Chris Theofanidis
Encyclopedia
Christopher Theofanidis (born December 18, 1967 in Dallas, Texas
) is an American composer who has had performances by many leading orchestras from around the world, including the London Symphony
, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Moscow Soloists, the National, Atlanta, Baltimore, St. Louis, Detroit, and many others. He participated in the Young American Composer-in-Residence Program with Barry Jekowsky from 1994 to 1996 and, more recently, served as Composer of the Year for the Pittsburgh Symphony during their 2006-2007 Season, for which he wrote a violin concerto for Sarah Chang
.
, the Eastman School of Music
, and the University of Houston
, and has been the recipient of the International Masterprize (hosted at the Barbican Centre in London), the Rome Prize, a Guggenheim Fellowship
, six ASCAP Gould Prizes, a Fulbright Fellowship to France, a Tanglewood Fellowship, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters' Charles Ives Fellowship. In 2007 he was nominated for a Grammy for best composition for his chorus and orchestra work, The Here and Now, based on the poetry of Rumi. His orchestral concert work, Rainbow Body, has been one of the most performed new orchestral works of the last ten years, having been performed by over 100 orchestras internationally.
Theofanidis' has recently written a ballet for the American Ballet Theatre
, a work for the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra as part of their "New Brandenburg" series, and he currently has two opera commissions for the San Francisco
and Houston Grand Opera
companies. He has a long-standing relationship with the Atlanta Symphony, and has just had his first symphony premiered and recorded with that orchestra. He has served as a delegate to the U.S.-Japan Foundation's Leadership Program and is a former faculty member of the Peabody Conservatory and the Juilliard School
. He currently teaches at the Yale School of Music
.
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
) is an American composer who has had performances by many leading orchestras from around the world, including the London Symphony
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Moscow Soloists, the National, Atlanta, Baltimore, St. Louis, Detroit, and many others. He participated in the Young American Composer-in-Residence Program with Barry Jekowsky from 1994 to 1996 and, more recently, served as Composer of the Year for the Pittsburgh Symphony during their 2006-2007 Season, for which he wrote a violin concerto for Sarah Chang
Sarah Chang
Sarah Chang is a Korean American violinist. Her debut came in 1989 with the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Shortly thereafter, Chang was recognized as a child prodigy. She enrolled at Juilliard School to study music, graduating in 1999 and continuing university studies...
.
Career
Theofanidis holds degrees from Yale UniversityYale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, the Eastman School of Music
Eastman School of Music
The Eastman School of Music is a music conservatory located in Rochester, New York. The Eastman School is a professional school within the University of Rochester...
, and the University of Houston
Moores School of Music
The Rebecca and John J. Moores School of Music is the music school of the University of Houston. The Moores School offers the Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Arts in Music, Master of Music, and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in music performance, conducting, theory and composition, music history...
, and has been the recipient of the International Masterprize (hosted at the Barbican Centre in London), the Rome Prize, a Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
, six ASCAP Gould Prizes, a Fulbright Fellowship to France, a Tanglewood Fellowship, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters' Charles Ives Fellowship. In 2007 he was nominated for a Grammy for best composition for his chorus and orchestra work, The Here and Now, based on the poetry of Rumi. His orchestral concert work, Rainbow Body, has been one of the most performed new orchestral works of the last ten years, having been performed by over 100 orchestras internationally.
Theofanidis' has recently written a ballet for the American Ballet Theatre
American Ballet Theatre
American Ballet Theatre , based in New York City, was one of the foremost ballet companies of the 20th century. It continues as a leading dance company in the world today...
, a work for the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra as part of their "New Brandenburg" series, and he currently has two opera commissions for the San Francisco
San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera is an American opera company, based in San Francisco, California.It was founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola and is the second largest opera company in North America...
and Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera Houston Grand Opera was founded in 1955 through the joint efforts of Maestro Walter Herbert and cultural leaders Mrs. Louis G. Lobit, Edward Bing and Charles Cockrell...
companies. He has a long-standing relationship with the Atlanta Symphony, and has just had his first symphony premiered and recorded with that orchestra. He has served as a delegate to the U.S.-Japan Foundation's Leadership Program and is a former faculty member of the Peabody Conservatory and the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
. He currently teaches at the Yale School of Music
Yale School of Music
The Yale School of Music is one of the twelve professional schools at Yale University and one of the premier music conservatories in the world....
