Andrew Norman at 2014 Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music

Andrew Norman (born October 31, 1979) is an American composer of

contemporary classical music Contemporary classical music is Western art music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st-century classical music, 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 Modernism (music), post-tonal music after the death of ...

whose texturally complex music is influenced by architecture and the visual arts. His

string trio A string trio is a group of three string instruments or a piece written for such a group. From at least the 19th century on, the term "string trio" with otherwise unspecified instrumentation normally refers to the combination violin, viola and cello ...

'' The Companion Guide to Rome'' (2010), was a runner-up for the 2012

Pulitzer Prize for Music The Pulitzer Prize for Music is one of seven Pulitzer Prizes awarded annually in Letters, Drama, and Music. It was first given in 1943. Joseph Pulitzer arranged for a music scholarship to be awarded each year, and this was eventually converted i ...

. While

composer-in-residence Artist-in-residence (also Writer-in-residence), or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs that involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs that pr ...

for the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, he first gained international attention for the orchestral work ''

Play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

'' (2013), which was nominated for the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition and won the 2017

Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition The Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition () is an annual prize instituted by Henry Charles Grawemeyer, industrialist and entrepreneur, at the University of Louisville in 1984. The award was first given in 1985. Subsequently, the Grawemeyer Awar ...

. He received another Grammy nomination for the orchestral work ''

Sustain In sound and music, an envelope describes how a sound changes over time. For example, a piano key, when struck and held, creates a near-immediate initial sound which gradually decreases in volume to zero. An envelope may relate to elements such ...

'' (2018), a commission from the

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil) is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. The orchestra holds a regular concert season from October until June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from ...

. Other noted works include the fantasy for piano and orchestra ''

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

'' (2015) and the opera ''A Trip to the Moon'' (2017). Norman is on the composition faculty of the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

and the

USC 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 ...

Biography

Norman studied composition at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

's Thornton School of Music and

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

. Much of his music is influenced by architecture and visual arts, in which he has had a lifelong interest. He was composer-in-residence for the Boston Modern Orchestra Project from 2011 to 2013. Among his most notable works are the 2010 string trio ''The Companion Guide to Rome'', the 2013

symphony A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning c ...

''Play'', the 2015 fantasy for piano and orchestra ''Split,'' the 2017 opera ''A Trip to the Moon,'' and the 2018 orchestral work ''Sustain''. His composition ''The Companion Guide to Rome'' (inspired by the guidebook of the same name written by Georgina Masson) was a runner-up for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Music. A recording of ''Play'' by the Boston Modern Orchestra Project was named one of the best classical music recordings of 2015 by David Allen of ''

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'' and nominated for the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition. Norman won the 2017 Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition for ''Play'', which the music writer Will Robin called "the best orchestral work that the 21st century has seen thus far". In reference to the prize, Norman said in an interview with

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: In 2018, the

commissioned Norman to write ''Sustain'' for the beginning of their centennial season. Norman was a finalist for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Music for the work. In 2020, it won him a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic won the

Grammy Award for Best Orchestral Performance The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as th ...

for their 2019 recording of the piece. He was a MacDowell Fellow in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, and 2014; and served as

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

's Debs Composer's Chair for the 2020–2021 season. Norman is currently on the composition faculty of the Juilliard School. He was an assistant professor of composition at the

from 2013 to 2020, returning as an associate professor in 2023. He is also program director of the Nancy and Barry Sanders Youth Composer program at the Los Angeles Philharmonic. His works are published by Schott Music. On October 31, 2020, 31 members of the Berlin Philharmoniker performed Norman's composition ''Sabina'' (arranged for string orchestra), described as "a sound painting full of iridescent reflections of light", at the Philharmonie in Berlin. The arrangement was commissioned by the Berlin Philharmoniker Foundation.

List of compositions

Source:

Opera

* ''A Trip to the Moon, a Melodrama for Children'' (2017)

Chamber

*''Light Screens'' (2002) for flute and string trio *''Farnsworth: Four Portraits of a House'' (2004) for four clarinets, flute, violin, piano, and percussion *''Gran Turismo'' (2004) for violin octet *''Garden of Follies'' (2006) for alto saxophone and piano *'' The Companion Guide to Rome'' (2010) for string trio *''Try'' (2011) for large chamber ensemble *''Peculiar Strokes'' (2011–2015) for string quartet *''Music in Circles'' (2012) for flute, clarinet, trumpet, violin, viola, and cello *''Mime Mime Mime'' (2015) for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, and percussion *''Frank's House'' (2015) for two pianos and two percussion

Orchestral

*''Sacred Geometry'' (2003) *''Drip Blip Sparkle Spin Glint Glide Glow Float Flop Chop Pop Shatter Splash'' (2005) *''Unstuck'' (2008) *''The Great Swiftness'' (2010) for chamber orchestra *''Apart'' (2011) *''

'' (2013, rev. 2016) *''Suspend'' (2014) for solo piano and orchestra *''

'' (2015) for solo piano and orchestra *''Switch'' (2015) for solo percussion and orchestra * ''Spiral'' (2018) * ''Sustain'' (2018)

Solo

*''Sabina'' (2008–09) for violin, viola, or cello *''For Ashley'' (2016) for solo cello

Vocal

*''Lullaby'' (2007) for mezzo-soprano and piano *''Don't Even Listen'' (2010)

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Norman, Andrew 1979 births 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American classical composers 21st-century American LGBTQ people American contemporary classical composers American male classical composers LGBTQ classical composers American LGBTQ composers Living people USC Thornton School of Music alumni Yale School of Music alumni