Cary Boyce (born October 1955) is artistic co-director and composer-in-residence of Aquavá New Music Studio — a musical production company and ensemble he developed with conductor Carmen-Helena Téllez and producer/flutist Alain Barker— which specializes in producing projects involving contemporary music. Boyce's music has been heard around the world on nationally syndicated public radio and television, in concerts and festivals, and in two films by Prix-de-Rome-winning director Evelyne Clavaud—''Aria ou les rumeurs de la Villa Medicís'' and her artistic documentary, André Pieyre de ''Mandiargues: L'amateur d'imprudence'' about the French Surrealist author. Boyce’s credits include the cycle for chorus and string quartet, ''A Garden of Roses'', about which the newspaper ''The Spokesman Review'' stated, “The work is important because it is good in every way music can be good and it can provide pleasure to audiences of every age, cultural background, and level of sophistication ...” He also provided original music and the soundtrack for the PBS documentaries ''Harp Dreams'' (Emmy Award, 2011) and ''American Horizons: The Photography of Art Sinsabaugh'', part of this exhibit at the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

. Boyce’s oratorio, ''Dreams within a Dream'', the subject of a public radio special released in 2004, was awarded a 2006 ASCAP-Rudolf Nissim "Special Distinction" Prize. Boyce’s music has been featured on the Dale Warland Singers’ ''Cathedral Classics'' radio special. His music performed by his Aquavá ensemble has been featured on such syndicated programs as ''Harmonia'', ''Center Stage from Wolftrap'', and in Europe on Deutsche Welle. His cantata, ''Ave Maris Stella'', was premiered by Aguavá New Music Studio at the

International Cervantino Festival The Festival Internacional Cervantino (FIC), popularly known as ''El Cervantino'', is a festival which takes place each fall in the city of Guanajuato, located in central Mexico. The festival originates from the mid 20th century, when short play ...

in Mexico, and subsequently broadcast throughout Latin America. His ''Hodie Christus natus est'' premiered at Washington National Cathedral's 50th anniversary holiday concert. His string quartet, ''Nightshade'', was recorded for Aguavá by the Corigliano String Quartet, prompting the online new music journal
Sequenza 21
' comment, “''Nightshade'' is for classical music fans who know where ‘Freddy the Freeloader’ comes from… Hey MacArthur folks! Give that boy a grant and some Ritalin so he can spend more time composing!” Boyce was born in

Santa Rosa, California Santa Rosa (Spanish language, Spanish for "Rose of Lima, Saint Rose") is a city and the county seat of Sonoma County, California, Sonoma County, in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, and raised in

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

where he found his first musical training singing high school choruses and taught himself to play the piano—“Poorly,” he says, “but I got better.” He went on to earn a bachelor of music degree with a double major in voice and theory/composition (voice studies with Claudia Kitka and piano with Frank Wasko) at

California State University, Sacramento California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is the eleventh oldest school in the 23-campus California ...

, subsequent piano studies with Thomas Hulse, and later a master of music degree at the

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School," ...

under the compositional guidance of

Martin Mailman Martin S. Mailman (30 June 1932, in New York City – 18 April 2000, in Denton, Texas) was an American composer noted for his music for orchestra, chorus, multimedia, and winds. Biography He was born in New York City on June 30, 1932. He studie ...

with a cognate in piano studying with

Joseph Banowetz Joseph Murray Banowetz (December 5, 1934 – July 3, 2022) was an American pianist, pedagogue, author, and editor, who taught at the University of North Texas. Banowetz was an expert on the music of the Russian romantic composer Anton Rubinstein ...

. He earned his doctorate at the Indiana University Bloomington Jacobs School of Music with composition teachers Eugene O'Brien and

Claude Baker W. Claude Baker Jr. (born April 12, 1948 Lenoir, North Carolina) is an American composer of contemporary classical music. Biography Claude Baker attained a B.M. degree, magna cum laude, from East Carolina University in 1970. He subsequently stud ...

with minors in conducting (with teacher
Jan Harrington
and Robert Porco) and music theory, and further piano studies wit
Asaf Zohar
Boyce trained as a figure skater since he was 16, and skated with

Holiday on Ice Holiday on Ice is an ice show currently owned by Medusa Music Group GmbH, a subsidiary of CTS EVENTIM, Europe's largest ticket distributor, with its headquarters in Bremen, Germany. History Holiday on Ice originated in the United States in Decem ...

in Europe for a time in the early 1980s—an experience that added to his love of

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

and dance genres. He left professional skating to pursue a Master of Music degree at the

, while teaching figure skating for the Ice Capades Chalet at the

Dallas Galleria The Galleria Dallas is a shopping mall and mixed-use development located at the intersection of Interstate 635 and the Dallas North Tollway in the North Dallas neighborhood of Dallas, Texas, United States. It was originally developed by Hines In ...

. Boyce’s education was assisted by scholarships and teaching fellowships while he worked steadily as a church and synagogue musician, a practice that shaped his understanding of choral genres. Between degrees, Boyce traveled widely through the United States and Europe. Upon settling in Bloomington, Indiana after his doctoral studies, he pursued a career based on his commitment to the idea of the composer as a voice for the community. He has been an active participant in artistic and musical outreach endeavors, not only as a composer, but also as a producer and music essayist with public radio, online journals, major orchestras, and community presses. While working in Bloomington, Indiana, he served at WFIU Public Radio variously as marketing director, operations director, and station manager.

External links

Aguavá New Music Studio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyce, Cary University of North Texas College of Music alumni 1955 births Living people