(b. 2 July 1945, Streator, Illinois).

American composer, now resident in the Netherlands, of mostly stage, orchestral, chamber, vocal, piano, electroacoustic, and multimedia works that have been performed throughout Europe and in North America; he is also active as a trombonist.

Mr. Fulkerson attended Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, where he earned his BMus in 1967, and studied composition with Herbert Brün, Kenneth Gaburo, Lejaren Hiller, Ben Johnston, and Salvatore Martirano at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, where he earned his MMus in 1968. He studied trombone with Carmine Caruso and John Silber, though he had additional studies with Ernst Giehl, Robert Gray, Edward Kleinhammer, Donald Miller, and Donald Reinhardt.

As a trombonist, his specialty is contemporary music. More than 225 works have been composed for him, including two by John Cage. He founded the ensemble for contemporary music the Barton Workshop in Amsterdam in 1989 and has served as its director and trombonist since 1989, which has given premières by Nicolas Collins, Philip Corner, Frank Denyer, Henryk Mikołaj Górecki, Jerry Hunt, Alvin Lucier, Ernstalbrecht Stiebler, Galina Ustvolskaya, and Christian Wolff, among other composers.

He is also active in other positions. He worked as a composer–performer at the Center of the Creative and Performing Arts at the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York from 1969–72. He has spent periods as composer-in-residence to the programme CAPS in New York in 1970, the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst in Berlin in 1973, the University of Melbourne from 1977–79, the Dartington College of Arts in Devon from 1981–86, and the School voor Nieuwe Dansontwikkeling of De Theaterschool in Amsterdam in 1986.

He has taught composition at the ArtEZ Dansacademie in Arnhem, the Dartington College of Arts and the University of Nottingham, where he also served as director of the Computer and Electronic Music Studios and the Leverhulme Research Project in Computer Music.

He has lived in the Netherlands since 1989.

His primary publishers are Donemus, Edition Modern and Seesaw Music.

COMPLETE LIST OF WORKS

STAGE:

Form and Movement (incidental music, presentation by John Hanna, choreography by Mary Fulkerson O'Donnell), fixed media, 1969

Sound Environment No. 2 (dance music, choreography by Willis Ward), fixed media, photoelectric oscillators, photoelectric switches, 1969

Pathways, active audience, 1970

A Second Look at Pathway, active audience, 1971

Music for Audience, Movement for Musicians, active audience, 1971

Kinetic Sculpture No. 1 (theatre without actors), fixed media, 1971

Performance Kit No. 2, mime, any player, 1971

Eros and Psyche (incidental music, play by John Argue), 1972

Kinetic Sculpture No. 2 (theatre without actors), fixed media, 1972

Empty Whispers (dance music, choreography by Mary Fulkerson O'Donnell), voice, live electronics, 1972

Traveling Companion (dance music, choreography by Christopher Banner), fixed media, 1973

Small Brown Shell (dance music, choreography by Mary Fulkerson O'Donnell), amplified bottles, 1973

Soft Verges (dance music, choreography by Richard Alston), fixed media, 1974

Co-Ordinative Systems No. 6, 1–6 dancers, 4 players, fixed media, 1974

Put your Foot down, Charlie (dance music, choreography by Mary Fulkerson O'Donnell, text by Mary Fulkerson O'Donnell), speaker, 3 dancers, amplified tenor saxophone, amplified trombone, electric guitar, electric piano, 1982

Rats (dance music, choreography by Mary Fulkerson O'Donnell, text by Mary Fulkerson O'Donnell), voice (+ piano), speaker (+ trombone), 6 dancers, guitar (+ banjo), 1982–83

Paganini (text by Mary Fulkerson O'Donnell), speaker–dancer, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, 1984

Supreme Fictions (text by Mary Fulkerson O'Donnell), amplified female speaker–actor, amplified flute, amplified French horn/amplified trombone, amplified viola, live electronics, 1984

Music for Sybrig (dance music), fixed media, 1987

Music for Mary (dance music), fixed media, 1987

Rivers (dance music), fixed media, 1987

Met dank aan... (dance music), dancer, trombone, fixed media, 1988–89

The Marionette Theatre (dance music, choreography by Mary Fulkerson O'Donnell), any player, fixed media, 1989

