Publisher and Distributor of Music
by the classical, jazz, pop, rock, R & B and film composer

Dr. Malcolm W. Rector

Dr. Malcolm W. Rector was once described by a peer as a true renaissance man living in a time when there are no renaissance men. Born in Houston, Texas, he is a composer, pianist, writer, director and independent filmmaker. After winning numerous awards as a pianist throughout his childhood and adolescence, his pursuit of the arts as an adult began with a bachelor’s degree in classical composition earned from the University of St. Thomas. This was swiftly followed by both master's and doctoral degrees from Rice University.

As a classical composer, Dr. Rector has been 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, Rice University’s choral conductor, the head of the University of St. Thomas and various solo performers in the industry. His electroacoustic piece “Two” was included on the internationally distributed CD 60 X 60, concerts of which have been performed in England, Australia, Romania, New York, Main, Illinois and California. 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 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 Ronnie Matthews. He was one of the featured entertainers at the Houston International Festival, where he performed both standards and originals. Several of his jazz compositions were performed in the feature film Wounded Heart. His film scoring has drawn praise from such notable figures as Isaac Hayes, James Mtume and Ken Sutherland and, in 2001, won the film scoring competition at the Acapulco Black Film Festival. Dr. Rector has scored a number of short films, feature films, television pilots and movie trailers, including Wounded Heart, Angel and Imam, Fallen Diva, The Stairwell, Darryl’s Theme and The Contest. He was also the Music Editor for the feature film Dreams in the Attic.

Dr. Rector frequently combines his love of composing music of all genres with other interests. He is an award-winning screenwriter and an independent filmmaker. Two of his short films, The Contest and The Stairwell, were Official Selections of the Jamerican International Film and Music Festival. His music video That’s Life, which reflects upon the growing apathy of mankind, was an Official Selection of the Toronto Online Film Festival. Wack Attack (Crack Attack), performed by Adia, revelas the duality of a crack addict’s existence and is currently making the film festival circuit. His most recent music video X-Man is a somewhat controversial music video that examines the war with Iraq, focusing on the horrors faced by American soldiers who are sometimes forgotten beyond their use as political pawns by both pro-war and antiwar activists. It, too, is currently making the film festival circuit and has been chosen as an Official Selection of the Hollywood Black Film Festival, an Official Selection of the San Diego Black Film Festival and an Official Finalist of the Canada International Film Festival.

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