Cindy Cox
Encyclopedia
Cindy Cox is an American composer and performer, and Professor of Music.
She holds a Bachelor of Music
in piano performance from Texas Christian University
, and her Masters and Doctorate in 1992 from Indiana University
in composition, where she studied with Harvey Sollberger
, Donald Erb
, Eugene O’Brien
, and John Eaton
. She has also studied with John Harbison
at the Tanglewood Music Center
, and Bernard Rands and Jacob Druckman at the Aspen Music Festival. As a pianist, she studied with the Mozart and Schubert specialist Lili Kraus
.
As of 2011, Cox is a Professor at the University of California at Berkeley.
Her orchestrations have been described as "music that demonstrates an extremely refined and imaginative sense of instrumental color and texture," "well-wrought," and "not easily classifiable."
and as having "prismatic colors" that suggest "a hybrid of Olivier Messiaen
and Carl Ruggles
— an odd couple indeed."Tim Page has described her Into the Wild as "a dark, fertile musical fantasy with some haunting and desolate chords."
She is married to the poet John Campion.
She holds a Bachelor of Music
Bachelor of Music
Bachelor of Music is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree; the majority of work consists of prescribed music courses and study in applied music, usually requiring a...
in piano performance from Texas Christian University
Texas Christian University
Texas Christian University is a private, coeducational university located in Fort Worth, Texas, United States and founded in 1873. TCU is affiliated with, but not governed by, the Disciples of Christ...
, and her Masters and Doctorate in 1992 from Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
in composition, where she studied with Harvey Sollberger
Harvey Sollberger
Harvey Sollberger is an American composer, flutist, and conductor specializing in contemporary classical music.-Life:...
, Donald Erb
Donald Erb
Donald Erb was an American composer best known for large orchestral works such as Concerto for Brass and Orchestra and Ritual Observances.-Early years:...
, Eugene O’Brien
Eugene O’Brien
Eugene O'Brien was a silent film star and stage actor....
, and John Eaton
John Eaton
John Henry Eaton was an American politician and diplomat from Tennessee who served as U.S. Senator and as Secretary of War in the administration of Andrew Jackson. He was the youngest U.S. Senator in history, having been 28 years old at the time of his swearing-in.-Biography:Eaton was born near...
. She has also studied with John Harbison
John Harbison
John Harris Harbison is an American composer, best known for his operas and large choral works.-Life:...
at the Tanglewood Music Center
Tanglewood Music Center
The Tanglewood Music Center is an annual summer music academy in Lenox, Massachusetts, United States, in which emerging professional musicians participate in performances, master classes and workshops designed to provide an intense training and networking experience...
, and Bernard Rands and Jacob Druckman at the Aspen Music Festival. As a pianist, she studied with the Mozart and Schubert specialist Lili Kraus
Lili Kraus
Lili Kraus was a Hungarian-born British pianist.-Biography:Lili Kraus was born in Budapest in 1903. Her father was from Czech Lands, and her mother from an assimilated Jewish Hungarian family....
.
As of 2011, Cox is a Professor at the University of California at Berkeley.
Her orchestrations have been described as "music that demonstrates an extremely refined and imaginative sense of instrumental color and texture," "well-wrought," and "not easily classifiable."
and as having "prismatic colors" that suggest "a hybrid of Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen was a French composer, organist and ornithologist, one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex ; harmonically and melodically it is based on modes of limited transposition, which he abstracted from his early compositions and improvisations...
and Carl Ruggles
Carl Ruggles
Charles "Carl" Sprague Ruggles was an American composer of the American Five group. He wrote finely crafted pieces using "dissonant counterpoint", a term coined by Charles Seeger to describe Ruggles' music...
— an odd couple indeed."Tim Page has described her Into the Wild as "a dark, fertile musical fantasy with some haunting and desolate chords."
Bay Area composer Cindy Cox’s work has been called “a delight to listen to” and “buoyant, puckish, rhythmically alive and crisply engaging” by San Francisco Chronicle critic Joshua Kosman. The University of California, Berkeley professor’s music is noted for its special tunings, harmonies, and textural colorations. She has received numerous awards, commissions, and the prestigious appointment of a Fellow at both the Tanglewood Music Center and Aspen Music Festivals. Her work has been performed throughout Europe, as well as Carnegie HallCarnegie HallCarnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
, the National GalleryNational galleryThe National Gallery is an art gallery on Trafalgar Square, London, United Kingdom.National Gallery may also refer to:*Armenia: National Gallery of Armenia, Yerevan*Australia:**National Gallery of Australia, Canberra...
, the Kennedy Center, and by the Los Angeles PhilharmonicLos Angeles PhilharmonicThe Los Angeles Philharmonic is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, United States. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from July through September...
.
She is married to the poet John Campion.
Awards
- American Academy of Arts and Letters
- Fromm Foundation
- National Endowment for the ArtsNational Endowment for the ArtsThe National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
- American Composers ForumAmerican Composers ForumThe American Composers Forum is a non-profit membership organization dedicated to the promotion and assistance of American composers and their music. It was founded in 1973 as the Minnesota Composers Forum and is based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States...
- ASCAP
- Meet the ComposerMeet the ComposerMeet 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...
- Gemeinschaft der Kunstlerinnen und Kunstfreunde International Competition for Women Composers
- Tanglewood Music CenterTanglewood Music CenterThe Tanglewood Music Center is an annual summer music academy in Lenox, Massachusetts, United States, in which emerging professional musicians participate in performances, master classes and workshops designed to provide an intense training and networking experience...
(fellow) - Aspen Music Festival (fellow)
- MacDowell ColonyMacDowell ColonyThe MacDowell Colony is an art colony in Peterborough, New Hampshire, U.S.A., founded in 1907 by Marian MacDowell, pianist and wife of composer Edward MacDowell. She established the institution and its endowment chiefly with donated funds...
(fellow) - Civitella Ranieri and William Walton Foundations (fellow)
Discography
- Columba Aspexit: Chamber Works of Cindy Cox, New World RecordsNew World RecordsNew World Records is a record label based in New York City specialising in American music. The label was established in 1975 through a Rockefeller Foundation grant to produce a 100 disc anthology covering 200 years of American music....
, NWCR886, pub 2007 - Four Studies of Light and Dark, Society of Composers, Inc, "Extended Resources" Capstone RecordsCapstone RecordsCapstone Records is an American classical music record label focusing particularly on contemporary classical music. It was established by Richard Brooks in 1986, and was based in Brooklyn, New York...
, CPS-8626 - Nature Is: Music of Cindy Cox, Albany RecordsAlbany RecordsAlbany Records is an American classical music record label focusing particularly on contemporary classical music. It was established by Peter Kermani in 1987, and is based in Albany, New York.-External links:**...
, Troy955 - The Other Side of the World "Points of Entry", Capstone RecordsCapstone RecordsCapstone Records is an American classical music record label focusing particularly on contemporary classical music. It was established by Richard Brooks in 1986, and was based in Brooklyn, New York...
CPS-8759