Bryce Dessner
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Bryce David Dessner (born April 23, 1976) is an American
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 ...
and guitarist based in Paris, and a member of the rock band the National. Dessner's twin brother,
Aaron According to the Old Testament of the Bible, Aaron ( or ) was an Israelite prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of Moses. Information about Aaron comes exclusively from religious texts, such as the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament ...
is also a member of the group. Together, they write the music in collaboration with lead singer and lyricist Matt Berninger. In addition to his work with the National, Dessner is known for his work as an independent composer. His orchestral, chamber, and vocal compositions have been commissioned by the
Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil) is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. The orchestra holds a regular concert season from October until June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from ...
, ensemble intercontemporain,
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 ...
(for the New York Philharmonic), Kronos Quartet,
Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...
, BAM Next Wave Festival, Barbican Centre, Edinburgh International Festival, Sounds from a Safe Harbour Festival (Cork, Ireland), Sydney Festival, eighth blackbird, Sō Percussion, New York City Ballet, and many others. His work, ''Murder Ballades,'' was featured on eighth Blackbird's album ''Filament'', an album he also produced and performed on, which won the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Small Ensemble Performance. Dessner has collaborated with artists such as
Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...
, Steve Reich, Paul Simon,
Sufjan Stevens Sufjan Stevens ( ; born July 1, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He has released ten solo studio albums and multiple collaborative albums with other artists. Stevens has received Grammy and Academy Award nomina ...
, Nico Muhly, Jonny Greenwood, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Alejandro González Iñárritu,
Terry Riley Terrence Mitchell Riley (born June 24, 1935) is an American composer and performing musician best known as a pioneer of the minimalist music, minimalist school of composition. Influenced by jazz and Indian classical music, his work became notab ...
, Justin Peck, Ragnar Kjartansson, Katia and Marielle Labèque, and
Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...
, among others. Dessner is the founder of the MusicNOW Festival, co-founder of Copenhagen's HAVEN festival, and co-curator of the festival Sounds from a Safe Harbour. He is a founding member of the improvisatory instrumental group Clogs and co-founder of Brassland Records. In 2018, Dessner was named one of eight creative and artistic partners for the San Francisco Symphony as part of incoming Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen's new leadership model for the orchestra in 2020. He has a master's degree in music from
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
. Dessner, along with his twin brother
Aaron According to the Old Testament of the Bible, Aaron ( or ) was an Israelite prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of Moses. Information about Aaron comes exclusively from religious texts, such as the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament ...
, was named the 243rd greatest guitarist of all time by ''Rolling Stone'' in 2023. Dessner is currently an Artist-In-Residence for the 24/25 season at the National Concert Hall in Dubli

 


Early life

Dessner grew up in
Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
, with his twin brother, Aaron Dessner. Dessner was raised as
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
and has Polish Jewish and Russian Jewish ancestry. Dessner attended high school at Cincinnati Country Day School and graduated in 1994.


