Hello............

I have been engaged in an eclectic career in the arts as a classical musician/composer, photographer and writer for 50 years. I have written several books including poetry, fiction, memoir and nonfiction. I have written upwards of 100 pieces of music; chamber music, symphonic, opera, songs, and film scores.

Among my published books are: “The Road to Lame Deer”, an ethnographic memoir with photographs, Univ. of Nebraska Press, 2001; two kindle books, “24 Preludes”—Poetry, 2014, and, “Memento Mori”—a novel, 2014; and, “Saving the Soil—The New American Farmer”, a photographic/oral history documentary, Tolt River Press, 2012. These are available through Amazon.com and Partners West Book Distributing. I currently live on Whidbey Island, Washington where I continue my  art quest along the shores of Mutiny Bay . A more complete resume is published below.


BIOGRAPHY/RESUME


I was born in Great Falls, Montana. I studied Music, Music composition, Humanities and Philosophy at the University of Montana at Missoula from 1962-1967. My principle music composition teacher was Eugene Weigel. From 1969 to 1971 I studied photography with Lee Nye at the University of Montana, Missoula. In 1976 I studied with the American composer, Michael Colgrass (Pulitzer Prize—1978). In 1983 I received a Bachelor of Arts degree in General Studies from Antioch University.


Professional Experience as a Musician/Composer, Teacher and Writer

 

1967 to present: Freelance composer

 

2003-04: wrote his verse cycle, Nocturnes.

 

2002:  Publication; The Road to Lame Deer, a memoir with photographs, Univ. of Nebraska Press, Oct. 2002.

 

2002-03: wrote his third novel, A Montana Christmas Carol.

 

1996-98:  wrote The Road to Lame Deer, his memoir with photographs of his experiences with the Northern Cheyenne people in Montana, pub. University of Nebraska Press, 2002.

 

1987-1995: educational consultant in the greater Seattle area

 

1988-1994: founded and directed the Kirkland Choral Society, Kirkland WA.

 

1984-87: Spectra Artist for the Santa Cruz County Cultural Council, Santa Cruz, CA; served as artist in residence at Hall Elementary School, Watsonville, CA and at Soquel Elementary School, Soquel, CA.

 

1984-85: instructor for the Cabrillo College Supportive Services Dept., Santa Cruz, CA teaching an adaptive music program for the visually impaired.

 

1985-86: created and taught a music therapy program for the Cabrillo College Stroke Center, Santa Cruz, CA.

 

1984-87: Music Director, Boulder Creek United Methodist Church, Boulder Creek, CA.

 

1985-87: wrote two novels and a collection of fifteen short stories; Four Portraits, The Great American Symphony and Stories for the Child in Each of Us.

 

1977-1983: freelance composer and musician in Seattle, WA; received commissions from the Northwest Chamber Orchestra, the Cascade Symphony, the Musica Viva Chamber Players and had works presented by the University of Washington Contemporary Music Group.

 

1983: completed a collection of lyric poetry, Bitterroot—poems, 1974-83.

 

1981-82: instructor of music and humanities at the Northwest School for the Arts, Humanities and Environment, Seattle, WA.

 

1978-79: instructor of Music Theory and Composition, Cornish School of the Arts.

 

1978-79: President, Executive Committee, Musica Viva Chamber Players.

 

1978: clinician for the Washington State Arts Commission’s Artist in the Schools program.

 

1978: guest lecturer at the Seattle Opera’s Art in Education program

 

1967-1976: free-lance composer, musician, private music instructor, photographer, film maker, harpsichord maker and writer in Missoula, Montana where he received commissions and grants from local churches, the Montana Arts Council, the US. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Young Audiences of Western Montana (Project Director, 1975-77) and as a consultant to the Northern Cheyenne Research and Human Development Association.

 

A list of commissioned musical compositions is available on request

 

Professional Experience as a Photographer, Writer, Oral Historian, and Publisher

 

2012: Documentary: “A Gathering of Stories”, 28 Northern Cheyenne Oral Histories” with photographs, produced on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, Lame Deer, MT under the auspices of Chief Dull Knife College.

