Bruce Adolphe (born May 31, 1955) is a

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

, music scholar, the

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

of several books on music, and

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

. He is currently Resident Lecturer and Director of Family Concerts of the

Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (CMS) is an American organization dedicated to the performance and promotion of chamber music in New York City and around the world. It is the largest organization of its kind in the country for chamber m ...

, where he has been a key figure since 1992. Adolphe performs his weekly "Piano Puzzler" segment on the nationally broadcast '' Performance Today''

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

radio program A radio program, radio programme, or radio show is a segment of content intended for broadcast on radio. It may be a one-time production, or part of a periodically recurring series. A single program in a series is called an episode. Radio netw ...

hosted by Fred Child. "Piano Puzzler" was on

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

starting in 2002, and is now on

American Public Media American Public Media (APM) is an American company that produces and distributes public radio programs in the United States, the second largest company of its type after NPR. Its non-profit parent, American Public Media Group, also owns and o ...

. The program is also available as a

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

and from

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

. Mr. Adolphe was also founding artistic director of Off the Hook Arts Festival, an interdisciplinary festival combining music, science, and visual arts, based in Fort Collins, Colorado, from 2010 to 2022. Adolphe's recent books include Visions and Decisions: Imagination and Technique in Music Composition published in 2023 by Cambridge University Press in the Elements series on Imagination and Creativity, edited by Anna Abraham. In 2021, Oxford University Press published an expanded third edition of Adolphe's book The Mind's Ear:Exercises for Improving the Musical Imagination for Composers, Performers, and Listeners. Adolphe contributed a chapter to The Routledge Companion to Music and Human Rights, published in 2023 and he contributed a chapter to the OUP publication Secrets of Creativity: What Neuroscience, the Arts, and Our Minds Reveal, 2019, edited by Nalbantian and Matthews.

Biography

Adolphe earned a

Bachelor of Music A Bachelor of Music (BMus; sometimes conferred as Bachelor of Musical Arts) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. The degree may be awarded for performance, music ed ...

and a Master's of Music from

Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became the Juilliard School, named aft ...

in 1976. In 1974, he wrote music for

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

Paul Corrigan's ''Nancy's Tragic Period'' and ''Tan My Hide'', which were performed together at

La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club (sometimes abbreviated as La MaMa E.T.C.) is an Off-Off-Broadway theater founded in 1961 by African-American theatre director, producer, and fashion designer Ellen Stewart. Located in the East Village neighborho ...

in the East Village of Manhattan in May 1974. Since the age of 10 Adolphe has had a pet parrot named Poly Rhythm. As of 2025, he still owns the pet. Adolphe has composed music for

Yo-Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma (born October 7, 1955) is a French-born American Cello, cellist. Born to Chinese people, Chinese parents in Paris, he was regarded as a child prodigy there and began to study the cello with his father at age four. At the age of seven, ...

Itzhak Perlman Itzhak Perlman (; born August 31, 1945) is an Israeli-American violinist. He has performed worldwide and throughout the United States, in venues that have included a state dinner for Elizabeth II at the White House in 2007, and at the First ina ...

Joshua Bell Joshua David Bell (born December 9, 1967) is an American violinist and conductor. He is currently music director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Early life and education Bell was born in Bloomington, Indiana, one of four children of ...

, Daniel Hope, Carlo Grante,

Sylvia McNair Sylvia McNair (born June 23, 1956) is an American opera singer and classical recitalist who has also achieved notable success in the Broadway and cabaret genres. McNair, a soprano, has made several critically acclaimed recordings and has won t ...

, the

Beaux Arts Trio The Beaux Arts Trio was a noted piano trio, celebrated for their vivacity, emotional depth and wide-ranging repertoire. They made their debut on 13 July 1955, at the Berkshire Music Festival, Lenox, Massachusetts, United States, known today as the ...

, the

Brentano String Quartet The Brentano Quartet is an American string quartet. History Founded in 1992 at the Juilliard School, the quartet's founding members were violinists Mark Steinberg and Serena Canin, violist Misha Amory, and cellist Michael Kannen. At the suggesti ...

, the Miami Quartet, the

National Symphony Orchestra The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1930 by cellist Hans Kindler, its principal performing venue is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The NSO regularly ...