Composer


Compositions and tours

Dessner's compositions draw on elements from baroque and folk music, late Romanticism, and modernism, as well as minimalism. He composed the cello ensemble for Fondation Louis Vuitton and Gautier Capuçon's ''Classe d'Excellence'', which premiered in June 2019. Concerto for Two Pianos, written for Katia and Marielle Labèque, premiered with London Philharmonic Orchestra in April 2018. Other compositions include: * ''Voy a Dormir'' (2018), written for mezzo-soprano Kelley O'Connor and the Orchestra of St. Luke's and commissioned by Carnegie Hall; * ''Skrik Trio'', commissioned by Steve Reich and Carnegie Hall for the Three Generations Series and premiered by Pekka Kuusisto, Nadia Sirota and Nicolas Altstaedt in April 2017 at Carnegie Hall; * ''No Tomorrow'' (a ballet by Ragnar Kjartansson, Margrét Bjarnadóttir and Bryce Dessner), which premiered as part of the Sacrifice Festival, April 2017 and was the winner of Iceland's Griman Award; * The soundtrack for ''Death of Marsha P. Johnson'', the Netflix documentary about the LGBT rights activist (2017); * ''Wires'', commissioned for the legendary Ensemble Intercontemporain, and premiered at the Philharmonie de Paris with and Matthias Pintscher in 2016; * ''The Most Incredible Thing'' written for the New York City Ballet, choreographed by Justin Peck with costumes by Marcel Dzama, which premiered February 2016 at Lincoln Center; * ''Quilting'' for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, which premiered in May 2015 at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and was performed by the LA Phil, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel; * ''Wave Movements,'' an orchestral work co-composed with Richard Reed Parry and featuring visuals by the photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto, which premiered at the Barbican Concert Hall in London in the spring of 2015; * ''40 Canons'' for the Grammy Award-winning Kronos Quartet, which premiered at the Barbican Concert Hall in London in the spring of 2014; * ''Reponse Lutoslawski'' for the National Audiovisual Institute of Poland, which was premiered by the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in Warsaw in fall 2014; * ''Black Mountain Songs'' for the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, which premiered at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in November 2014 and was released by New Amsterdam Records in March 2017; * ''Music For Wood and Strings'' with Sō Percussion, which premiered at
Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...
in November 2013; His work, ''Murder Ballades,'' was inspired by American folk music and written for the multiple Grammy-winning new-music ensemble eighth blackbird. The group premiered the piece in Eindhoven in April 2013 and featured it on their 2015 album "Filament." In addition to his work being featured on "Filament," Dessner produced the album which won the
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance in 2016. Justin Peck's dance with the same name, created for the L.A. Dance Project, also features ''Murder Ballades'' as its soundtrack. In September 2013, Lyon, France, hosted the ballet's world debut. The song was performed by eighth blackbird in October 2014 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music as live music accompaniment for a show by the L.A. Dance Project. In addition, important past compositions by Dessner include three string quartets for Kronos Quartet (''Aheym,'' ''Tenebre'' and ''Little Blue Something''); ''Tour Eiffel'' for the Brooklyn Youth Chorus; ''O Shut Your Eyes Against the Wind'' for Bang on a Can All Stars; ''Lachrimae'' for the Amsterdam Sinfonietta, Scottish Ensemble, and the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra; ''St. Carolyn by the Sea'' for the American Composers Orchestra and Muziekcentrum Eindhoven; and ''El Chan'' for piano quartet or piano duo, and which is widely toured by Katia and Marielle Labèque. His evening-length oratorio ''Triptych (Eyes of One on Another)'' includes libretto by Korde Arrington Tuttle and poems by
Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter, author, and photographer. Her 1975 debut album '' Horses'' made her an influential member of the New York City-based punk rock movement. Smith has fu ...
and Essex Hemphill, featuring vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth, soprano Alicia Hall Moran, tenor Isaiah Thomas and dancer/choreographer Martell Ruffin, and combining 16th-century madrigals, blues and post-modern musical influences. Produced by ArKtype and directed by Kaneza Schaal, the work was created in partnership with The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation. It explored the work of the photographer through the lens of its African-American subjects via Tuttle's deeply personal view of the contradictions and inherent racism within the artist's adoration and deification of the Black body, often eluding its humanism. It premiered as a concert version conducted by Sara Jobin with co-commissioner LA Philharmonic at Disney Hall in Los Angeles on March 5, 2019, followed by the full theatrical world premiere with co-commissioner and lead producing partner University Musical Society at the Power Center of Ann Arbor, on March 14, 2019. ''Triptych (Eyes of One on Another)'' was Dessner's first major theatrical work, and among the only rights granted for use of Mapplethorpe's images in performance. The ballet, ''Frame of Mind'', choreographed by Sydney Dance Company's Artistic Director Rafael Bonachela and featuring Dessner's string quartet compositions ''Aheym'' and ''Tenebre'', has been toured all over the world and has won several Helpmann Awards. In January 2012, Dessner signed to Chester Novello Publishing for his concert music.


Recordings

The first recordings of Dessner's compositions, performed by the Kronos Quartet, were released in 2013 by Anti-Records. The album, "Aheym," features four of Dessner's compositions: ''Tenebre,'' ''Little Blue Something'', ''Tour Eiffel,'' and ''Aheym.'' On March 4, 2014,
Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...
/Universal Music Classics released "St Carolyn By the Sea; Suite from There Will Be Blood." Performed by the Copenhagen Philharmonic and conducted by Andre de Ridder, the album features three of Dessner's orchestral works (''St. Carolyn by the Sea'', ''Lachrimae'' and ''Raphael'') as well as the suite from ''There Will Be Blood'' by Jonny Greenwood. May 19, 2015, marked the release on Brassland of ''Music for Wood and Strings'', an album-length work composed by Dessner and performed by Sō Percussion on a set of experimental musical instruments Dessner named "Chord Sticks" and built by Aron Sanchez from Buke and Gase. The instruments function on the 3rd bridge principle, with muting the string attack and let the string resonance swell afterwards. In April 2019,
Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...
released the album ''El Chan'' featuring an all-Dessner programme performed by Katia and Marielle Labèque including ''Concerto for two pianos'', ''El Chan'', and ''Haven'' with Dessner on electric guitar. The album is dedicated to Dessner's friend and collaborator, Alejandro González Iñárritu, who also designed the album cover. Also in spring 2019, New York's Metropolitan Museum, for one of its first contemporary installations, featured the song ''Death is Elsewhere'' written by Bryce alongside Aaron Dessner, Ragnar Kjartansson, Gyda Valtýsdóttir and Kristín Anna. Dessner now resides in Paris and has been increasingly active composing for major European ensembles and soloists.


Film scores

Dessner has written the score for the major Netflix film '' The Two Popes'' (2019) directed by Fernando Meirelles, recorded with London Contemporary Orchestra at London's
Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...
. In October 2015, Dessner was tapped along with Ryuichi Sakamoto and Alva Noto, to compose the score for the Oscar Award-winning director Alejandro González Iñárritu film '' The Revenant'' (2015). They received a nomination for Best Original Score in the 2016 Golden Globes and a nomination in the 2017 Grammy Awards for Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media category. Dessner's piece ''Tour Eiffel'' was featured in the 2015 Palme d'Or winner '' Dheepan'', directed by Jacques Audiard. ''Tour Eiffel'' is performed by the Kronos Quartet and Brooklyn Youth Chorus. Bryce and his brother Aaron Dessner co-composed the score for '' Transpecos'', which won the Audience Award at the 2016
South by Southwest South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...
. They also worked together on the score for 2013 film '' Big Sur'', an adaptation of the 1962 novel of the same name by Jack Kerouac. The film debuted on January 23, 2013, at the
Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...
, where it received positive reviews. In 2007, Dessner and Padma Newsome's quartet, Clogs, had their music serve as the soundtrack to the film '' Turn the River'' (2007).


