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Angel statue- Photo by Jerry Edinger

Photo of Jerry Edinger Thank you for visiting my website.   The idea for creating it has come from people who have performed or listened to my work and have also found interest in the story behind the music.

Finding one's purpose in living is an unpredictable, but highly sought after event. The intro-duction to my true passion in life was by chance.  I am a concrete finisher, a construction worker by trade.  I grew up in a very remote part of Northern Wisconsin with little exposure to the arts.  Performing in rock bands was my claim to fame. During my 29th year, I happened to be attending a Christmas party and heard some orchestral music, a genre that I was not familiar with.  The host informed me it was J. S. Bach. I was intrigued with the music and decided to go to the record store (this was in 1985 after all) and find an LP in the classical section that interested me.  It turned out to be a Requiem (I did not have a clue what that meant) by some guy named Mozart.  I took it home and after hearing those first 3 notes by the bassoon I had that feeling inside, as if the world was spinning faster than it used to. It shook me to my core, a true epiphany of my soul.  I still find it difficult to describe what the Requiem means to me.  It is beyond words. No language has soiled it. I knew this was it, this was what I was supposed to be doing with my life.  Creating music on this level, in this genre. There was no fear of practical matters, only a sense of purpose and fulfillment.

I have no formal music training and do not read or write music. Logically, becoming a composer made no sense at all. Clefs, quavers, slurs; I needed some help. In the library I encountered a book by Charles Rosen that seemed to talk to me; it contained a language that I clearly understood. It helped me to see the music not only structurally but also emotionally. I needed to know what the classical composers were trying to say, what they wanted to accomplish musically. I already owned a Yamaha keyboard and an 8-track recorder. Those were the tools I started out with.  Note by note, track by track, I composed a symphony, and then a piano concerto, (I had to learn the chords) and then a string quartet. After those 3 compositions the recorder had to be rebuilt; I had burned the motors out!  The results musically were promising and each piece showed improvement and greater clarity.  This was more than a desire to compose, it had become my foundation with all aspects of life colored by it's existence. There was no going back to my old world now.  It was time to get a computer and some music software to help in the notation and scoring. Because the computer was a means to an end, it was easy for me to learn all the software and manuals and accomplish my musical tasks.  Sitting in front of the computer, all extraneous things disappeared.  There was no clock on the wall, the walls in the room were not even visible.  Nothing but notes and sound. Notes and sound ...  Symphonies 2 through 10 are the result of that process.

The 3rd Symphony was premiered on March 22-23 in 2002 by the Venice Symphony. The 7th Symphony was premiered by the Quincy Symphony on May 10, 2007. The 10th has just been completed.

As for the style of my writing, it emulates the Classical period of Haydn and Mozart. That is my language. Writing in another style would be inappropriate. To devote a large amount of time and energy to anything in one's life there must be a very deep, unconditional link to one's core. That link is what keeps me on the journey. Besides performances, I have received radio play and interviews at classical stations in California, Colorado, and most recently in Wisconsin. Mp3 samples of my most recently completed piece are available on my website for your enjoyment. To liisten to any of my symphonies in their entirety, please contact me at my email address. Samples CD's are available as well as those in the mp3 format. Full scores are avaiable in either printed or pdf format.

I hope this provides some insight into my music and myself. Thank you for visiting. Questions or comments can be directed to my e-mail address.




Sincerely,

Jerry Edinger


Born: 1955
Resides: Kennan, WI


Compositions To Date:
   Symphony No. 1 in G Major, 1991
   Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Major, 1993
   String Quartet No. 1 in C Major, 1995
   Symphony No. 2 in C Major, 1996
   Symphony No. 3 in Bb Major, 2001
   Symphony No. 4 in Bb Major, 2002
   Concert Overture in C Major, 2003
   Symphony No. 5 in C Major, 2004
   Symphony No. 6 in D Major, 2006
   Symphony No. 7 in D Major, 2007
   Symphony No. 8 in D Major, 2007
   Symphony No. 9 in E Major, 2008
   Symphony No. 10 in C Major, 2009
   Symphony No. 11 in D Major, 2010
   Symphony No. 12 in G Major, 2011
   Symphony No. 14 in C Major, 2012
   Symphony No. 15 in Bb Major, 2012
   Symphony No. 16 in G Major, 2013
   Symphony No. 18 in D Major, 2015
   Symphony No. 19 in G Major, 2015
   Symphony No. 20 in D Major, 2016
   Symphony No. 21 in C Major, 2017
   Symphony No. 22 in D Major, 2017
   Symphony No. 23 in C Major, 2018
   Symphony No. 24 in C Major, 2019
   Symphony No. 25 in G Major, 2020
   Symphony No. 26 in C Major, 2021
   Symphony No. 27 in C Major, 2022
   Symphony No. 28 in Bb Major, 2023
   Symphony No. 29 in Bb Major, 2024

Preformances To Date:
   Venice Symphony, 2002, Symphony No. 3
   Quincy Symphony, 2007, Symphony No. 7
   Eau Claire Chamber Orchestra, 2009, Symphony No. 8
   Quincy Symphony, 2010, Symphony No. 10
   Eau Claire Chamber Orchestra, 2012, Symphony No. 12


Special thanks to Yoichi Udagawa for his interest and support of me and my music. Also to Robert A. Threlfall and Michelle A. Novotny for their help in putting this website together.

Text, Music and Photography © 2002-2024 - Jerry Edinger