Christopher Trapani is an American/Italian composer of contemporary classical music. In 2007 he won the Gaudeamus Award of the Dutch

Gaudeamus Foundation The Gaudeamus Foundation and Contemporary Music Center organizes and promotes contemporary musical activities and concerts in the Netherlands and abroad. It focuses on supporting the career development of young composers and musicians, particula ...

. A CD of his music, ''Waterlines'', was released in 2018. A second release of Waterlines by the

Ictus Ensemble ICTUS is a Belgian orchestra, founded by in 1994, specialising in contemporary classical music. It is based in Brussels where it is involved in frequent collaborations with the contemporary dance choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. The ...

was named one of the top 5 classical releases of 2020 by '' De Standaard''. In 2021–2022 he was a visiting

assistant professor Assistant Professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States and Canada. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doctoral degree A docto ...

at the

Thornton School of Music The USC Thornton School of Music is a private music school in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1884 only four years after the University of Southern California, the Thornton School is the oldest continually operating arts institution in Los An ...

of the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

Reception

In 2007 Trapani won the Gaudeamus Award for young contemporary composers for his composition ''Sparrow Episodes'', for ensemble with solo electric guitar, which was performed in the

Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ (English: "Music Building on the IJ") is the main concert hall for contemporary classical music on the IJ in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The building opened in 2005 and is located above the IJtunnel, a ten-minute walk from A ...

in Amsterdam by the

Asko Ensemble Asko or ASKO may refer to: * Asko (name), a male given name common in Finland and Estonia * Askø, a Danish island * Asko Cylinda or Asko Appliances AB, a Swedish company producing household appliances * AskoSchönberg, a Dutch chamber orchestra ...

under Étienne Siebens, with Trapani on guitar. In September 2008, his commissioned piece ''Üsküdar'' was performed in the same hall by the

Nieuw Ensemble The Nieuw Ensemble ( or ; English: New Ensemble) is a Dutch musical ensemble. It was founded in 1980 in Amsterdam. It has a unique instrumental structure, using plucked instruments such as mandolin, guitar and harp in combination with wind, str ...

. His composition ''Rust and Stardust'' was performed during the Tectonics Festival in Glasgow in 2015; the '' Guardian'' reviewer found it "accomplished and dreary", while ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its pare ...

'' spoke of "kaleidoscopic explosions that ... gave structure and shape to its insistently concise material". Also in 2015, Trapani was among the recipients of a Charles Ives Scholarship for promising students from the

American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqu ...

, and received a commission from

Chamber Music America Chamber Music America (CMA) is an American non-profit organization that provides small ensemble professionals with access to a variety of professional development, networking, and funding resources. CMA's regular initiatives include grants, awards, ...

. In 2016 he was among the winners of a

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 ...

of the

American Academy in Rome The American Academy in Rome is a research and arts institution located on the Gianicolo (Janiculum Hill) in Rome. The academy is a member of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers. History In 1893, a group of American architects, ...

, receiving the

Luciano Berio Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition ''Sinfonia'' and his series of virtuosic solo pieces titled '' Sequenza''), and for his pioneering work ...

award for his work ''Recording Islands, Transcribing Mosaics''. In 2018 the

Koussevitzky Foundation Sergei Alexandrovich KoussevitzkyKoussevitzky's original Russian forename is usually transliterated into English as either "Sergei" or "Sergey"; however, he himself adopted the French spelling " Serge", using it in his signature. (SeThe Koussevi ...

of the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

commissioned him to write a work for the Spektral Quartet. In 2019 he received both a Guggenheim Fellowship and a commission from the Fromm Music Foundation of

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

. In 2020, Trapani was awarded the Barlow Prize.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Trapani, Christopher Living people Harvard College alumni Columbia University School of the Arts alumni Gaudeamus Composition Competition prize-winners American contemporary classical composers 1980 births