John Adams
One of America’s most admired and respected composers, John Adams is a musician of enormous range and technical command. His many operatic and symphonic works stand out among contemporary classical compositions for their depth of expression, their sonic brilliance, and the profoundly humanist nature of their themes. Born and raised in New England and educated at Harvard, Mr. Adams moved to California in 1971, where he taught for 10 years at the San Francisco Conservatory and was composer-in-residence at the San Francisco Symphony.
Mr. Adams’s works are among the most successful of our time. Nixon in China, The Death of Klinghoffer, and Doctor Atomic—all created in collaboration with stage director Peter Sellars—draw their subjects from archetypical themes in contemporary history. On the Transmigration of Souls, written for the New York Philharmonic to mark the first anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks, received the 2003 Pulitzer Prize, and won a rare “triple crown” of Grammy Awards: Best Classical Recording, Best Orchestral Performance, and Best Classical Contemporary Composition.
Mr. Adams is also active as a conductor and as an innovative programmer. He instituted the New and Unusual Music series at the San Francisco Symphony, served as creative chair for the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and music director of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music. While holding the Richard and Barbara Debs Composer’s Chair at Carnegie Hall, Mr. Adams established the In Your Ear festival. His 2009–2010 season includes appearances at Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival and engagements with the London Sinfonietta, the London Symphony Orchestra, and the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center. Mr. Adams is currently the Creative Chair for the Los Angeles Philharmonic and is the artistic mind behind that orchestra’s West Coast / Left Coast festival.
Mr. Adams has been awarded honorary degrees and proclamations by Cambridge University, Harvard University, Yale School of Music, Phi Beta Kappa, the National Endowment for the Arts, l’Ordre national de la Légion d’honneur, and Northwestern University (where he was awarded an honorary doctorate and the first Michael Ludwig Nemmers Prize in Music Composition).
Nonesuch Records released Mr. Adams’s Harmonielehre in 1985, and all of his works since then have first appeared on that label. A 10-CD set, The John Adams Earbox, documents his recorded music through 2000. The most recent release features the Doctor Atomic Symphony with David Robertson conducting the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra.
Mr. Adams’s much praised autobiography Hallelujah Junction (Farrar, Straus & Giroux) was named one of the “most notable books” of 2008 by the New York Times and was the winner of the 2009 Northern California Book Award for creative nonfiction. The John Adams Reader: Essential Writings on an American Composer (Amadeus Press, 2006) is the first in-depth anthology of texts dealing with more than 30 years of Mr. Adams’s creative life.
Visit earbox.com for more information. The music of John Adams is published by Boosey & Hawkes and by Associated Music Publishers.
Ensemble ACJW
Ensemble ACJW is the performing arm of The Academy—a program of Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and the Weill Music Institute in partnership with the New York City Department of Education. Ensemble ACJW performs at Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and other venues in New York City and New York State, including an annual residency at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs. The ensemble comes together in different sizes, having the opportunity to play intimate chamber music as well as larger conducted chamber orchestra works.
The Academy is a two-year fellowship program for the finest young professional musicians designed to develop the artistic values and skills necessary for careers that combine musical excellence with education, community engagement, advocacy, and leadership. The program provides ongoing professional development and opportunities to perform and teach in concert halls, public schools, college campuses, and throughout local communities. The program reflects the belief that today’s artists require both the ability to perform at the highest level and the capacity to give back to the community, inspiring the next generation of quality musicians and music lovers.
The Academy was launched in January 2007. The fellows in the program were selected because of their extraordinary level of musicianship, deep commitment to education and community engagement, and leadership qualities. Fellows are graduates of leading music schools, including The Curtis Institute of Music, Eastman School of Music, The Juilliard School, Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, Mannes College The New School for Music, New England Conservatory, and Yale School of Music. Please visit acjw.org for ensemble bios and more information about the program.
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