Collaborations

Dessner is a frequent collaborator with many respected artists, including Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Alejandro Iñarritú, Paul Simon, Sufjan Stevens, Caroline Shaw, Johnny Greenwood, Bon Iver, Justin Peck, Jennifer Koh, Kelley O'Connor, Ragnar Kjartansson and Nico Muhly.


The Most Incredible Thing

"The Most Incredible Thing" is a ballet created by Dessner, Justin Peck and Marcel Dzama. Based on Hans Christian Andersen's dark 1870 fairy tale of the same name, the ballet was written for the New York City Ballet and premiered at Lincoln Center in New York on February 2, 2016. The piece was performed throughout the New York City Ballet's 2016 season and was brought to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in March 2016.


Planetarium

''Planetarium'' is a song cycle celebrating the
Solar System The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Sola ...
created by Dessner, Nico Muhly, Sufjan Stevens, and James McAlister. The piece was co-commissioned by Muziekgebouw Eindhoven, the Barbican Centre and the
Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...
and had its first run of European shows in March 2012. ''Planetarium'' has been performed at the Barbican Centre in London, Muziektheater in Amsterdam, the
Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...
in Australia, Salle Pleyel in Paris and the Brooklyn Academy of Music in April 2013, where it had a four-night run.


The Long Count

"The Long Count" was a large commission for the BAM Next Wave Festival created by Bryce, Aaron Dessner and visual artist Matthew Ritchie. Together they created a work loosely based on the Mayan creation story 'Popol Vuh' that includes a 12 piece orchestra and four guest singers: Kim Deal, Kelley Deal, Matt Berninger, and Shara Worden. The work had its world premiere on September 11, 2009, at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, as part of the Ellnora Festival, and its New York premiere in October 2009 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. It has since been performed at the Holland Festival and the Barbican. Tunde Adebimpe, a member of the band TV on the Radio joined Dessner, Aaron, and Ritchie for the Barbican Centre performance.


Forever Love

Forever Love, a work with renowned Icelandic performance artist Ragnar Kjartansson, is a blending of visual and performance art with live music. The piece is a collaborative song cycle written and performed with Aaron Dessner and Bryce Dessner alongside Icelandic artists Gyða and Kristín Anna Valtýsdóttir, formerly of the Icelandic band múm. It was commissioned by Eaux Claires Festival and made its world premiere in 2015 where it served as the official starting point of the festival on both Friday and Saturday. Forever Love marked a live performance reunion for the Dessner twins and Kjartansson, as both artists had previously collaborated on a six-hour video work
A Lot of Sorrow
which documents The National performing their three and a half minute song, "Sorrow," for six hours in front of a live audience at MoMA PS1.


Kronos Quartet

Dessner first collaborated with Kronos Quartet in 2009. Founder David Harrington approached him about composing a piece for their performance at the Celebrate Brooklyn! festival in Brooklyn's Prospect Park. The piece Dessner wrote, ''Aheym'', (meaning "homeward" in
Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...
), was inspired by his
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
immigrant grandparents who settled near the park when they arrived in Brooklyn. In 2011, Dessner was commissioned by Kronos Quartet to compose a piece for the Barbican Centre's "Reverberations: The Influence of Steve Reich" festival in London. The piece, ''Tenebre'', is based on the traditional
Holy Week Holy Week () commemorates the seven days leading up to Easter. It begins with the commemoration of Triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, marks the betrayal of Jesus on Spy Wednesday (Holy Wednes ...
service in which 15 candles are gradually extinguished. Dessner, in his own words, "inverts the service" drawing the listener from darkness into light. ''Tenebre'' premiered May 7, 2011, at LSO St. Luke's and featured the pre-recorded vocals of Sufjan Stevens. In 2012, Dessner wrote and dedicated ''Little Blue Something'' to the ensemble. The piece was inspired by the music of Irena and Vojtech Havel, who blend
early music Early music generally comprises Medieval music (500–1400) and Renaissance music (1400–1600), but can also include Baroque music (1600–1750) or Ancient music (before 500 AD). Originating in Europe, early music is a broad Dates of classical ...
with Czech folk music. It was premiered by Kronos on May 31, 2012, at the Ensems Festival in Valencia, Spain.