, the

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra (founded in 1972) is a classical music chamber orchestra based in New York City. They have won several Grammy Awards, and are known for their collaborative leadership style in which the musicians, not a conductor, i ...

, the Chicago Chamber Musicians, the

, and many other performers and organizations. He describes Haydn as an influence on his composition for his combination of sophistication, as well as accessibility. Composed in memory of his brother, visual artist Jonathan Adolphe (1952-2022), Bruce Adolphe's "Memory Believes (a requiem)", was performed by the Brentano String Quartet and the Antioch Chamber Ensemble (choir), presented by the Parlance Chamber Concerts. In 2009, Adolphe's one-act

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

''Let Freedom Sing: The Story of Marian Anderson'', with a libretto by Carolivia Herron, premiered at the Atlas Theater in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

The opera was premiered by the

Washington National Opera Washington National Opera (WNO) is an American opera company in Washington, D.C. Formerly the Opera Society of Washington and the Washington Opera, the company received Congressional designation as the National Opera Company in 2000. Performance ...

and the Washington Performing Arts Society, who commissioned the piece. The opera was performed in 2023 by Mobile Opera in Alabama under the direction of Scott Wright. Also in 2009, Adolphe's "Violin Concerto" was premiered by violinist Eugene Drucker with the Idyllwild Academy Orchestra and conducted by Peter Askim at the Redcat Theater of Disney Hall in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. "Music Is", for children's chorus and

youth orchestra A youth orchestra is an orchestra made of Youth, young musicians, typically ranging from pre-teens or teenagers to those of Music school, conservatory age. Depending on the age range and selectiveness, they may serve different purposes. Orchest ...

, premiered as part of the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Thurnauer School of Music in June 2009, with the

Young People's Chorus of New York City Young People's Chorus of New York City (YPC) is a children's chorus based in New York City. YPC provides children of all ethnic, religious and economic backgrounds with a program of music education and choral performance and seeks to enrich the ...

and the Thurnauer Orchestra. Also in 2009, an evening of Adolphe's

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

was presented at

The Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

. On May 3, 2009,

played the world premiere of Adolphe's "Self Comes to Mind", a

neuroscience Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions, and its disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, ...

-inspired work for solo

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

with two percussionists. The percussion parts were performed by John Ferrari and Ayano Kataoka. "Self Comes to Mind" was a collaboration with neuroscientist

Antonio Damasio Antonio Damasio (; born 25 February 1944) is a Portuguese neuroscientist. He is currently the David Dornsife Chair in Neuroscience, as well as Professor of Psychology, Philosophy, and Neurology, at the University of Southern California, and, add ...

, who wrote a text in poetic form about the evolution of consciousness for the piece. The premiere took place at the

American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Located in Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 21 interconn ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, and featured live interactive images that responded to the music. The images were based primarily on

brain scans Neuroimaging is the use of quantitative (computational) techniques to study the structure and function of the central nervous system, developed as an objective way of scientifically studying the healthy human brain in a non-invasive manner. Incre ...

created by Hanna Damasio, Antonio Damasio's wife and collaborator. The Damasios are the founders and co-directors of the Brain and Creativity Institute in

and have invited Adolphe to be composer- in-residence there. Prior to his collaboration with Damasio on "Self Comes to Mind", Adolphe composed two other works based on passages in Damasio's book '' Descartes' Error'', titled "Memories of a Possible Future" (for piano and string quartet) and "Body Loops" (for piano and orchestra). Adolphe's cantata on themes of

social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

, and freedom around the world, titled "Reach Out, Raise Hope, Change Society", was commissioned to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the School of Social Work of the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. It premiered with the Chamber Chorus and musicians from the university's School of Music, conducted by Jerry Blackstone, in November 2011. The film ''Einstein's Light'', a documentary about

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...

by Nickolas Barris, was scheduled to be released in 2015 in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Einstein's theory of

general relativity General relativity, also known as the general theory of relativity, and as Einstein's theory of gravity, is the differential geometry, geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1915 and is the current description of grav ...

but the film was withdrawn by the filmmaker. However, the soundtrack is still available as a on all digital platforms, and features violinist Joshua Bell and pianist Marija Stroke, released by

Sony Classical Sony Classical is an American record label founded in 1924 as Columbia Masterworks Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records. In 1980, the Columbia Masterworks label was renamed as CBS Masterworks Records. The CBS Records Group was acquired ...

in December 2015. In 2015, Adolphe's

violin concerto A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...