.
Awards
- 2007 Grammy nomination for The Here and Now
- 2003 Masterprize for Rainbow Body
- 1999 Rome PrizeRome PrizeThe Rome Prize is an American award made annually by the American Academy in Rome, through a national competition, to 15 emerging artists and to 15 scholars The Rome Prize is an American award made annually by the American Academy in Rome, through a national competition, to 15 emerging artists...
- 1996 Guggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
- 1996 Barlow Prize
- six ASCAP Morton Gould Prizes
- Fulbright FellowshipFulbright ProgramThe Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright-Hays Program, is a program of competitive, merit-based grants for international educational exchange for students, scholars, teachers, professionals, scientists and artists, founded by United States Senator J. William Fulbright in 1946. Under the...
to France - Tanglewood Fellowship
- Charles IvesCharles IvesCharles Edward Ives was an American modernist composer. He is one of the first American composers of international renown, though Ives' music was largely ignored during his life, and many of his works went unperformed for many years. Over time, Ives came to be regarded as an "American Original"...
Fellowship, by The American Academy of Arts and LettersThe American Academy of Arts and LettersThe American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 250-member honor society; its goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Located in Washington Heights, a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan in New York, it shares Audubon Terrace, its Beaux Arts campus on...
Selected compositions
| Genre | Date | Title | Instrumentation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chamber music | 1992 | Raga | for flute, clarinet Clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed... , violin, cello, piano and 2 percussion |
written for the Eastman Musica Nova |
| Piano | 1992 | Statues | for piano solo | |
| Chamber music | 1994 | Kaoru | for 2 flutes | written for Kaoru Hinata and Christopher Vaneman |
| Concertante | 1995 | Concerto | for alto saxophone Saxophone The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846... and orchestra |
|
| Orchestral | 1995 | This Dream, Strange and Moving | for orchestra | |
| Chamber music | 1995 | Ariel Ascending | for string quartet | |
| Orchestral | 1996 | Metaphysica | for orchestra | |
| Orchestral | 1996 | As Dancing Is to Architecture | for orchestra | commissioned by the California Symphony California Symphony The California Symphony is an American orchestra based in Walnut Creek, California, in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. It is notable for being the only American orchestra that performs at least one work by an American composer on every one of its programs.The orchestra was... |
| Chamber music | 1997 | Visions and Miracles | for string quartet | |
| Chamber music | 1997 | Flow, My Tears | for violin, viola, or cello solo | written for Carol Rodland Carol Rodland Carol Rodland is an American viola player who studied with Karen Tuttle at the Juilliard school. She was Ms. Tuttle's teaching assistant for several years before taking a position as a viola teacher at the New England Conservatory. In February 2008, it was announced that Ms... in memory of Jacob Druckman Jacob Druckman Jacob Druckman was an American composer born in Philadelphia. A graduate of the Juilliard School, Druckman studied with Vincent Persichetti, Peter Mennin, and Bernard Wagenaar. In 1949 and 1950 he studied with Aaron Copland at Tanglewood and later continued his studies at the École Normale de... |
| Orchestral | 1998 | Flourishes | for orchestra | |
| Vocal | 1999 | Song of Elos | for soprano, string quartet and piano | |
| Chamber music | 1999 | O Vis Aeternitatis | for string quartet String quartet A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group... and piano |
commissioned by the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival Norfolk Chamber Music Festival The Norfolk Chamber Music Festival is believed to be the oldest active music festival in North America. Set in a picturesque landscape among the Litchfield Hills of the lower Berkshires, the Festival traces its roots to the Battell family who started hosting summer concerts on the Norfolk town... for Speculum Musicae Speculum Musicae Speculum Musicae is an American chamber ensemble dedicated to the performance of contemporary classical music. It was founded in New York City in 1971 and is particularly noted for its performances of the music of Elliott Carter... |
| Orchestral | 2000 | Rainbow Body Rainbow body In Tibetan Buddhism and Bön, a rainbow body is a body made, not of flesh, but of pure light.-In Dzogchen:... |