Day of the Dead

On March 17, 2016, Bryce and Aaron Dessner announced ''Day of the Dead'', a charity tribute album to the
Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, Folk music, folk, country music, country, bluegrass music, bluegrass, roc ...
released by 4AD on May 20, 2016. ''Day of the Dead'' was created, curated and produced by Bryce and Aaron. The compilation is a wide-ranging tribute to the songwriting and experimentalism of the Dead which took four years to record, features over 60 artists from varied musical backgrounds, 59 tracks and is almost 6 hours long. All profits are helping to fight for AIDS/ HIV and related health issues around the world through the Red Hot Organization. ''Day of the Dead'' is the follow-up to 2009's ''Dark Was The Night'' (4AD), a 32-track, multi-artist compilation also produced by Aaron and Bryce for Red Hot. ''Day of the Dead'' features collaborations and recordings from a diverse group of artists including Wilco, Flaming Lips, Bruce Hornsby, Justin Vernon, The National, The War on Drugs, Lee Ranaldo of
Sonic Youth Sonic Youth were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (lead guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of ...
, Ira Kaplan of Yo La Tengo,
Jenny Lewis Jennifer Diane Lewis (born January 8, 1976) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She is the lead singer, rhythm guitarist, and keyboardist for the indie rock band Rilo Kiley. Lewis gained prominence in the 1980s as a child ...
, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Perfume Genius, Jim James of
My Morning Jacket My Morning Jacket is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1998. The band consists of vocalist/guitarist Jim James, bassist Tom Blankenship, drummer Patrick Hallahan, guitarist Carl Broemel, and keyboardist Bo Kos ...
, Senegalese collective Orchestra Baobob, composer
Terry Riley Terrence Mitchell Riley (born June 24, 1935) is an American composer and performing musician best known as a pioneer of the minimalist music, minimalist school of composition. Influenced by jazz and Indian classical music, his work became notab ...
and his son Gyan Riley, electronic artist Tim Hecker, jazz pianist Vijay Iyer and Bela Fleck. Of the 59 tracks on the compilation, many feature a house band made up of Bryce, Aaron, fellow The National bandmates and brothers Scott and Bryan Devendorf, Josh Kaufman (who co-produced the project), and Conrad Doucette along with Sam Cohen and Walter Martin. The National have a couple of tracks on the album, including "Peggy-O," "Morning Dew" and "I Know You Rider." A ''Day of the Dead'' live performance took place in August 2016 at the second annual Eaux Claires Festival (August 12–13) featuring
Jenny Lewis Jennifer Diane Lewis (born January 8, 1976) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She is the lead singer, rhythm guitarist, and keyboardist for the indie rock band Rilo Kiley. Lewis gained prominence in the 1980s as a child ...
, Matthew Houck, Lucius, Will Oldham, Sam Amidon, Richard Reed Parry, Justin Vernon, Bruce Hornsby, Ruban Nielson and The National.


Dream House Quartet

In 2018 Dessner's extended collaboration with pianists Katia and Marielle Làbeque formalized into Dream House Quartet with the addition of guitarist and composer David Chalmin of La Terre Invisible, realizing a unique arrangement of duo piano and electric guitar. Dessner has since composed several works for the Quartet, as has David Chalmin, with additional commissions written for the Quartet by Caroline Shaw, Timo Andres, Max Richter and many others. New arrangements by Dessner of works by Philip Glass and Steve Reich are also part of the group's growing repertoire. In 2019 the group premiered Thom Yorke's first classical composition "Don't Fear the Light," performed live with Yorke in Paris, London and Berlin along with a new arrangement of Yorke's "Gawpers." In 2022, the Quartet premiered a new commission by Anna Thorvaldsdottir entitled "What Things Become" at London's Southbank Centre. On April 23, 2023, the Quartet made its US premiere at New York City's The Town Hall in a concert benefitting The Kitchen, followed by engagements in Austin, San Diego, Costa Mesa, Los Angeles, Stanford, Toronto, and New Haven in a tour produced by ArKtype, performing works by Dessner, Chalmin, Glass, Reich and Meredith Monk. Dream House Quartet will release its first recordings with Deustsche Gramaphone as an EP slated for release in April 2023, with full-length album due in 2024.