"I Will Not Remain Silent", inspired by the life of

Joachim Prinz Joachim Prinz (May 10, 1902 – September 30, 1988) was a German-American rabbi who was an outspoken activist against Nazism in Germany in the 1930s and later became a leader in the civil rights movement in the United States in the 1960s. As a ...

, received its world premiere with the IRIS Orchestra conducted by Michael Stern and Sharon Roffman as soloist. The concerto was then performed in

Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

at KKL by violinist

Ilya Gringolts Ilya Gringolts () born 2 July 1982 in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) is a violinist and educator. Gringolts studied violin in St. Petersburg with Tatiana Liberova and Jeanna Metallidi. He then attended the Juilliard School, and studied violin w ...

with the Human Rights Orchestra of Europe, conducted by Alessio Allegrini. The concerto was again performed by Daniel Hope with the

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) is an American chamber orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. LACO presents its Orchestral Series concerts at two venues, the Alex Theatre in Glendale and UCLA's Royce Hall. History James Arkatov, ...

, conducted by Jeffrey Kahane, in January 2017. Daniel Hope performed the concerto again in 2018 in Essen, Germany, with Jaime Martin conducting the Essen Philharmonie. Scott St. John performed the concerto with Guillermo Figueroa conducting the Santa Fe Symphony in 2019. In 2021, The Milken Archive of Jewish Music released the album ''I Will Not Remain Silent'', including an interview with Bruce Adolphe about the work. Adolphe's "Piano Concerto" premiered in July 2016 with the Philharmonia Zürich conducted by Fabio Luisi with piano soloist Carlo Grante. Grante then commissioned two piano works from Mr. Adolphe: "Chopin Dreams" and "Seven Thoughts Considered as Music", both of which Grante recorded for

Naxos Naxos (; , ) is a Greek island belonging to the Cyclades island group. It is the largest island in the group. It was an important centre during the Bronze Age Cycladic Culture and in the Ancient Greek Archaic Period. The island is famous as ...

American Masters series and released in November 2017. In 2019, Adolphe's "I saw how fragile and infinitely precious the world is" for mezzo-soprano, cello, and recorded sounds from space (provided by NASA) and planet Earth was recorded by mezzo-soprano Theodora Hanslowe and cellist Sophie Shao and later premiered (in live performance) by mezzo-soprano Kady Evanyshyn and Ms. Shao. The latter duo also performed the work at NASA Goddard Space Center in March, 2019, at a colloquium honoring the late scientists and astronaut Piers Sellers. The title of the piece is a quote of Piers Sellers, said looking back at Earth from the space station. Adolphe is also known for his compositions for young listeners. These works are created primarily for The Learning Maestros, Adolphe's education company, which he co-founded with Julian Fifer, an

impresario An impresario (from Italian ''impresa'', 'an enterprise or undertaking') is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, Play (theatre), plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film producer, film or ...

best known as founder and executive director of the

. His compositions for young listeners are often interdisciplinary, combining music with science,

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

visual arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics (art), ceramics, photography, video, image, filmmaking, design, crafts, and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual a ...

, and

current events News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and witnesses to events. N ...

. Adolphe's pieces for the Learning Maestros include: *''Tyrannosaurus Sue: A Cretaceous Concerto'', premiered by Chicago Chamber Musicians in 2000 at the

Field Museum of Natural History The Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), also known as The Field Museum, is a natural history museum in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of the largest such museums in the world. The museum is popular for the size and quality of its educationa ...

(unveiling of the T-rex "Sue") *''Red Dogs and Pink Skies: A Musical Celebration of Paul Gauguin'', created to accompany an exhibition at the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

*''Witches, Wizards, Spells, and Elves: The Magic of Shakespeare'', premiered by

Chicago Shakespeare Theater Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) is a non-profit, professional theater company located at Navy Pier in Chicago, Illinois. Its more than six hundred annual performances performed 48 weeks of the year include its critically acclaimed Shakespeare ...

actors with the Chicago Chamber Musicians *''Tough Turkey in the Big City'', a

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory ...

comedy with script by Louise Gikow, featuring a

bass trombone The bass trombone (, ) is the bass instrument in the trombone family of brass instruments. Modern instruments are pitched in the same B♭ as the tenor trombone but with a larger bore, bell and mouthpiece to facilitate low register playing, and u ...