Whose Wings are Those? (dance music, choreography by Mary Fulkerson O'Donnell), fixed media, 1989

Used, Abused and Cheap Imitations I (dance music), fixed media, 1989 (also incorporated into Used, Abused and Cheap Imitations II)

D1 (dance music, choreography by Rosemary Butcher), fixed media, 1989 (also incorporated into D2)

D2 (dance music, choreography by Rosemary Butcher), fixed media, 1989–90 (incorporates D1)

Consistency of Air (dance music, choreography by Pauline de Groot), fixed media, 1990

Curtain (dance music, choreography by Mary Fulkerson O'Donnell), fixed media, 1991

Timing and Strategy (dance music), fixed media, 1991

Shadows and Walls (dance music, choreography by Rosemary Butcher), dancer, film, 1991

Faust (dance drama, text by Mary Fulkerson O'Donnell, after Fernando Pessoa), fixed media, 1993

Antigone (dance drama, choreography by Mary Fulkerson O'Donnell), fixed media, 1994

The Wanderer (dance music, choreography by Eli Vilanger), fixed media, 1995

ORCHESTRAL:

Globs, orchestra in 4 groups, fixed media, live electronics, 1968

Something about Mobiles, 1969

Planes, Pts, 4 orchestras, 1969

About Time, symphonic band, 1969

Behind Closed Doors, 1971

Concerto, guitar, orchestra, 1972

Patterns X, orchestra/symphonic band, 1972

...to see a thing clearly, 1972

for we don't see anything clearly, 1972

Concerto, trombone, orchestra, 1973

Orchestra Piece, bass clarinet, bass trombone, piano, string orchestra, 1974

Stations, Regions and Clouds II, bass trombone, small orchestra, 1977

Concerto, amplified cello, small orchestra, 1978

Stations, Regions and Clouds IV, amplified trombone, orchestra, 1979

Symphony No. 1, 1980

Concerto (...fierce and coming from far away), 1981

Concerto, amplified violin, small orchestra, 1992

Structures II, improvisational big band, 2000

Structures III, improvisational big band, 2000

Black Ferrets, big band, 1986–2001

Structures VII, violin, cello, small orchestra, 2002

Double Concerto (in memoriam Earle Brown), 2 pianos, orchestra, 2002

CHAMBER MUSIC:

Quintet No. 1, flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn, bassoon, 1965

Quintet No. 2, flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn, bassoon, 1966

Quintet, tenor saxophone, bass trombone, double bass, amplified harpsichord, percussion, 1967

Quartet for Dancers or One Thing Leads to Another, bassoon, trombone, violin, piano, 1967

Patterns I, flute, 1967 (may be performed with Structures I)

I Should Have Called it Something... for String Quartet, any 4 players, 1968

String Quartet No. 1, 1968

Morphosis I, jazz ensemble, 1969

Patterns III, tuba, 1969

SDTQ, 1–4 flutes, 1–4 bass trombones, 1–4 double basses, 1–4 percussion, 1969

Now II, trumpet, trombone, amplified clavichord, sound modulator, 1969

Mobiles and Loops, 4 percussion, fixed media, 1969

Morphosis II, 4 trombones, 1970

Morphosis III, 4 trombones, 1970

Two Activities I, any number of players, 1970

Five Pages for Petr K., any ensemble, 1970

For Betty Johnston, any ensemble, 1970

Two Activities II, ensemble, 1971

Patterns II, guitar, 1971

Patterns IV, double bass, 1971

Patterns VI, percussion, 1971

Line Studies I, tuba, double bass, prepared piano, 1971

Line Studies II, tuba, guitar, double bass, 1971

Line Studies III, percussion, 1971

Patterns VII, any player, 1972

Patterns IX, any ensemble capable of sustained tones, 1972

Two Activities III, ensemble, 1972

Chord, any number of players, 1972 (also version for any number of voices)

