Musicianship
BM DePaul University
DMA Northwestern University
COURSES TAUGHT:
Aural Skills I-VI
Musicianship I-III
Introduction to Composition
Understanding Music
Art, Artist and Audience
CONTACT INFORMATION:
About
Recent activities include:
- Premiere, Kurt Westerberg’s Night Music II for 2 pianos, alongside the composer (02/13/09)
- Premiere, MoToR RoToR for piano, Aglika Angelova (02/27/09)
- Moderator, The State of New Music, panel discussion featuring composers Bernard Rands, Augusta Reed Thomas, Juan Campoverde, George Flynn and Kurt Westerberg (02/27/09)
- Faculty Artist: DePaul University’s Community Music Division Conducting Workshop, featuring Cliff Colnot and Mina Zikri (12/12/08 – 12/14/08)
- Harpsichord performance and early music study with Roger Goodman
Paul Failla began dedicated piano study in high school at North Carolina School for the Arts, continuing training at DePaul University with Dmitri Paperno. He received a Bachelor of Music degree in 1999, the same year he participated as soloist in the premiere of George Flynn’s 23’ American City for piano and wind ensemble, as well as George Perle’s Serenade No. III. Failla pursued additional study in music composition, music technology and theory/analysis at Northwestern University, completing a Doctor of Musical Arts in Composition in June, 2005.
Failla has received numerous awards for his music: Northwestern University William T. Faricy Award for Creative Music, 2001, for Glyphs, a multi-percussion piece; The Sidney & Mary Kleinman Composition Award, 2002, 2005 for Cluster Bombs, a work for orchestra, and for regress:respond:retain, a work for guitar quartet; First Place in the Union League’s Civic & Arts Foundation Composition Competition, 2002, for Grid, also for guitar quartet. Past teachers include George Flynn, M. William Karlins, Jeff Kowalkowski, Virgil Moorefield, Alan Stout, Steven L. Syverud, Augusta Read Thomas and Jay Alan Yim.