Composers: Karl Henning

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Karl Henning (b. 1960) fell in love with the sound of the clarinet at age 10 and has been learning, practicing and creating music ever since in pursuit of the Muse.

Formally, Henning holds a B.Mus. with double major in composition and clarinet performance from College of Wooster (Wooster, Ohio) where he studied with Jack Gallagher, Paul Schwartz and Nancy Garlick; a M.A. in composition from University of Virginia (Charlottesville, VA) where he studied with Judith Shatin, Walter Ross and Douglas Hargrave; and a Ph.D. in composition from the University of Buffalo (Buffalo, NY) where he studied with Charles Wuorinen and Louis Andriessen.

After his doctoral work, Henning lived for four years in and near St. Petersburg, Russia. There he studied the canals, bridges, cathedrals, white nights and starry winter skies of St. Petersburg. This was a period of informal arts study which he feels in many ways equal in importance to his years of formal training.

His music has been played and sung on three continents (North America, Europe and Australia). Karl has served at different times as Interim Choir Director and Composer-in-Residence at the Cathedral Church of St Paul in Boston, where he composed a 40-minute unaccompanied choral setting of the St John Passion (premiered in March of 2008). Works recently completed include a short five-part unaccompanoed anthem for First Church in Boston; and It’s all in your head (not that that’s a bad place for everything to be), a suite for cello ensemble. Current projects include a full evening’s ballet based on Dostoyevsky’s novella White Nights; and Discreet Erasures for orchestra.

Compositions published by Lux Nova Press • Composer's Website