as the turkey; premiered at

Chamber Music Northwest Chamber Music Northwest (CMNW) is an American non-profit organization in Portland, Oregon, dedicated to the performance and promotion of chamber music. In addition to its annual Summer Festival, the organization also presents individual chamber ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

and at the

*''The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses'', based on the story by Paul Goble. Commissioned by Boston Musica Viva. *''Zephyronia'', a piece about the power of

wind energy Wind power is the use of wind energy to generate useful work. Historically, wind power was used by sails, windmills and windpumps, but today it is mostly used to generate electricity. This article deals only with wind power for electricity ...

, created with writer Louise Gikow for the

Imani Winds Imani Winds is a Grammy Award-winning American wind quintet based in New York City, United States. The group was founded by flutist Valerie Coleman in 1997 and is known for its adventurous and diverse programming, which includes both establishe ...

, who perform the music (for wind quintet) and act the parts of the characters in the story. Adolphe's music has also been recorded on

, CRI, PollyRhythm,

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

, Koch, Music@Menlo archives,

Delos Delos (; ; ''Dêlos'', ''Dâlos''), is a small Greek island near Mykonos, close to the centre of the Cyclades archipelago. Though only in area, it is one of the most important mythological, historical, and archaeological sites in Greece. ...

, Soundbrush, and other

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

s. His

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

s include the

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

permanently on display in the

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust, dedicated to the documentation, study, and interpretation of the Holocaust. Opened in 1993, the museum explores the Holocaust through p ...

Adolphe describes his politics as "very" leftwing. He lives in New York City with his wife.

Books

* "Visions and Decisions: Imagination and Technique in Music Composition", Cambridge University Press, Elements in Imagination and Creativity series, 2023 * ''The Mind's Ear: Exercises for Improving the Musical Imagination for Performers, Composers, and Listeners'',

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

(3rd edition published 2021) * ''What To Listen for in the World'',

Hal Leonard Hal Leonard LLC (formerly Hal Leonard Corporation) is an American music publishing and distribution company founded in Winona, Minnesota, by Harold "Hal" Edstrom, his brother, Everett "Leonard" Edstrom, and fellow musician Roger Busdicker. Curre ...

* ''Of Mozart, Parrots and Cherry Blossoms in the Wind: A Composer Explores Mysteries of the Musical Mind'',

* ''Secrets of Creativity'',

, an anthology of writings on the creative process and the neuroscience of creativity, edited by Suzanne Nalbantian. Adolphe's chapter is "The Musical Imagination: Mystery and Method in Musical Composition". Published in 2019. * "The Routledge Companion to Music and Human Rights", chapter called "The Sound of Human Rights: Wordless Music that Speaks for Humanity" Routledge, 2022

Selected works

*2019: "Coiled" for string quartet, based on Beethoven's Opus 95, first movement. Commissioned by the

. *2019: "The King, the Cat, and the Fiddle" for solo violin, 2nd violin, viola, cello, bass, piano, and narrator. Commissioned by Daniel Hope. Text from the story by

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin (22 April 191612 March 1999), was an American-born British violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in Britain. He is widely considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. ...

and Christopher Hope. *2019: "The Nightingale" for solo violin and narrator (one person); commissioned by Daniel Hope. (Text by the composer, based on the story by

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogue (literature), travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fai ...

, updated to include a robotic bird.) *2019: "I Too Bleed and Hope for Beauty" A tribute to the life of Alma Rose, violinist and conductor of the Women’s Orchestra, Auschwitz; for chamber orchestra. Commissioned by the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, Houston. Premiere on November 15, 2019, in conjunction with the re-opening of the renovated Holocaust Museum of Houston. *2017: "Out of the Air" for clarinet, cello, and piano; commissioned by Ocean Reef Chamber Music Festival; premiered by Anne-Marie McDermott (pno), Todd Palmer (clar), Keith Robinson (vc), Ocean Reef, Fl. *2014: "Chopin Dreams" for solo piano; commissioned by Concert Artists' Promotion Trust for Carlo Grante; premiered in

Alice Tully Hall Alice Tully Hall is a concert hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The hall is named for Alice Tully, a New York performer and Philanthropy, philanthropist whose donations assis ...