 

2011: Publication: Saving the Soil—The New American Farmer, Tolt River Press

 

2011: Mixed Media Installation Exhibit, “Saving the Soil—The New American Farmer, Sept. 22—Oct. 10 at Carnation Tree Farm, Carnation, WA

 

2010:  Grant from King County 4Culture Heritage Special Projects—funding “Saving the Soil—The New American Farmer--A photographic/Oral history Documentary to: transcribe and edit 33 oral history interviews of 16 vegetable farmers, eight of their workers and nine individuals from the community who are associated with organic farming and food distribution;  assemble transcribed texts into formats suitable for archive and publication;  produce an Audio CD of the interviews edited for continuity and narrative; produce 100 – 200 on site photographs plus portraits of each interviewee; preparation of a photographic/audio installation exhibit.

  

2009: Carnation Verbatim—A Snoqualmie Valley Memoir, publication nominated for an Association of King County Historical Organization award.

 

2008: publication: Carnation Verbatim--A Snoqualmie Valley Memoir, Tolt River Press.

 

2007: Opening, Reading & Reception; Carnation Verbatim Exhibit, September 22—November 15 at Miller’s Community & Arts Center, Carnation, WA.

 

2007: Grant from King County 2007 4Culture Arts Special Projects Program to partially support publication of Carnation Verbatim---A Snoqualmie Valley Memoir  by Tolt River Press, Carnation, WA

 

2006—2007: Grant from King County 4Culture Heritage Special Projects--to complete Carnation Verbatim---A Celebration of Elders. The grant provides partial support for the transcription of oral histories of 27 elder citizens of Carnation, WA and to mount a traveling exhibit of photographs (Portraits of each elder, interiors and exteriors of homesteads and relevant landscapes).

 

2006: Exhibit: A Tongue River Gallery--the collected photographs from The Road to Lame Deer, a memoir by Jerry Mader, University of Nebraska Press, 2002, at The Richard Hugo House, Seattle, WA, June 1—July 31, 2006. Opening reception and reading by the author, June 20, 2006 with special guest Dr. Richard Littlebear, President, Chief Dull Knife College, Lame Deer, Montana.

 

2005: Exhibit: Carnation Verbatim---A Celebration of Elders, portraits. Permanent Installation at Pete’s Grill & Pub, Carnation, WA. Opening & reception, Dec. 8, 2005.

 

2005: Presenter at APIS (Alternative Photography International Symposium) “Carbon Emulsion Transfers on Glass”; Santa Fe, NM in conjunction with Photo-Arts Santa Fe 2005.

 

2002: Publication of A Tongue River Gallery, portraits of Northern Cheyenne elders, as the second part of his memoir, The Road to Lame Deer, University of Nebraska Press.

 

1984: publicity photographer for Grinder, DeLozier & Associates, Santa Cruz, CA

 

1978: portraits published in Belle Highwalking: The Narrative of a Northern Cheyenne Woman, edited by Katherine M. Weist, pub. Montana Council for Indian Education.

 

1972-1976: restoration of the Thomas B. Marquis collection of 497 photographs made in the 1920s and 30s of the Northern Cheyenne people. The project was funded by the Northern Cheyenne Research and Human Development Association. Portions of the collection were published by the Montana Council for Indian Education in a History of the Cheyenne People by Thomas D. Weist, 1977 and in The Cheyennes of Montana by Thomas B. Marquis, edited by Thomas D. Weist, pub. Reference Publications, Algonac, Michigan, 1978. The collection is presently housed at the Buffalo Bill Museum, Cody, Wyoming. 150 photographs from the collection are published in “A Cheyenne Album”, edited by Margot Liberty with commentary by John Woodenlegs, Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 2006.

 

1970 to present: photographic exhibits in Montana, Washington and California.

 

1968: Co-producer of two documentary films on migrant workers in Montana for the Montana State Department of Public Instruction in conjunction with the US. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Title III.

 

Representative portfolios are available on request