Music

Evan Ware

Evan Ware

Contact Information: 
Faculty Office Telephone: (909) 869-3162
E-mail: erware@cpp.edu
Music Department Office: 24-156
Fax #: (909) 869-4145

Education:

  • BM Composition, University of Ottawa (Canada)
  • MM Composition, Université de Montréal (Canada)
  • PhD Composition and Music Theory, University of Michigan

Subjects:

  • Music Theory I and II
  • Form and Analysis
  • Advanced Music Theory
  • Instrumentation and Arranging

Professional Memberships:

  • Society for Music Theory
  • American Composers Forum
  • College Music Society
  • Affiliate Composer of the Canadian Music Center

Bio:

Praised as “rich with vivid imagery” and “highly detailed and multi-layered” (New Music Box), Dr. Evan Ware’s music frequently confronts themes of alienation and trauma, while seeking to compassionately transform them through acceptance and recognition of innate beauty. Evan’s recent work—particularly his symphonies, The Quietest of Whispers and Symphony No. 2—engage with his own survival from childhood sexual abuse and his desire to share his experiences to help others heal. 

Dr. Ware's music has been performed in the United States, Germany, The Netherlands, New Zealand, and in Canada, as well as on CBC Radio 2, Michigan Radio, and WCMU. He has been privileged to work with such groups as the Akropolis Reed Quintet, the ÆPEX Sinfonietta, Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montéal, the Arraymusic Ensemble, the University of Michigan Javanese Gamelan Ensemble, and the Donald Sinta Saxophone Quartet. Current commissions include Station to Station for the Central Michigan University Symphonic Wind Ensemble and Playing With Signs for Atlanta’s Chamber Cartel. Evan’s music has been supported by the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition, the Canada Council for the Arts, and the City of Ottawa, among others. 

An active scholar in the field of music theory, Dr. Ware’s research focuses on reinterpretation, meaning, and trauma survival in popular and multi-media music. His work has been published in Hardcore, Punk, and Other Junk: Aggressive Sounds in Contemporary Music (Lexington 2014). He has presented his scholarship across North America at conferences of the SMT, Music Theory Midwest, Music Theory Southeast, Music and the Moving Image, the Society for Cinema and Media Studies, as well as at IASPM-Canada. He is currently co-editing the first scholarly collection of essays on music of the Star Trek franchise for Routledge’s Film and Television series.  Prior to coming to Cal Poly Pomona, Dr. Ware has taught at the University of Michigan, Georgia State University, and Central Michigan University. 

When not in a pandemic, Dr. Ware can usually be found practicing for his fourth-degree black belt at the local kendo (Japanese swordsmanship) dojo.