 research expenses for the 1986/87 year, to compose the opera Eric Hermannson's Soul
• 1985: Chamber Symphony for 31 Instruments selected for presentation at International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) World Music Days in Holland
  

• Representative Residencies, Interviews, and Presentations
  
• 2003: "Music, Farming, and the Prairie" presentation for convocation series on "The Human Impact on the Global Environment", Central College, Pella, IA
• 2002-03: Media interviews, presentation, and statewide television broadcast (Iowa Public Television's "Living in Iowa" feature) concerning the Blanden Memorial Art Museum's presentation of the premiere of Elegy and Affirmation
• 2001: "Rural Symphony: Translating Rural America Into Song", presentation for Lieutenant Governor Sally Pederson's and Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs Director Anita Walker's "Discover Iowa" tour, Blanden Memorial Art Museum, Fort Dodge, IA
• 2001: "Making a Difference: Teaching and Learning With Technology," presentation for Association of American Colleges and Universities conference in New Orleans
• 2000: Composers' Workshop presentation on my music, University of Northern Iowa
• 2000: Media interviews, meet-the-composer events, school residencies, gust lectures at Iowa Central Community College, on-stage program notes, and receptions in conjunction with Fort Dodge Area Symphony premiere of Rural Symphony
• 1996: Media interviews, Symphony Guild talk, under-age-30 symphony supporters discussion, children's program, symphony preview program, on-stage program notes, and receptions in conjunction with Des Moines Symphony premiere of Broken Ground
• 1993: "Microtonality and the Liberal Arts," presentation for national convention of the Society of Composers, Inc., Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH
• 1988: Nationally broadcast interview on NPR as part of St. Paul Chamber Orchestra broadcast of Chamber Symphony for 31 Instruments
• 1985: "Japanese Conceptions of Space and Time in the Music of Takemitsu," presentation for national convention of the American Society of University Composers, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona

Professional Affiliations

Broadcast Music Incorporated
Iowa Composers Forum
Society of Composers, Inc.
American Composers Forum
College Music Society
American Music Center