Co-Ordinative Systems No. 2, string quartet, 1972

Patterns VIII, trombone, 1972

Film (FFF), percussion, 1973

Co-Ordinative Systems No. 3, bass clarinet, bass trombone, cello, 2 double basses, 1973

Co-Ordinative Systems No. 4, ensemble, 1973

Co-Ordinative Systems No. 5, 4 double basses, 1973

Co-Ordinative Systems No. 7, any 3–8 players, 1974

Patterns V, bass flute/viola, 1974

Patterns XI, bass trombone, 1975

Music for Brass Instruments I, French horn, 2 trumpets, trombone, tuba, fixed media, 1975

Music for Brass Instruments II, bass trombone, fixed media, 1975

Stations, Regions and Clouds I, trombone, piano, fixed media, 1975

Co-Ordinative Systems No. 8, variable ensemble, 1975

Co-Ordinative Systems No. 9, trombone, synthesizer, 1975

Chamber Musics I, flute/viola, tuba, guitar, double bass, electric piano, percussion, 1975

Chamber Musics II, flute/viola, tuba, guitar, double bass, electric piano, percussion, 1975

Chamber Musics III, flute/viola, tuba, guitar, double bass, electric piano, percussion, 1976

Chamber Musics IV, flute/viola, tuba, guitar, double bass, electric piano, percussion, 1976

Chamber Musics V, flute/viola, tuba, guitar, double bass, electric piano, percussion, 1976

Co-Ordinative Systems No. 10, trombone, live electronics, 1976 (also incorporated into Force Fields and Spaces)

Chamber Musics VI, alto flute/bass flute, fixed media, 1976

Bombs, bass trombone, prepared piano, 1976

Space Music IV, variable ensemble, 1976

Chamber Musics VII, viola, fixed media, 1976

Chamber Musics VIII, guitar, fixed media, 1976

Patterns XII, any player, 1977

In a Quest of Silence, trombone, piano, vibraphone, 1977

Music for Brass Instruments III, 12 brass, 1978

Music for Brass Instruments IV, 12 brass, piano, 3 percussion, 1978

Music for Brass Instruments V, 4 trumpets, 1978

Music for Brass Instruments VI, trumpet, ensemble (4 trumpets), 1978

Antiphonies and Streams I, trombone, ring modulator, live electronics, 1978

Stations, Regions and Clouds III, trombone, fixed media (4 tracks), 1978

Suite, amplified cello, 1978–79

From Eric Dolphy, bass clarinet, live electronics, 1979

Stationary Fields...Moving Fields, amplified trombone, amplified cello, live electronics, 1979

From the Last Few Pages, trombone, live electronics, 1979

Fields and Traces, trombone, fixed media, live electronics, 1979

Memoirs of..., bass clarinet, prepared piano, 1979

Elective Affinities I, amplified trombone, amplified cello, ensemble, fixed media, live electronics, 1979–80

Force Fields and Spaces, dancer ad libitum, trombone, fixed media, live electronics, 1976–81 (incorporates Co-Ordinative Systems No. 10)

String Quartet No. 3, amplified string quartet, 1982

Sonata A, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, 1982

Sonata B, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, 1982

Louison, soprano saxophone, alto trombone, guitar, electric piano, 1982

Suite for Solo Violin, violin, 1983

Track Follows, trumpet, trombone, fixed media, live electronics, 1983

Mini-Concerto, trombone, ensemble (French horn, 3 trumpets, 2 trombones, tuba), 1984

Music of Parts, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, fixed media, 1986

Elective Affinities III, trombone, live electronics, 1987

Traces and Moments, trombone, fixed media, live electronics, 1987

For Morty Feldman I, trombone, piano, fixed media, live electronics, 1987

Temenos I, trombone, 1989

Temenos II, trombone, fixed media, 1989

Temenos IIa, trombone, fixed media, 1989

Used, Abused and Cheap Imitations II, ensemble, fixed media, 1989–90 (incorporates Used, Abused and Cheap Imitations I)

String Quartet No. 4, 1990

For Morty Feldman II, tuba, piano ad libitum, vibraphone ad libitum, fixed media, 1991

