“A true renaissance man living in a time
when there are no renaissance men.”
Robert Gerber, International Classical Singer
NEW in Video Performance Excerpts:
The full performance of Dark Moments (a piece for flute, bassoon, clarinet,
contrabassoon, bass clarinet, piano and log drum) and an excerpt
of 1965 (for flute and bassoon). See button on the left.
Born in Houston, Texas, Dr. Malcolm W. Rector is a composer, a writer, a director and an independent filmmaker. Having earned a doctoral degree from Rice University, he divides his time between the previous occupations and teaching at the university level.
“His work is organic. It breathes . . .
and that’s the good thing about it.”
Isaac Hayes, Entertainer
Dr. Rector earned a bachelor’s degree in classical composition at the University of St. Thomas, followed by both master’s and doctoral degrees from Rice University. Among other awards, he was honored by the American Festival of the Arts and the Sonoklect International Concert Series of 20th Century Music. His compositions have been commissioned and actively sought by a member of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Wilson Symphony Orchestra, the Durham Arts Council, and Rice University’s choral conductor among others. His electroacoustic piece “Two” was included on the internationally distributed CD 60 X 60. It was also performed on the radio in Amherst, MA, in a weekly program that features the finest in contemporary classical and experimental music on WMUA FM 91.1. His piece Music for Clarinet and Piano was performed at the 2008 Society of Composers, Inc. National Conference.
Additional recent performances include the world premiere of his multimedia piece SS St. Louis, which honors the passengers of the SS St. Louis and other holocaust victims, in April 2009’s Composers Concert at the University of St. Thomas. It featured computer music and video and was performed by flautist Dr. Ann Fairbanks. His solo piano piece Blitzkrieg was performed in the same concert by Jasmine Hatem. Blitzkrieg was also included in a lecture-recital entitled The Black Composer: Influence, Inspiration and Identity given by Dr. Marie-Louise Catsalis. It was performed at Brisbane, for the 2007 joint Australian/New Zealand musicological conference Islands, at Notre Dame de Namur University and at Santa Clara University. Other performances include Shabbat Shalom (for choir, piano and horn), performed at last year’s conference of the Society of Composers, Inc., and Life and Silhouette (both for voice and piano), which were performed at the National Association of Negro Musicians conference, where Dr. Rector participated in a panel discussion of African-American art songs.
A full concert of Dr. Rector’s works entitled The Music of Malcolm Rector was presented by University of St. Thomas in Houston, TX, where Dr. Rector’s string quartet S.q 2 (S dot q 2) was performed by the Enso String Quartet and two of his jazz pieces, Legend and Dancing Dare, were performed by the Tom Borling Quartet. Excerpts of two short films Dr. Rector wrote, directed, produced and scored, The Contest and The Stairwell, were also shown.
Dr. Rector also has a strong background in jazz composition and has been performing (solo piano, small ensemble and big band) at public and private functions ever since he was a teenager. While a student, he studied jazz privately with Tom Borling and Ronnie Matthews. He was one of the featured entertainers at the Houston International Festival, where he performed both standards and originals.
“Regardless of how good you are as a composer
or as a songwriter, you still have to understand [the]
orchestra to do music, whether it’s [a] black film
[or a] white film. This writer clearly does.”
Ken Sutherland, Music Composer
His film scoring has drawn praise from such notable figures as Isaac Hayes, Ken Sutherland and international concert singer Robert Gerber. In 2001, Dr. Rector won the film scoring competition at the Acapulco Black Film Festival. He has scored a number of short films, feature films, television pilots and movie trailers, including:
Fallen Diva
short film
Wounded Heart
feature film
Angels and Imams
Pilot funded by ABC
The Stairwell
short film
Darryl’s Theme
short film
The Contest
short film
Dr. Rector was the music editor for:
Dreams in the Attic
a feature film, starring Shelley Duvall
Dr. Rector was both an assistant composer and music editor for:
Alamo Gold
feature film
As an undergraduate, Dr. Rector studied screenwriting and playwriting extensively. He is a prolific writer and has since written over a dozen screenplays that range in genre from comedy and romantic comedy to horror and drama. Thus far his screenplays have won and been finalists in a number of international competitions, including:
Dr. Rector's full-length novel The Suirlang Chronicles: Lee was a finalist in
This novel is also available as a screenplay.
Dr. Rector has written, directed and produced three short films. He also scored the films and their trailers.
The Stairwell is a surreal drama in which a man faces the darkness that has guided him throughout his life. Chosen for one of only sixteen highly coveted slots, it was shown at the 2002 Jamerican International Film & Music Festival -- one of the top ten international film festivals in the world, according to E! Entertainment. There it won the Final Draft Screenwriters Award for best short script.
The Contest is a romantic comedy in which a young composer chosen as a finalist in an international composition competition falls in love with the one woman who can cost him the contest. This short film was also chosen for one of the sixteen coveted slots at the 2002 Jamerican International Film & Music Festival. It is based on a full-length script that reached the finals in the Sundance Feature Film Program. Dr. Rector composed all of the modern classical music showcased in the competition scenes. A talented and accomplished pianist, Dr. Rector performed one piece himself along with Robert Gerber: a piece for voice and piano.
Fallen Diva is a surreal drama that tells the story of a much lauded diva who abandons her family for her singing career as drugs lead her down a dark, destructive path. It was filmed in 2007-2008 and is currently making the film festival circuit.
Dr. Rector has also combined his love of music with his love of filmmaking by producing, directing, editing and composing and arranging the music for three music videos.
His latest music video X-Man revolves around an American soldier stationed in Iraq and is currently making the film festival circuit. Thus far it has been selected as an Official Selection of the Hollywood Black Film Festival, an Official Selection of the San Diego Black Film Festival and an Official Finalist in the Canada International Film Festival. It also won the Silver Remi Award for Creative Excellence at Worldfest - Houston International Film Festival.
That’s Life, which focuses upon the apathy that afflicts society, was chosen as an Official Selection of the Toronto Online Film Festival.
Wack Attack (Crack Attack) reveals the duality of a crack addict’s existence and is currently making the film festival circuit as well.
Copyright © 2002-2010 Malcolm W. Rector - All Rights Reserved.
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