Other collaborations and commissions

Dessner is a frequent collaborator with many of the most creative and renowned musicians working today, such as
Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...
, Bang on a Can All-Stars, and Glenn Kotche. Dessner served as the musical director for Matthew Ritchie's 'The Morning Line' installation, collaborating with Ritchie and a number of contemporary composers, including Lee Ranaldo and Evan Ziporyn. In 2011, Dessner collaborated with Ritchie again, composing a song entitled "To The Sea," which was used for Matthew Ritchie's performance art piece 'Monstrance.' 'Monstrance' was performed in November 2011 on Venice Beach in Los Angeles, California. The performance was accompanied by a multi-media exhibition at L&M Arts, LA. On July 2, 2009, Dessner performed Steve Reich's " 2×5" premiere alongside Reich at the Manchester International Festival. On Wednesday, January 25, 2012, at
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
and Friday, January 27, 2012, at Carnegie Hall, Dessner performed the world premiere of David Lang's new composition "death speaks" with Nico Muhly, Shara Worden, and Owen Pallett. Dessner is also featured on the "death speaks" record, which he produced. Dessner and Jonny Greenwood of
Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...
performed "The Music Of Jonny Greenwood And Bryce Dessner" as part of the 2012 Holland Festival. For the performance, Bryce composed a piece entitled "Lachrimae" as well as performed two other pieces with his brother Aaron Dessner and the Amsterdam Sinfonietta. The program was performed at the Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ in Amsterdam and the Muziekgebouw Frits Philips in Eindhoven. After the success of ''Planetarium'', Dessner further collaborated with Sufjan Stevens, providing additional guitar tracks on Stevens' " My Rajneesh" and " Make Me an Offer I Cannot Refuse" in 2020. He made a guest appearance on Stevens' tenth album ''Javelin'', playing both acoustic and
electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...
guitar on the 8-and-a-half-minute track "Shit Talk". Dessner also collaborated with Richard Reed Parry of The Arcade Fire on Parry's album ''Music for Heart and Breath''. In 2020, Bryce composed orchestrations for
Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...
's eighth studio album, ''Folklore'', which was produced and co-written by his brother Aaron Dessner. In 2020, he also collaborated with Swift on her ninth studio album, '' Evermore'', with the song "Coney Island" having features from Dessner and The National. In 2022, Dessner began a multi-year residency with the Yale Schwarzman Center as its inaugural Artist-in-Residence in Music, produced in collaboration with ArKtype, commissioning several new works by female composers including a new work for Julia Bullock by Composer Carolyn Yarnell as part of Bullock's History's Persistent Voice series, a collaboration led by composer Nathalie Joachim with Yvonne Lam and Nicholas Houfek, a multi-disciplinary installation by Ash Fure, and culminating in a new evening length theatrical work composed by Dessner and conceived in collaboration with director Kaneza Schaal slated for premiere in 2026.


Curator

Dessner is the founder and curator of the annual Cincinnati-based MusicNOW Festival. He was tapped to curate 'Mountains and Waves,' a weekend celebration of his music at the Barbican in London, May 2015, with guests including Steve Reich, eighth blackbird, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Sō Percussion, Caroline Shaw, and the Britten Sinfonia. In September 2015, Dessner curated a weekend of performances at the Cork Opera House, Ireland. He is also the co-founder and co-curator of Crossing Brooklyn Ferry. In March 2010, Dessner co-curated the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville
Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
.


MusicNOW Festival

The MusicNOW Festival was founded by Dessner in April 2006. The festival is an annual showcase of the best in contemporary music, featuring musicians from around the world, and is held in
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
, Ohio. The first festival was held at the small downstairs room at the Cincinnati CAC and featured performances from Wilco's Glenn Kotche, The Books, Erik Freidlander, Bell Orchestre, Burmese drummer Kyaw Kyaw Naing, and the Clogs. The following year the festival was moved to the Cincinnati Memorial Hall, which would become its home for the next several years. As the festival grew and established itself as an important annual cultural event, Dessner continued to curate line-ups that featured risk-taking artists who do not fit neatly into genre-defined categories. MusicNOW celebrated its ten-year anniversary of the festival in 2015. To mark this special occasion the festival expanded to include five nights of performances in three venues. The year's festival included performances from Lone Bellow, Mina Tindle, Perfume Genius, The National, Sō Percussion, Butt Nothings, Will Butler, and many others. Continuing the tradition from last year, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra was featured throughout the weekend. In honor of the ten-year anniversary the festival also released "MusicNOW – 10 Years," a compilation album collecting live recordings of some of the best performances the series has seen over the past decade. The festival returns to Cincinnati for its twelve season in January 2017. Past festivals have featured festival-only collaborations, such as one between David Cossin and Glenn Kotche; new music from Sufjan Stevens, Richard Reed Parry (of Arcade Fire); and performances by Tinariwen, Steve Reich, Owen Pallett, The National (band), Grizzly Bear (band), Joanna Newsom, Kronos Quartet and many, many more.


Sounds from a Safe Harbour

Dessner curated a brand new festival of music and art called Sounds from a Safe Harbour. The festival took place in Cork, Ireland, from September 17 to 20, 2015 and featured new commissions, collaborations and performances in venues throughout the city. The inaugural weekend featured performances by Shara Worden's My Brightest Diamond, celebrated English organist James McVinnie, Sō Percussion, and Mina Tindle. It also featured a collaboration between Bryce, Aaron Dessner, Marcel Dzama, Lisa Hannigan, members of internationally renowned new music group Crash Ensemble and virtuosic Canadian violinist, Yuki Numata Resnick. After a year off in 2016, Sounds from a Safe Harbour returned to Cork from the 14th to the 17th of September, 2017. The National kicked off their world tour, in support of the new album Sleep Well Beast, at the festival on September 16 at the Cork Opera House. Other marquee acts were Lisa Hannigan and Aaron Dessner with the RTE National Symphony Orchestra on September 14, and Bon Iver on September 15, both also at the Cork Opera House. A myriad of other musicians played in venues around the city across the weekend, as well as the festival featuring Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson presenting his piece "Guilt Trip" at the Crawford Art Gallery from the 14 to the 16th of September.


