Christopher Cerrone (born March 5, 1984) is an American composer based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

. He was a 2014 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, a 2014 Fromm Foundation commission recipient, a 2015

Rome Prize The Rome Prize is awarded by the American Academy in Rome, in Rome, Italy. Approximately thirty scholars and artists are selected each year to receive a study fellowship at the academy. Prizes have been awarded annually since 1921, with a hiatus ...

winner in Music Composition, and has received numerous awards from

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

Biography

Cerrone was born in

Huntington, New York The Town of Huntington is one of ten Administrative divisions of New York#Town, towns in Suffolk County, New York. Founded in 1653, it is located on the North Shore (Long Island), north shore of Long Island in northwestern Suffolk County, with Lo ...

, United States. He studied music composition at the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in mu ...

with

Nils Vigeland Nils Vigeland (born 1950 in Buffalo, New York) is an American composer and pianist. Career Vigeland made his professional debut as a pianist in 1969 with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. He later studied composition with Lukas Foss at Harvard ...

and Reiko Fueting, and then earned his Masters and Doctoral degrees at

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

studying with Martin Bresnick, David Lang, Christopher Theofanidis, Ingram Marshall, and Ezra Laderman. In 2014 Cerrone's opera ''Invisible Cities'' based on

Italo Calvino Italo Calvino (, also , ;. RAI (circa 1970), retrieved 25 October 2012. 15 October 1923 – 19 September 1985) was an Italian writer and journalist. His best known works include the '' Our Ancestors'' trilogy (1952–1959), the ''Cosmicomi ...

's novel ''

Invisible Cities ''Invisible Cities'' ( it, Le città invisibili) is a novel by Italian writer Italo Calvino. It was published in Italy in 1972 by Giulio Einaudi Editore. Description The book explores imagination and the imaginable through the descriptions o ...

'' was produced by the Los Angeles-based opera company The Industry, the LA Dance Project, and

Sennheiser Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG (, ) is a German privately held audio company specializing in the design and production of a wide range of high fidelity products, including microphones, headphones, telephone accessories and aviation headse ...

. The production received glowing reviews and had a sold-out run of performances. Cerrone has received commissions from ensembles including eighth blackbird, the

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at th ...

, Present Music, and he has been the Composer-in-Residence with the

Albany Symphony Orchestra The Albany Symphony Orchestra is a professional symphony orchestra based in Albany, New York. Founded in 1930 as the People's Orchestra of Albany by Italian-born conductor John Carabella, the Albany Symphony is the oldest professional symphony o ...

, and with Exploring the Metropolis/ConEdison. Cerrone was a founding member and co-Artistic Director of Red Light New Music and currently a member of the composers' collectiv
Sleeping Giant
His works are published by Project Schott New York and

Schott Music Schott Music () is one of the oldest German music publishers. It is also one of the largest music publishing houses in Europe, and is the second oldest music publisher after Breitkopf & Härtel. The company headquarters of Schott Music were fou ...

Selected works

Opera * ''In a Grove'' (2022) for four singers (SCtTB), nine instruments, and electronics * ''Invisible Cities'' (2009–2013) for four solo voices, chamber choir, chamber orchestra, and electronics * ''All Wounds Bleed'' (2011) for soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, and piano Orchestra * ''High Windows'' (2013) concerto for string orchestra * ''Still Life'' with Violin and Orchestra (2010) for violin and orchestra * ''Invisible Overture'' (2008) for orchestra Chamber orchestra * ''Flows Beneath'' (2012) for steel pan ensemble and 10 person chamber orchestra Solo and chamber * ''Double Happiness'' (2012) for electric guitar, percussion, and electronics * ''Memory Palace'' (2012) for solo percussionist and electronics * ''Recovering'' (2011/12) for clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, vibraphone, violin, and double bass * ''The Night Mare'' (2011) for flute, clarinet, percussion, piano, violin, cello, and electronics * ''Hoyt–Schermerhorn'' (2010) for solo piano and electronics * ''Reading a Wave'' (2008/2010) for nine instruments placed throughout the audience. * ''Variations on a Still Point'' (2006/7) for guitar, saxophone, percussion, and piano Vocal * ''I will learn to love a person'' (2013) for soprano, saxophone (or clarinet), percussion, and piano or soprano and piano * ''That Night with the Green Sky'' (2012) for soprano and piano * ''How to Breathe Underwater'' (2011) for baritone, trumpet, trombone, bass clarinet, and pre-recorded electronics * ''Requiem or K.V.' (2007/2009) for solo amplified voice and live electronics. Text by Kurt Vonnegut. * ''three e.e. cummings poems'' (2004) for SSAATTBB choir

Awards and nominations

Ovation Awards The Ovation Awards are a Southern California award for excellence in theatre, established in 1989. They are given out by the non-profit arts service organization LA Stage Alliance and are the only peer-judged theatre awards in Los Angeles. Winne ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

: Nominated for Book and for Lyrics/Music for an Original Musical for The Industry's production of ''Invisible Cities''

References

External links

Official website

Eamdc.com

'Ep. 40: Christopher Cerrone, composer'
Interview by Tigran Arakelyan {{DEFAULTSORT:Cerrone, Christopher American male classical composers Living people 1984 births American classical composers 21st-century American composers 21st-century classical composers People from Huntington, New York Manhattan School of Music alumni Yale School of Music alumni Pupils of Martin Bresnick Classical musicians from New York (state) 21st-century American male musicians