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 Defi ...

. Born in

Springdale, Pennsylvania Springdale is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, northeast of Pittsburgh along the Allegheny River. The population was 3,405 at the 2010 census. Geography Springdale is located at (40.541491, -79.782124). According to the U.S. Ce ...

, Susa studied at the

Carnegie Institute of Technology Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

and the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

, 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 wo ...

and, by his own claim,

P. D. Q. Bach P. D. Q. Bach is a fictional composer invented by the American musical satirist Peter Schickele, who developed a five-decade-long career performing the "discovered" works of the "only forgotten son" of the Bach family. Schickele's music combines ...

, the fictitious spoof character created by American composer

Peter Schickele "Professor" Peter Schickele (; born July 17, 1935) is an American composer, musical educator, and parody, parodist, best known for comedy albums featuring his music, but which he presents as being composed by the fictional P. D. Q. Bach. He also ...

. From 1959 to 1994, Susa was composer-in-residence for the

Old Globe Theater The Old Globe is a professional theatre company located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It produces about 15 plays and musicals annually in summer and winter seasons. Plays are performed in three separate theatres in the complex, which i ...

(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. As of 2021, it had 480 students. History The San Francisco Conservatory of Music was founded in 1917 by Ada Clement and Lillian Hodgh ...

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

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

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 verse. She won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1967 for her book '' Live or Die''. Her poetry details ...

, 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. It was founded in 1880. It contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at those wh ...

'', 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 ''The Dangerous Liaisons'' is an opera in two acts and eight scenes, with music by Conrad Susa to an English libretto by Philip Littell. It is based on the 1782 novel ''Les Liaisons dangereuses'' by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. The opera has s ...

'' (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 composers 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century classical composers 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century American composers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century classical composers 21st-century LGBT people American classical composers American male classical composers American opera composers Classical musicians from California LGBT classical composers 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