String Quartet No. 5, string quartet, fixed media, 1992

Studs I, 4 percussion, 1992

Pessoa III (Concert for Trombone), trombone, fixed media, live electronics, 1992–93

Studs II, 4 percussion, 1994

Symphony No. 2, bass guitar, 2 percussion, MIDI-ensemble, 1996

Ruth, trombone, live electronics, 1999

Studs III, 6 percussion, 1999

Wood, Stone, Desert, trumpet, fixed media, live electronics, 2000 (also version for trombone, fixed media, 2001)

Three Pieces, violin, variable ensemble, fixed media, 2000

Co-Ordinative Systems No. 14, baritone saxophone, live electronics, 2001

Structures IV, bass flute, bass clarinet, improvisational ensemble, 2001

Structures V, bass flute, bass clarinet, improvisational ensemble, 2001

Structures VI, bass flute, bass clarinet, improvisational ensemble, 2001

The Conscience of Sound, trombone (with octaver pedal), violin, amplified piano, digital reverberation, 2012

Heterophony, 6 players, 2012 (also version for 4 tubas, 2012)

Co-Ordinative Systems No. 1, any player/any ensemble, 1972– (ongoing work)

CHORAL:

Chord, any number of voices, 1972 (version of chamber work)

He Was Silent for a Space, mixed chorus, percussion, 1978

Pessoa I, 15 mixed voices, variable ensemble, 1992

VOCAL:

Passages, voice, bass clarinet, 1965

...whiteness...specks of..., soprano, bass trumpet, viola, 2 pianos, 1967

For Norma, soprano, flute, French horn, double bass, piano, percussion, 1968

Antiphonies and Streams II, tenor, live electronics, 1979

Elective Affinities II, soprano, 4 trombones, cello, percussion, fixed media, 1982

The Archaeology of Silence, mezzo-soprano, fixed media, 1990

The Cry of the Unconscious (text by Fernando Pessoa), bass-baritone, flute, percussion, 1995

The Wind High, bass-baritone, flute, vibraphone, 1997

PIANO:

Space Music I, any number of pianos, 1970

TRIAD, any number of pianos, 1971

Space Music II, 9–88 pianos, 1971

Folio, 1971

Space Music III, 1972

Stretching, toy piano, live electronics, 2000

Études 1–21, 2004

Three Pieces for Dante and JC, piano (+ electric piano), fixed media, live electronics, 2004

ELECTROACOUSTIC:

Structures I, fixed media (2 tracks), 1968 (may be performed with Patterns I)

Hallway Environments, fixed media, 1968

Planes, Pts, fixed media (4 tracks), 1969

Tape, fixed media, 1973

Tangential Patterns I, fixed media, 1974

Tangential Patterns II, fixed media, 1974

Tangential Patterns III, fixed media, 1974

Wind Song, fixed media, 1982

Night Falls, fixed media, 1984

Stones, fixed media, 1989

MULTIMEDIA:

Six Studies for Lights, Sounds and Dancers, 1967

Music for Queen Elizabeth I, 5 shouting voices, voice guns, 7 dancers, 2 players, fixed media (2 tracks), live electronics, 1968

Episodes, choreographer, filmmaker, sculptor, 1968

Connections, Directions and Drones, audience, photoelectric oscillators, cylinders, lights, 1970

Patterns and Processes – A, ensemble, slide projections, 1971

Patterns and Processes – B, percussion, slide projections, 1971

Projections, ensemble, slide projections, 1971

What is Performance?, trombone, fixed media, slide projections, film, 1973

Between the Lines, any player, fixed media, film, 1977

Raucasity and the Cisco Kid...or, I Skate in the Sun, any player, fixed media, slide projections, film, 1977–78

Vicarious Thrills, amplified trombone, pornographic film, 1978–79

Cheap Imitations, Parts I–V (Madwomen), any player, fixed media, films, 1980

Interesting Actions, Objects and Texts, shakuhachi (bamboo flute from Japan), fixed media ad libitum, live electronics, film, slide projections, movement, 1985

