Conrad Stephen Susa (April 26, 1935 – November 21, 2013) was 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 ...

. Born in

Springdale, Pennsylvania Springdale is a borough in northeastern Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, northeast of Pittsburgh along the Allegheny River. The population was 3,400 at the 2020 census. The borough became official in 1906, after breaking away fro ...

, Susa studied at the

Carnegie Institute of Technology Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...

and the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, 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 ...

, where his teachers included

William Bergsma William Laurence Bergsma (April 1, 1921 – March 18, 1994) was an American composer and teacher. He was long associated with Juilliard School, where he taught composition, until he moved to the University of Washington as head of their music ...

Vincent Persichetti Vincent Ludwig Persichetti (June 6, 1915 – August 14, 1987) was an American composer, teacher, and pianist. An important musical educator and writer, he was known for his integration of various new ideas in musical composition into his own work ...

and, by his own claim,

P. D. Q. Bach P. D. Q. Bach is a fictional composer created by the American composer and musical satirist Peter Schickele for a five-decade career performing the "discovered" works of the "only forgotten son" of the Bach family. Schickele's music combines Par ...

, the fictitious spoof character created by American composer

Peter Schickele Peter Schickele (; July 17, 1935 – January 16, 2024) was an American composer, musical educator and parodist, best known for comedy albums featuring his music, which he presented as being composed by the fictional P. D. Q. Bach. He also hoste ...

. He was an organist at Springdale High School. From 1959 to 1994, Susa was composer-in-residence for the Old Globe Theater (San Diego, California), where he wrote incidental music for over 200 productions there. In 1988, he joined the faculty of the

San Francisco Conservatory of Music The San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) is a private music conservatory in San Francisco, California, United States. As of 2024, it had more than 440 students. History The San Francisco Conservatory of Music was founded in 1917 by Ada ...

, and remained there as a professor of composition until his death. Susa became particularly known for his 5

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 ...

s. His 1973 chamber opera, ''Transformations'', set to texts from the poems of

Anne Sexton Anne Sexton (born Anne Gray Harvey; November 9, 1928 – October 4, 1974) was an American poet known for her highly personal, confessional poetry, confessional verse. She won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1967 for her book ''Live or Die (book ...

, is one of the most frequently performed operas by an American composer.Hall, George
Review: ''Transformations''
''

The Stage ''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. Founded in 1880, ''The Stage'' contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at thos ...

'', 30 October 2006 (accessed 6 June 2010)Adams, Byron. "Susa, Conrad (1935) i
''Gay Histories and Cultures: An Encyclopedia''
London: Taylor & Francis, 2000, p. 851. His other compositions include choral works and incidental music for various plays. His music is published by the E.C. Schirmer Music Company.E.C. Schirmer Music Company

(accessed 6 June 2010)

Selected works

Operas *'' Transformations'' (1973) *''Black River'' (1975, revised 1981) *''The Love of Don Perlimplin'' (1984) *''The Wise Women'' (1994) *'' The Dangerous Liaisons'' (1994, revised 1996–97) Other works *''Hymns for the Amusement of Children'' (1972) *''Carols and Lullabies: Christmas in the Southwest'' (1992)

References

External links

San Francisco Conservatory of Music Library & Archives, Oral History Project, page on Conrad Susa
* 1935 births 2013 deaths 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American classical composers 20th-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American classical composers 21st-century American LGBTQ people American LGBTQ composers American opera composers Classical musicians from California LGBTQ classical composers American male opera composers People from Springdale, Pennsylvania Pupils of Vincent Persichetti Pupils of William Bergsma San Francisco Conservatory of Music faculty {{US-composer-20thC-stub