Michelberger Music Festival

Michelberger Music was a not-for-profit, one-off gathering of artists at the Funkhaus in Berlin for a weekend-long festival of music curated and produced by Bryce along with his brother Aaron Dessner, Justin Vernon, Vincent Moon, André de Ridder, Brandon Reid, Ryan Olson and Berlin's Michelberger Hotel. The festival took place October 1–2, 2016 in the historical radio recording studios of the former GDR. Before the festival, all the artists spent a week together in Berlin, rehearsing and working in the spaces where the shows took place. The festival featured 80 artists, including Bon Iver, Mouse on Mars' Andi Toma and Jan St. Werner, Erlend Øye, My Brightest Diamond's Shara Nova, Lisa Hannigan, Damien Rice, Woodkid, Boysnoize, Beirut and many more.


PEOPLE Festival

On August 18 and 19, 2018, Bryce returned with the Michelberger Music Festival makers for a second edition, which was now called PEOPLE. This time 200 artists created across 30 Studios and performed across 8 stages over 170 unique performances at the historic Funkhaus in Berlin. Once again, all artists met one week prior to discover new music and engage with each other. PEOPLE was a non-hierarchical gathering put together by the artists with full creative freedom. There were no sponsors or brands. No line up. No artist fees. 100% of the ticket costs went towards the production. In addition to the artists of the 2016 edition, musicians like Leslie Feist, Moses Sumney, Arcade Fire's Richard Reed Parry, Lambchop's Kurt Wagner, Deerhof's Greg Saunier, Sigur Rós' Kjartan Sweinsson, Jenny Lewis, Adam Cohen, Greg Fox, Shahzad Ismaily and many more joined in.


Crossing Brooklyn Ferry

Crossing Brooklyn Ferry is a music festival curated by Aaron and Bryce Dessner. The festival showcases bands, composers, singer-songwriters and filmmakers from all corners of the New York music scene. The inaugural festival took place May 3–5, 2012 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and included performances by the Walkmen, St. Vincent,
Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...
, The Antlers, yMusic and Jherek Bischoff, as well as newly commissioned films by Jonas Mekas, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Tunde Adebimpe, among others. The second season took place April 25–27, 2013 at BAM and included performances by The Roots, Solange, TV on the Radio, Phosphorescent and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus. The event also featured a curated program of film shorts and a visual art installation by Andrew Ondrejcak.


HAVEN

Dessner is co-curator of HAVEN, Copenhagen's annual festival "for the senses, merging experiments in art, music, beer and food". The festival, which launched in 2017, explores the ways in which the art forms intersect, providing the opportunity to discover new tastes, sounds and sights. Its inaugural year saw performances from the likes of Iggy Pop, Bon Iver, and The National.


Producer

Dessner has produced and orchestrated tracks on The National's two most albums, '' High Violet'' (2010) and '' Trouble Will Find Me'' (2013). Outside of his work with The National, Dessner produced eighth blackbird's "Filament" (2015), which won Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance in the 2016 Grammy's. He also produced Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang's album ''Death Speaks'' (2013), Pedro Soler and Gaspar Claus' album ''Barlande'' (2011) and Richard Reed Parry's album ''Music for Heart and Breath,'' which was released on classical label Deutsche Grammophon. Additionally, Bryce orchestrated tracks on Local Natives' ''Hummingbird'' (2013) and Sharon van Etten's ''Tramp'' (2012), both of which were produced by his brother Aaron Dessner. The brothers also produced sister Jessica Dessner's 2023 '' Complete Mountain Almanac''.


Dark Was the Night and Day of the Dead

In 2009, Bryce and Aaron produced an extensive AIDS charity compilation, ''Dark Was the Night'', for the Red Hot Organization. The record features exclusive recordings and collaborations from a long list of artists including
David Byrne David Byrne (; born May 14, 1952) is an American musician, writer, visual artist, and filmmaker. He was a founding member, principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of the American New wave music, new wave band Talking Heads. Byrne has ...
, Arcade Fire, Sufjan Stevens, Feist, Sharon Jones, Cat Power, Grizzly Bear, Antony Hegarty,
My Morning Jacket My Morning Jacket is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1998. The band consists of vocalist/guitarist Jim James, bassist Tom Blankenship, drummer Patrick Hallahan, guitarist Carl Broemel, and keyboardist Bo Kos ...
, and Spoon. ''Dark Was the Night'' has raised over 1.6 million dollars for AIDS charities. On May 3, 2009, 4AD and Red Hot produced Dark Was the Night – Live, a concert celebrating the newest Red Hot album. The show took place at Radio City Music Hall and featured several of the artists that contributed to the compilation. In 2016, ''Day of the Dead,'' the follow-up to ''Dark Was the Night'' was released. Bryce and Aaron also produced this album, and again, all profits will go to the Red Hot Organization's mission to fight HIV/AIDs around the world.


Clogs

Clogs is a mostly-instrumental improvising quartet led by Dessner and Padma Newsome. Since 2001, they have released five widely acclaimed albums on Brassland Records, and have toured with The Books in the UK and played at the Sydney Festival. Clogs' music served as the soundtrack to the Chris Eigeman film '' Turn the River'' (2007). Clogs' musical style and approach is hard to categorize. Although the band members all play classical instruments (they met at the Yale School of Music), their writing process is more akin to that of a rock band or a jazz quartet. Drawing upon a vast variety of styles and influences, the group members bring basic ideas and riffs into rehearsals, which, through group improvisations they then develop into complex, larger-scale pieces. Their music is often influenced by minimalism, folk and rock music, Americana,
modernism Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...
and
Indian classical music Indian classical music is the art music, classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It is generally described using terms like ''Shastriya Sangeet'' and ''Marg Sangeet''. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as ...
.


