Christopher Theofanidis

Christopher Theofanidis (born December 18, 1967, in Dallas, Texas) is an American composer whose works have been performed by 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 and the California Symphony 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.[1]

Career

Theofanidis holds degrees from Yale University, 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),[2][3] 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.[4]

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.[5]

Awards

Selected compositions
Genre Date Title Instrumentation Notes
Chamber music1992Ragafor flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano and 2 percussionwritten for the Eastman Musica Nova
Piano1992Statuesfor piano solo
Chamber music1994Kaorufor 2 fluteswritten for Kaoru Hinata and Christopher Vaneman
Concertante1995Concertofor alto saxophone and orchestra
Orchestral1995This Dream, Strange and Movingfor orchestra
Chamber music1995Ariel Ascendingfor string quartet
Orchestral1996Metaphysicafor orchestra
Orchestral1996As Dancing Is to Architecturefor orchestracommissioned by the California Symphony
Chamber music1997Visions and Miraclesfor string quartet
Chamber music1997Flow, My Tearsfor violin, viola, or cello solowritten for Carol Rodland in memory of Jacob Druckman
Orchestral1998Flourishesfor orchestra
Vocal1999Song of Elosfor soprano, string quartet and piano
Chamber music1999O Vis Aeternitatisfor string quartet and pianocommissioned by the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival for Speculum Musicae
Orchestral2000Rainbow Bodyfor orchestra
Concertante1997–2002Concertofor bassoon and chamber orchestracommissioned by the Absolute Ensemble for Martin Kuuskmann
Opera2001The Cows of Apollo or The Invention of Music
Concertante2002Lightning, with Life, in Four Colors Comes Downfor viola and chamber orchestra
Orchestral2002Peace, Love, Light YOUMEONEfor string orchestra
Opera2002The Thirteen Clocksin 2 acts; libretto by Peter Webster based on the story by James Thurber
Ballet2003Artemis
Concertante2003Concertofor viola and chamber orchestracommissioned by the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra for Kim Kashkashian
Band2005I Wander the World in a Dream of My Own Makingfor wind ensemble
Choral2005The Here and Nowfor soloists, chorus, and orchestracommissioned by the Atlanta Symphony and Chorus
Chamber music2006The World Is Aflamefor violin and cello
Concertante2006Concertofor piano and chamber orchestracommissioned by Pro Musica Columbus for Donald Berman
Piano2007All Dreams Begin with the Horizonfor pianocommissioned by Meet the Composer for Tanya Bannister
Choral2007The Refugefor soloists, chorus, orchestra, and several non-Western ensembles
Orchestral2007Musefor strings and harpsichordcommissioned by the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
Chamber music2008, 2009Fantasyfor violin and pianochamber version of movement II of the Violin Concerto
Concertante2008Concertofor violin and orchestracommissioned by the Pittsburgh Symphony for Sarah Chang
Chamber music2009Summer Versesfor violin and cello
Orchestral2009Symphony No. 1for orchestracommissioned by Robert Spano for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra[7]
Concertante2009Concertofor cello and orchestracommissioned by and written for Nina Kotova[8]
Orchestral2010Une Certaine joie de vivrefor orchestra
Opera2011Heart of a Soldierfor San Francisco Opera
Piano2012Birichino (Italian: prankster)for solo piano7 minutes long
commissioned by the 2013 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition for the 12 semifinal round performers; released on March 15, 2013[9]
Orchestral2015Dreamtime Ancestorsfor orchestra[10]
Choral2015Creation/Creatorfor soloists, chorus, and orchestracommissioned by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra[11][12]
Chamber music2017Four Dreamsfor string quartetcommissioned by Apollo Chamber Players[13]

References
  1. "Christopher Theofanidis". Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Retrieved 12 January 2010.
  2. Druckenbrod, Andrew (15 February 2007). "Concert Preview: Theofanidis' 'Rainbow Body' is a hit with orchestras". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  3. Sheridan, Molly (1 November 2010). "Christopher Theofanidis: Wider Than a Concept, Deeper Than a Sound". NewMusicBox. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  5. "Christopher Theofanidis | YellowBarn". www.yellowbarn.org. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 22 June 2011. Retrieved 18 July 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. Kosman, Joshua (3 July 2011). "CD review: Christopher Theofanidis, 'Symphony No. 1'". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  8. Dallas Symphony
  9. TheaterJones, June 1, 2013: A Prankster on the Piano Keys
  10. Knox, Robert (24 September 2015). "Plymouth orchestra celebrates a century of music with a world premiere". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  11. Young, Andrew (23 April 2015). "Atlanta Symphony Orchestra premieres Creation/Creator: A piece by Christopher Theofanidis explores mankind's genesis". Atlanta. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  12. Gresham, Mark (25 April 2015). "Review: World premiere of Theofanidis' oratorio shows ASO, Spano at the peak of power". ArtsATL. Archived from the original on 15 February 2016. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  13. "20 new folk music-inspired works by 2020". Apollo Chamber Players. Archived from the original on 18 March 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2017.

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