Letters, amplified trombone, film (by Grahame Weinbren), 2002

G for John Cage, speaker, bass clarinet/contrabassoon, film (by Grahame Weinbren), 2002

Letters from America (texts from random sources on the Internet), speaker, any ensemble, fixed media, film (by Grahame Weinbren), 2003

RADIO PRODUCTIONS:

Kinetic Sculpture No. 3, 1973

Kinetic Sculpture No. 4, 1974

Kinetic Sculpture No. 5, 1974

FILM SCORE (DIRECTOR):

Bugaboos, 1969 (animation; unknown)

SELECT DISCOGRAPHY (as composer)

Force Fields and Spaces. James Fulkerson, trombone (Etcetera Records: KTC 1175, 1994)

Improvisation; Wood, Stone, Desert (original version). Arjan Kaufmann, trumpet; James Fulkerson, trombone (FMR Records: FMRCD151, 2004)

Force Fields and Spaces (excerpt). Jörgen van Rijen, trombone (Channel Classics Records: CCS SA 22305, 2005)

SELECT DISCOGRAPHY (as trombonist)

Ryoanji; Solo for Sliding Trombone from Concert (piano); Two⁵ (John Cage). James Fulkerson, trombone; Frank Denyer, piano (Etcetera Records: KTC 1137, 1992)

Force Fields and Spaces (first movement); Elective Affinities III (James Fulkerson); Maknongan (Giacinto Scelsi); December 1952 from Folio and 4 Systems (Earle Brown); Syntagma (A) (Alfredo Del Mónaco); Rage, rage against the dying of the light (Louis Andriessen). (Attacca Babel: 9477, 1994)

Antiphony IV (Kenneth Gaburo). (New World Records: 80585-2, 2002)

In the Same Breath. David Murphy, clarinet, soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone; Mick Green, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, bass ashtray (saxophone pipe with a Turkish bowl on the end); James Fulkerson, trombone (with the mouthpiece of a tenor saxophone, the reeds of a bassoon) (FMR Records: FMRCD208, 2007)

DISCOGRAPHY (with the Barton Workshop)

The Barton Workshop Plays Galina Ustvolskaya. (Etcetera Records: KTC 1170, 1993)

The Barton Workshop Plays John Cage. (Etcetera Records: KTC 3002, 1998)

The Ecstasy of the Moment (Morton Feldman). (Etcetera Records: KTC 3003, 1998)

Finding Refuge in the Remains (Frank Denyer). (Etcetera Records: KTC 1221, 1999)

I Like to Think of Harriet Tubman (Christian Wolff). (Mode Records: mode 69, 1999)

Ruth; Exercise 17; Dark as a Dungeon; Tuba Song; For 1, 2 or 3 People; Peggy (Christian Wolff). (Etcetera Records: KTC 1227, 2000)

The Fives (x) (John Cage). (Megadisc Classics: MDC 7815, 2002)

Morton Feldman: Voices & Instruments. (Mode Records: mode 107, 2002)

Composer Portrait, Jos Kunst. (Donemus: CV 124, 2003)

(Re):Making Music (Christian Wolff). (Mode Records: mode 133/34, 2004)

Postal Piece No. 5: Maximusic; Postal Piece No. 6: Swell Piece No. 1; Postal Piece No. 2: A Rose is a Rose is a Round; Postal Piece No. 1: Beast; Postal Piece No. 7a: Swell Piece No. 2; Postal Piece No. 10: Having Never Written a Note for Percussion; Postal Piece No. 4: Koan; Postal Piece No. 3: (night); Postal Piece No. 7b: Swell Piece No. 3; Postal Piece No. 9: Cellogram; Postal Piece No. 8: August Harp (James Tenney). (New World Records: 80612-2, 2004)

Jerry Hunt: Phalba. (Tzadik Records: TZ 7093, 2004)

Composing by Numbers: The Graphic Scores 1950–67 (Morton Feldman). (Mode Records: mode 146, 2005)

Eight; Two; One⁴ (John Cage). (Megadisc Classics: MDC 7803, 2006)

Extreme Positions (Philip Corner). (New World Records: 80659-2, 2007)