Brassland

Alongside Alec Hanley Bemis and Aaron Dessner, Bryce founded Brassland Records, a label that has released early albums from The National, Clogs, Doveman and Nico Muhly.


Personal life

Dessner lives in France since 2016; he's married to French singer Mina Tindle, who has provided vocals to several of The National's albums including Boxer in 2007, and with whom he has a son, Octave. He co-produced her second album, ''Parades'', in 2014


Works

* ''Memorial'' commissioned by the New York Guitar Festival and 92nd Street Y, 2006. *''Turn the River'' score for the independent
film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...
, co-composed with Padma Newsome as Clogs, and commissioned by Mr. Nice Film Productions, 2007. *''Quintets'' commissioned by the Kitchen and American Composers Forum through a grant from the Jerome Foundation, 2007. *''Raphael'' commissioned by the Kitchen and American Composers Forum through a grant from the Jermone Foundation, 2007. *''Propolis'' co-composed with David Sheppard and Evan Ziporyn, and commissioned by Thyssen Bornemisza Art Contemporary, 2008. *''Lincoln Shuffle'' commissioned by the Rosenbach Library for Abraham Lincoln's Bicentennial, 2009. *''Aheym'' commissioned by the Kronos Quartet for the Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival, 2009. *''The Long Count'' co-composed with Aaron Dessner, and commissioned by the Brooklyn Academy of Music Next Wave Festival, 2009. *''O Shut Your Eyes Against the Wind'' commissioned by the People's Commissioning Fund and Bang on a Can for the Ecstatic Music Festival, 2010. *''Tour Eiffel'' commissioned by the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, St. Ann's Warehouse, the Kaufman Center, the Manhattan New Music Project and the Ecstatic Music Festival, 2010. *''Tenebre'' commissioned by the Kronos Quartet and the Barbican Centre, 2010. *''Long Winter'' written for cellist Zachary Miskin, and commissioned by Naive Records, 2010. *''To the Sea'' premiered during the "Monstrance" installation collaboration with Matthew Ritchie at L&M Arts Los Angeles, 2011. *''St. Carolyn by the Sea'' commissioned by the American Composers Orchestra and Muziekcentrum Eindhoven, 2011. *''Lachrimae'' commissioned by the Amsterdam Sinfonietta, the Scottish Ensemble, and the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, 2012. *''Little Blue Something'' written for the Kronos Quartet, 2012. *''Murder Ballades'' commissioned by eighth blackbird and Luna Park, 2013. *''Music for Wood and Strings'' commissioned by
Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...
, 2013. *''Reponse Lutoslawski'' commissioned by the National Audiovisual Institute (Poland), 2013. *''Black Mountain Song'' commissioned by Brooklyn Youth Chorus and Brooklyn Academy of Music, 2013. *''40 Canons'' commissioned by the Kronos Quartet, 2014. * ''Quilting Symphony'' commissioned by the
Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil) is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. The orchestra holds a regular concert season from October until June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from ...
, 2014. *''Wave Movements'' co-composed with Richard Reed Parry, commissioned by Barbican Centre, EIF, Cork Opera House, Sydney Festival, and St. Denis Festival, 2015. *''Ornament and Crime'' commissioned by Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ,http://Muziekgebouw_aan_%27t_IJ 2015. * ''Delphica'' commissioned by Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ, 2015. *''Garcia Counterpoint'' commissioned by Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ, 2015. * ''Median Organs'' commissioned by the Southbank Centre, 2015. *''Tuusula'' commissioned by Meidän Festivaali, Sounds from a Safe Harbor, and National Sawdust, 2015. * ''The Most Incredible Thing'' commissioned by the New York City Ballet, 2016. *''El Chan'' commissioned by Britten Sinfonia and Wigmore Hall, 2016. *''Gift'' commissioned by Jennifer Koh with the generous support of Justus Schlichting to whom this music is dedicated, 2016. *''Wires'' commissioned by Ensemble Intercontemporain and NTR Zaterdag, 2016. *''Suite for Harp in three movements'' 2nd movement developed in collaboration with Yuki Numata Resnick, 2016. *''On a Wire'' commissioned by Lavinia Meijer, 2016. *''Death of Marsha P. Johnson'' soundtrack for the Netflix documentary about the LGBT rights activist (2017). *''No Tomorrow'' (a ballet by Ragnar Kjartansson, Margrét Bjarnadóttir and Bryce Dessner) premiered as part of the Sacrifice Festival, April 2017. The ballet won the Griman Award, Iceland's highest performance award. *''Skrik Trio'' commissioned by Steve Reich and Carnegie Hall for the Three Generations Series, and premiered by Pekka Kuusisto, Nadia Sirota and Nicolas Altstaedt in April 2017 at Carnegie Hall. *''Voy a Dormir'' (2018) written for mezzo-soprano Kelley O'Connor and Orchestra of St. Luke's and co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall. *''Concerto for Two Pianos'' (2018) written for Katia and Marielle Labèque, premiered with London Philharmonic Orchestra in April 2018. *''Cyrano'' (2018) stage musical with music composed with Aaron Dessner, lyrics by Matt Berninger and Carin Besser, and book by Erika Schmidt. Later adapted into a
film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...
score in 2021. *''Triptych (Eyes for One on Another)'' (2019) premiered by Roomful of Teeth in Los Angeles, integrating the work of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, with co-commissioners including the LA Philharmonic, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Barbican, Holland Festival, Adelaide Festival, University of Michigan, Edinburgh International Festival. *''Violin concert'' (2021)


