Dave Soldier
Dave Soldier played violin in
Western swing bands and guitar in rhythm and blues groups, including Bo
Diddley, and studied composition with Roscoe Mitchell before moving to
New York City in the early 80's, where he studied composing privately
with Otto Luening. He founded the seminal punk chamber group the Soldier
String Quartet (1985), and punk Delta blues band the Kropotkins (1992),
the first orchestra for animals, the Thai Elephant Orchestra (Lampang,
2000), the Andalusian dance band The Spinozas (2004), and Da Hiphop
Raskalz, in which 5-10 year olds in East Harlem write and play their own
compositions (2004). In addition to the repertoire for the above perorming groups, Soldier's compositions include The People's Choice Music: The Most Wanted and Unwanted Songs, following poll results of likes and dislikes of the American population, in collaboration with the Russian expatriate artists Komar & Melamid; collaborations with Kurt Vonnegut; repertoire for musically naïve children or performed on specially designed instruments by songbirds and pygmy chimpanzees; various song cycles/oratorios/operas; arrangements for many pop groups including John Cale, David Byrne, and Guided by Voices, and TV and film soundtracks, including I Shot Andy Warhol and Sesame Street. Soldier's Symphony #1 was recently recorded by the Thai Elephant Orchestra.
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