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

; European premiere in the Brahms-saal of the

Musikverein The ( or ; ), commonly shortened to , is a concert hall in Vienna, Austria, which is located in the Innere Stadt district. The building opened in 1870 and is the home of the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra. The acoustics of the building's 'Grea ...

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

(2015); recording for

American Masters series released in 2016/2017 *2015: ''Einstein's Light'' music for a documentary by Nickolas Barris; soundtrack featuring

and Marija Stroke (piano); released on

Sony Classical Records Sony Classical is an American record label founded in 1924 as Columbia Masterworks Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records. In 1980, the Columbia Masterworks label was renamed as CBS Masterworks Records. The CBS Records Group was acquired by ...

*2014: "Musics of Memory" for piano, marimba, harp, guitar; based on

's work *2014: "Piano Concerto" premiered July 10, 2016, with Fabio Luisi conducting the Philharmonia Zurich and Carlo Grante as piano soloist *2014: "I Will Not Remain Silent" for violin and orchestra; inspired by the life of

*2011: "Reach Out, Raise Hope, Change Society" for

SATB In music, SATB is a scoring of compositions for choirs or consorts of instruments consisting of four voice types: soprano, alto, tenor and bass. Choral music Four-part harmony using soprano, alto, tenor and bass is a common scoring in classic ...

chorus, wind quintet, 3 percussionists; with text about social justice, civil rights, freedom *2009: "Self Comes to Mind" for cello and 2 percussionists; with text by Antonio Damasio and images based on brain scans by Hanna Damasio *2009: ''Let Freedom Sing: The Story of Marian Anderson'' one-act opera with

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

by Carolivia Herron *2004: "Da Boo" for soprano and marimba *2004: "The Tiger's Ear: Listening to Abstract Expressionist Paintings" for flute, oboe, violin, viola, cello, piano *2005: "Violin Concerto" *1998: "Whispers of Mortality: String Quartet No. 4" (1998) *2005: "Three Secret Stories" for violin and piano (2005) *1998: "Couple" for cello and piano (1998) *2007: "Wind Across the Sky: Settings of Native American Poetry" for soprano and piano trio *1999: "A Thousand Years of Love" for soprano and piano *2005: "Songs of Life and Love" setting of poems by

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

, and Israeli women *1994: "Memories of a Possible Future" for string quartet and piano *2003: "Red Dogs and Pink Skies: A Musical Celebration of Paul Gauguin" for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, bass, percussion; with slides and optional narration *2000: "Tyrannosaurus Sue: A Cretaceous Concerto" for 13 musicians and narrator *2005: "Witches, Wizards, Spells, and Elves: The Magic of Shakespeare" for actors and 13 musicians *1982: "Mikhoels the Wise" opera in two acts about

Solomon Mikhoels Solomon (Shloyme) Mikhoels ( lso spelled שלוימע מיכאעלס during the Soviet era , – 13 January 1948) was a Soviet actor and the artistic director of the Moscow State Jewish Theater. Mikhoels served as the chairman of the Jewish ...

; libretto by Mel Gordon *2004: "Tough Turkey in the Big City" for bass trombone, trumpet, clarinet, violin, piano, percussion, and actor *1983: "The False Messiah" opera in two acts, libretto by Mel Gordon *1994: "The Amazing Adventure of Alvin Allegretto"

comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...

for children in one act, libretto by Sara Schlessinger *1992: "Marita and Her Heart's Desire" for 12 instruments and narrator;

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful bei ...

with story by Louise Gikow *1990: "Out of the Whirlwind" for mezzo-soprano, tenor, and large

concert band A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind instrument, woodwind, brass ...

; text by victims and survivors of the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

*1985: " Ladino Songs of Love and Suffering" for soprano, horn, and guitar * 1986: "Night Journey for Wind Quintet" *"And All is Always Now" for violin and piano *"The Bitter, Sour, Salt Suite" for solo violin with

narrator Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the ...

; poems by Louise Gikow

References

External links

Bruce Adolphe official siteThe Learning Maestros site"Self Comes to Mind" site

Lauren Keiser musicAdolphe's page on La MaMa Archives Digital CollectionsAdolphe on the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center siteOff the hook official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adolphe, Bruce American male classical composers American classical composers Jewish American classical composers American musicologists Classical music radio people 1955 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Jewish opera composers 21st-century American Jews