Michael James Gandolfi (born July 5, 1956) is 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 ...

contemporary classical music Contemporary classical music is classical music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 modern forms of post-tonal music after the death of Anton Webern, and included seria ...

. He chairs the composition department at the New England Conservatory of Music (NEC). Gandolfi was born in

Melrose, Massachusetts Melrose is a city located in the Greater Boston metropolitan area in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Its population, per the 2020 United States Census, is 29,817. It is a suburb located approximately seven miles north of Boston. I ...

. He taught himself guitar as a child, studied for a year at the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

, and then entered NEC, where he earned his bachelor's and master's degrees. In 1986, he was a Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center, where he studied with

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...

and Oliver Knussen. He has served on the faculty 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 higher le ...

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

, and the

Phillips Academy ("Not for Self") la, Finis Origine Pendet ("The End Depends Upon the Beginning") Youth From Every Quarter Knowledge and Goodness , address = 180 Main Street , city = Andover , state = Ma ...

at Andover. He was composer in residence with the New England Philharmonic from 1997-2000. Since 1997, Gandolfi has been the coordinator for the Tanglewood Music Center's composition department. He has been championed by conductor Robert Spano as one of the "Atlanta School" of American composers, a group that includes Osvaldo Golijov,

Jennifer Higdon Jennifer Elaine Higdon (born December 31, 1962) is an American composer of contemporary classical music. She has received many awards, including the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Music for her Violin Concerto and three Grammy Award for Best Contempora ...

, Christopher Theofanidis and

Adam Schoenberg Adam Schoenberg (born November 15, 1980) is an American composer. A member of the Atlanta School of Composers, his works have been performed by numerous orchestras and ensembles in the U.S. Schoenberg was the 2010-2012 guest composer for the As ...

. Gandolfi's music often contains rock and jazz elements. He sometimes looks to the sciences for his subject matter. His ''The Garden of Cosmic Speculation'' was inspired by Charles Jencks' garden in Scotland that incorporates modern physics into its design. It was nominated for Best Contemporary Classical Composition at the 2009 Grammy Awards, His ''Trivia'', written for the Weilerstein Trio, uses Richard Wolfson's book ''Simply Einstein'' as a source. Gandolfi has also written a significant amount of children's music, including a setting of Carlo Collodi's 1949 version of the Pinocchio story. His works have been performed by the

Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the " Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 1881, ...

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) is an American orchestra based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. The ASO's main concert venue is Atlanta Symphony Hall in the Woodruff Arts Center. History Though earlier organizations bearing the same name date b ...

, The

New World Symphony New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

, the

Houston Symphony Orchestra The Houston Symphony is an American orchestra based in Houston, Texas. The orchestra is resident at the Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts. History The first concert of what was to become the Houston Symphony took place on June 21, 1 ...

, the

Boston Modern Orchestra Project The Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) is a professional orchestra in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1996 by artistic director Gil Rose, its mission is to explore the connections between contemporary music and contemporary ...

, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, and many others. Gandolfi resides in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

, and is a member of

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 ...

References

External links

Michael Gandolfi website
*
Interview with Atlanta's CreativeLoafing

* ttp://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2005/01/27/a_theme_emerges/ 2005 Boston Globe profile by Geoff Edgers
Berklee alumni profile

Boston Modern Orchestra Project: Boston Connections concert program notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gandolfi, Michael 1956 births Culture of Boston Living people American people of Italian descent New England Conservatory faculty American classical composers 21st-century American composers 20th-century American composers