Bruce Ferden (1949 - September 19, 1993)

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Bruce Ferden was a symphony conductor. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1992 with the world premiere of Philip Glass' The Voyage. He died on September 19, 1993, at New York University Medical Center in Manhattan. He was 44 and lived in Manhattan.

The cause was AIDS, said his companion, Frank Ream.

In 1980 Mr. Ferden conducted the world premiere of Mr. Glass's "Satyagraha" at the Netherlands Opera and later the European premiere of "The Making of the Representative for Planet 8," also by Mr. Glass, in the Netherlands.

At the Dallas Opera, Mr. Ferden conducted "Lucia di Lammermoor" in January, as well as a triple bill of Manuel de Falla operas. In June, he recorded "The Music of Elinor Remick Warren" with the baritone Thomas Hampson and the Polish Radio and Television Orchestra in Cracow, Poland.

During the 1991-92 season, he was general music director of the city of Aachen in Germany, leading both symphonic and operatic performances including productions of "The Bartered Bride," "Katya Kabanova" and "The Love for Three Oranges." Appeared With Several Orchestras.

For six seasons ending in 1991, Mr. Ferden was the music director of the Spokane (Wash.) Symphony. In addition, he was music director of the Nebraska Chamber Orchestra from 1982 to 1991. He also appeared with the Pittsburgh Symphony and conducted at Next Wave Festival of the Brooklyn Academy of Music.


AIDS Quilt

He also appeared frequently with the Seattle Opera, leading performances of "Rigoletto," "Satyagraha," "Tales of Hoffmann," "Rusalka," "Lucia di Lammermoor" and, in the summer of 1992, "Aida."

Mr. Ferden was born in Fosston, Minn. He studied at Moorhead State University in Minnesota and at the University of Miami. He did graduate work at the University of Southern California and at the Juilliard School. At the age of 25 he was appointed assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic after working with Peter Herman Adler at the American Opera Center.

He conducted the theme and music for the credits for the PBS production of "Smithsonian World," and music by John Corigliano for "The Adams Chronicles."

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/1993/09/21/obituaries/bruce-ferden-44-the-conductor-of-2-philip-glass-opera-premieres.html

Further Readings:

Beyond Shame: Reclaiming the Abandoned History of Radical Gay Sexuality by Patrick Moore
Paperback: 264 pages
Publisher: Beacon Press (January 14, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 080707957X
ISBN-13: 978-0807079577
Amazon: Beyond Shame: Reclaiming the Abandoned History of Radical Gay Sexuality

The radical sexuality of gay American men in the 1970s is often seen as a shameful period of excess that led to the AIDS crisis. Beyond Shame claims that when the gay community divorced itself from this allegedly tainted legacy, the tragic result was an intergenerational disconnect because the original participants were unable to pass on a sense of pride and identity to younger generations. Indeed, one reason for the current rise in HIV, Moore argues, is precisely due to this destructive occurrence, which increased the willingness of younger gay men to engage in unsafe sex.

Lifting the'veil of AIDS,' Moore recasts the gay male sexual culture of the 1970s as both groundbreaking and creative-provocatively comparing extreme sex to art. He presents a powerful yet nuanced snapshot of a maligned, forgotten era. Moore rescues gay America's past, present, and future from a disturbing spiral of destruction and AIDS-related shame, illustrating why it's critical for the gay community to reclaim the decade.