Franklin Piland
Austin, TX
"Mr. Piland’s work, altogether, represents something that is fiercely compelling.”
- Kurt Munz-Raper, critic
As a composer and arranger Franklin has had multiple pieces premiered and recorded by a variety of professional and educational musicians, and has collaborated on his music with some of the world’s best musicians, ranging from university faculty and students across the nation to renowned flautist François Minaux, star soprano Audra Methvin, and critically-acclaimed saxophonist Ann Bradfield. Arrangements of Franklin’s are widely-requested and numerous, and range from solos to symphonies. His choral and band works have drawn attention from legendary composers of our time, Eric Whitacre, Donald Grantham, Mark Camphouse, and David Holsinger being some of the most prominent. His band work Somnia Mortem was named a finalist in the ATSSB Composition Competition and has been championed beautifully by David Holsinger since 2013. He has been commissioned numerous works for a wide variety of ensembles, most recently Meditations for Wind Ensemble, Tragedy of the Forgotten World (an epic for bassoon and orchestra), Nine – Concertino for Tuba and Piano, and Rose Made Man, a One-Act Opera.
As a performer he has played as the principal tubist for the Eastern New Mexico University Wind Symphony from 2008 to 2013; performed in a variety of wind ensembles in New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Ireland; in addition to a number of solo and chamber recitals. In 2009 Franklin established The Greyhound Brass, an autonomous student-run brass quintet based in the Eastern New Mexico/West Texas area devoted to performing quality brass chamber music for the surrounding schools and communities. In 2013 Franklin and his colleagues Brandon Clinton and Kramer Elwell established Argyle Unmarqed, a community outreach organization that functions as a chamber orchestra in Austin, TX and the surrounding areas. Franklin continues to perform as a soloist, and currently performs with the University of Texas Middle Eastern Ensemble and the Cedar Park Winds.
As a lifelong educator and advocate of music education, he continues to teach private lessons for music theory and composition, as well as tuba and euphonium. He is sought after by both high school and collegiate ensembles alike in preparation of his own music or for clinics and masterclasses and looks forward to collaborating with new musicians in the pursuit of educational excellence. Mr. Piland believes teaching music is a community-based collaborative endeavor that encourages all members, teachers and students alike, to work together for the collective benefit of the ensemble in an effort to build something greater than ourselves. This is at the forefront of all of his teachings and is the motivator of his adamant belief in lifelong learning.
As a professional audio and video recording engineer and producer, Franklin has had the immense fortune to collaborate with some of the greatest musicians, organizations, and projects of this age. He has recorded groups such as the Miró Quartet, the University of Texas Wind Ensemble, Spinal Tap, the Cordova Quartet, and the University of Texas Symphony Orchestra. Recording projects under his direction have been numerous, and include the Austin Chamber Music Festival’s 2015 season, University Interscholastic League (UIL) concert and jazz festivals, and private sessions for up-and-coming composers and artists in the field. Recently he had the pleasure of collaborating on the official recording sessions for Donald Grantham’s War Prayer, Charles Hoag’s Concerto Marais de Cygnes, Andrew Boss’ Telestai, and the UT Wind Ensemble’s live performance of John Mackey’s Wine Dark Sea.
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