Sebastian Currier (born March 16, 1959) 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 Def ...

of music for chamber groups and

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

s. He was also a professor of music at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

from 1999 to 2007.

Life

Currier was born in

Huntingdon, Pennsylvania Huntingdon is a borough in (and the county seat of) Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located along the Juniata River, approximately east of Altoona and west of Harrisburg. With a population of 7,093 at the 2010 census ...

, and was raised in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...

, in a family of talented musicians, including his brother

Nathan Currier Nathan Currier (born 1960, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania) is an American composer. Biography Coming from a musical family, Currier is son of composer Marilyn Currier (1931) and brother of composer Sebastian Currier (1959). His principal teachers we ...

, also a noted composer. Sebastian Currier received degrees from the

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

and

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in m ...

. His compositions include ''Crossfade'', written for two

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orc ...

s, and ''Microsymph'', described as a "30-minute symphony compressed into 10 minutes." In October 2005, members of the

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. History The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...

performed an entire evening of his works, including the premiere of ''Remix''. Currier completed the orchestration of Stephen Albert's Symphony No. 2, part of which was unfinished at the time of Albert's death. It was subsequently recorded on

Naxos Records Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about 1 ...

along with Albert's Symphony No. 1 ''Riverrun'', which won a

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made ...

. Violinist

Anne-Sophie Mutter Anne-Sophie Mutter (born 29 June 1963) is a German violinist. She was supported early in her career by Herbert von Karajan. As an advocate of contemporary music, she has had several works composed especially for her, by Sebastian Currier, Henr ...

has recorded Currier's ''Aftersong'', which the composer dedicated to her. On June 2, 2011, she also premiered his ''Time Machines'' (composed in 2007 and reworked by the composer in 2011) with the Slovak Roman Patkoló playing the contrabasso and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Alan Gilbert. His Piano Concerto was premiered in April 2007 by

Emma Tahmizian Emma Tahmizian (born 13 December 1957, Plovdiv) is a Bulgarian pianist of Armenian descent. She debuted at an international level at 11, representing Bulgaria at a concert series in Moscow. She has performed and recorded internationally regularl ...

. Currier has received a Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition, for ''Static'', and a 2010 Distinguished Alumni Award from Manhattan School of Music. On March 12, 2013, the

Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States, is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent schola ...

at Princeton announced the appointment of Currier as Artist-in-Residence, his term to begin on July 1, 2013.

Awards

* 2007

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one ...

Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition for ''Static'' for flute, clarinet, violin, 'cello, and piano. ''Static'' is the second Grawemeyer Award-winning piece that does not require a conductor (the other is

György Ligeti György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde composers in the latter half of the twentieth century ...

's Piano Etudes, which won the award in 1986). * 1992

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the art ...

* American Academy of Arts. * 1994

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 ...

References

External links

Sebastian Currier's page at Carl Fischer

Composer's website

in ''The New York Times''
Announcement of Grawemeyer Award

Further Information on ''Static'' and Grawemeyer Award

Sebastian Currier @ Boosey & Hawkes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Currier, Sebastian Living people 1959 births 21st-century classical composers 20th-century classical composers American male classical composers American classical composers Columbia University faculty Manhattan School of Music alumni Musicians from Providence, Rhode Island Artists-in-Residence at the Institute for Advanced Study 21st-century American composers 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters