Born in Texas in 1947, Michael Mauldin moved to New Mexico in 1971 for “the light, the space and the timelessness.” He completed a graduate degree in composition, opened a music school, raised a family and wrote music. He was recognized in 1980 as the national Composer of the Year by the Music Teachers National Association. In 1985, his Fajada Butte was performed in Kennedy Center by the National Repertory Orchestra for the 20th anniversary of the National Endowment for the Arts. He teaches in Albuquerque and at his composing and teaching retreat near Cuba, New Mexico.
Mauldin first visited New Mexico in the 1950’s when his father, a Presbyterian minister, brought his family to church retreats at Ghost Ranch, near Abiquiu. Mauldin determined as a boy that he wanted to live in a place like that–a place that “not only surrounds you with space, but that opens up new space inside you.”
His catalogue contains over 90 works, for students and professionals, from chamber music, orchestral and choral music, to pieces for harp, organ, guitar and piano. His music is tonal and accessible, yet distinctive and memorable. It often portrays the power and magic of the rugged beauty and ancient cultures of his adopted state of New Mexico.
Albums
The Last Musician of Ur
Catalog Number: NV5891