for orchestra | |
| Concertante | 1997–2002 | Concerto | for bassoon Bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature... and chamber orchestra |
commissioned by the Absolute Ensemble for Martin Kuuskmann |
| Opera | 2001 | The Cows of Apollo or The Invention of Music | ||
| Concertante | 2002 | Lightning, with Life, in Four Colors Comes Down | for viola and chamber orchestra | |
| Orchestral | 2002 | Peace, Love, Light YOUMEONE | for string orchestra | |
| Opera | 2002 | The Thirteen Clocks | in 2 acts; libretto by Peter Webster based on the story The 13 Clocks The 13 Clocks is a fantasy tale written by James Thurber in 1950 in Bermuda, while he was completing one of his other novels. It is written in a unique cadenced style, in which a mysterious prince must complete a seemingly impossible task to free a maiden from the clutches of an evil duke... by James Thurber James Thurber James Grover Thurber was an American author, cartoonist and celebrated wit. Thurber was best known for his cartoons and short stories published in The New Yorker magazine.-Life:... |
|
| Ballet | 2003 | Artemis | ||
| Concertante | 2003 | Concerto | for viola Viola The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average... and chamber orchestra |
commissioned by the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra for Kim Kashkashian Kim Kashkashian Kim Kashkashian is an Armenian-American violist.-Professional career:Kim Kashkashian studied the viola with Karen Tuttle. She also studied at the Interlochen Center for the Arts. She won the 2nd prize at the 1980 Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition and the 1980 ARD International Music... |
| Band | 2005 | I Wander the World in a Dream of My Own Making | for wind ensemble | |
| Choral | 2005 | The Here and Now | for soloists, chorus, and orchestra | commissioned by the Atlanta Symphony and Chorus |
| Chamber music | 2006 | The World Is Aflame | for violin and cello | |
| Concertante | 2006 | Concerto | for piano and chamber orchestra | commissioned by Pro Musica Columbus for Donald Berman |
| Piano | 2007 | All Dreams Begin with the Horizon | for piano | commissioned by Meet the Composer Meet the Composer Meet the Composer is an American organization founded in 1974 by the composer John Duffy as a project of the New York State Council on the Arts. It seeks to assist composers in making a living through writing music by sponsoring commissioning, residency, education, and audience interaction... for Tanya Bannister |
| Choral | 2007 | The Refuge | for soloists, chorus Choir A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus... , orchestra, and several non-Western ensembles |
|
| Orchestral | 2007 | Muse | for strings and harpsichord Harpsichord A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard... |
commissioned by the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra Orpheus Chamber Orchestra The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra is a Grammy Award-winning classical music chamber orchestra based in New York City. It is known for its collaborative leadership style in which the musicians, not a conductor, interpret the score.... |
| Chamber music | 2008, 2009 | Fantasy | for violin and piano | chamber version of movement II of the Violin Concerto |
| Concertante | 2008 | Concerto | for violin and orchestra | commissioned by the Pittsburgh Symphony for Sarah Chang Sarah Chang Sarah Chang is a Korean American violinist. Her debut came in 1989 with the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Shortly thereafter, Chang was recognized as a child prodigy. She enrolled at Juilliard School to study music, graduating in 1999 and continuing university studies... |
| Chamber music | 2009 | Summer Verses | for violin and cello | |
| Orchestral | 2009 | Symphony | for orchestra | commissioned by Robert Spano Robert Spano Robert Spano is an American conductor and pianist. Since 2001 he has been Music Director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra , and he served as Music Director of the Brooklyn Philharmonic from 1996 to 2004... for the Atlanta Symphony |
| Concertante | 2009 | Concerto | for cello and orchestra | commissioned by and written for Nina Kotova Nina Kotova Nina Kotova is a Russian Americancellist.Nina Kotova was accepted by the cello faculty into an adult class of the Moscow Conservatory at the age of seven, while studying at the Central Music School Pre-Conservatory. Nina gave her first performance as a soloist with an orchestra at the age of 11 and... |
| Orchestral | 2010 | Une Certaine joie de vivre | for orchestra | |
| Opera | 2011 | Heart of a Soldier | for San Francisco Opera |