Discography


Albums

* ''Tower of Babel'' (Project Nim) * ''Where the Nothings Live'' (Project Nim) * ''Evenings Pop and Curve'' (Project Nim) * '' The National'' (October 30, 2001) (The National) * ''
Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers ''Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers'' is the second studio album by indie rock band The National (band), the National. It was released in 2003 on Brassland Records. This is the first album on which the band worked with Peter Katis, who would produce the ...
'' (September 2, 2003) (The National) * '' Alligator'' (April 12, 2005) (The National) * '' Boxer'' (May 22, 2007) (The National) * '' High Violet'' (May 10, 2010) (The National) * '' Trouble Will Find Me'' (May 17, 2013) (The National) * ''Aheym'' (November 5, 2013) (Kronos Quartet) * ''St Carolyn by the Sea''; Suite from ''There Will Be Blood'' (March 4, 2014) ( Copenhagen Philharmonic) * ''Music for Wood and Strings'' (May 4, 2015) (Sō Percussion) * ''Filament – Murder Ballades'' (September 11, 2015) (eighth blackbird) * '' Sleep Well Beast'' (September 8, 2017) (The National) * '' I Am Easy to Find'' (May 17, 2019) (The National) * ''El Chan'' (April 5, 2019) (Dessner- Labèque) * ''Solos'' (August 23, 2024) (Dessner)


EPs

* '' Cherry Tree EP'' (July 20, 2004) * '' The Virginia EP'' (May 20, 2008)


Singles

* "Abel" (Beggars Banquet Records, March 14, 2005) * "Secret Meeting" (Beggars Banquet Records, August 29, 2005) * "Lit Up" (Beggars Banquet Records, November 14, 2005) * " Mistaken for Strangers" (Beggars Banquet Records, April 30, 2007) * " Apartment Story" (Beggars Banquet Records, November 5, 2007) * " Fake Empire" (Beggars Banquet Records, June 23, 2008) * " Bloodbuzz Ohio" (4AD, May 3, 2010) * "Anyone's Ghost" (4AD, June 28, 2010) * "Terrible Love" (4AD, November 22, 2010) * "Think You Can Wait" (March 22, 2011) * "Conversation 16" (4AD, March 29, 2011) * "Exile Vilify" (April 19, 2011)


Film scores

* '' Big Sur'' (2013) with Aaron Dessner * '' The Revenant'' (2015) as additional score * '' Transpecos'' (2016) with Aaron Dessner * '' The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson'' (2017) * '' The Professor'' (2018) with Aaron Dessner * '' The Kitchen'' (2019) * '' The Two Popes'' (2019) * '' Irresistible'' (2020) * ''
Jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used ...
'' (2021) with Aaron Dessner * '' Cyrano'' (2021) with Aaron Dessner * '' C'mon, C'mon'' (2021) with Aaron Dessner * '' Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths'' (2022) with Alejandro G. Iñárritu * '' She Came to Me'' (2023) * '' A Good Person'' (2023) * '' Abbé Pierre – A Century of Devotion'' (2023) * ''
Sing Sing Sing Sing Correctional Facility is a maximum-security prison for men operated by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision in the village of Ossining (village), New York, Ossining, New York, United States. It is abou ...
'' (2023) * '' Widow Clicquot'' (2023) * '' Dandelion'' (2024) with Aaron Dessner * '' We Live in Time'' (2024) * '' The Accountant 2'' (2025)


Session work

Richard Reed Parry *"VII Freeform Winds/String Drones" ''Music For Heart and Breath'' (Deutsche Grammophon, 2014) David Lang *''death speaks'' (Cantaloupe, 2013) Steve Reich *" 2×5" '' Double Sextet/2×5'' ( Nonesuch Records, 2010) Erik Friedlander *'' Grains of Paradise'' (Tzadik, 2001)


Further information


Stereogum photos

First four years retrospective at Each Note Secure


References


External links

*
Official site
of The National *
Official site
of Clogs
Official site
of Post Hoc Management {{DEFAULTSORT:Dessner, Bryce American experimental guitarists American male guitarists Living people 20th-century American Jews Jewish songwriters American people of Polish-Jewish descent American people of Russian-Jewish descent American rock guitarists 21st-century American classical composers Deutsche Grammophon artists American film score composers American male film score composers American contemporary classical music performers Musicians from Brooklyn American indie rock musicians 1976 births The National (band) members Twin musicians Musicians from Cincinnati Guitarists from Ohio Guitarists from New York (state) 21st-century American Jews