Rouse, Christopher
Christopher Rouse is one of America’s most prominent composers of orchestral music. He has created a body of work perhaps unequalled in its emotional intensity. The New York Times has called it “some of the most anguished, most memorable music around.” Stephen Wigler of the Baltimore Sun has written: “When the music history of the late 20th century is written, I suspect the explosive and passionate music of Rouse will loom large.” Amongst his many awards are: winner of the 1993 Pulitzer Prize in Music for his Trombone Concerto, a Grammy Award for his guitar concerto Concert de Gaudí), as well as election to the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Letters, Born in Baltimore in 1949, Rouse developed an early interest in both classical and popular music. He graduated from Oberlin Conservatory and Cornell University, numbering among his principal teachers George Crumb and Karel Husa. He taught composition at the Eastman School of Music for two decades and currently teaches composition at The Juilliard School. His music has been played by nearly every major orchestra in the U.S., and numerous ensembles overseas, including the Berlin Philharmonic, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Sydney and Melbourne Symphonies, and the Austrian Radio Orchestra. In 2009 he was named Composer of the Year by Musical America. Recent highlights include the world premieres of the Requiem (2007) by the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Concerto for Orchestra by the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary (2008), the Oboe Concerto by the Minnesota Orchestra (2009), and Odna Zhizn by the New York Philharmonic (2010). Rouses Symphony No.3 received its premiere in May 2011 by the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. He has most recently been named The Marie-Josée Kravis Composer-in-Residence at the New York Philharmonic, and will begin his two-year tenure in the 2012-13 season.
