George Tsontakis
George Tsontakis | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 24, 1951 Astoria, Queens,New York City |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, conductor |
George Tsontakis(bornAstoria, Queens,New York City, October 24, 1951) is an Americancomposerandconductor.
Early life and education
[edit]He was born in New York City, and is of Greek descent. Tsontakis studied composition withHugo WeisgallandRoger Sessionsat theJuilliard Schoolfrom 1974 to 1978, and later withFranco Donatoniat theAccademia Nazionale di Santa CeciliainRome.
Career
[edit]His music has been performed and broadcast by major orchestras, chamber ensembles, and festivals throughout North and South America, Europe and Japan.
Tsontakis was honored with the "Academy Award" in 1995 from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and was the fourth recipient of the coveted Ives Living Fellowship, in 2007. PianistStephen Hough's recording of Tsontakis's "Ghost Variations" on Hyperion Records was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition,[1]and was the only classical recording amongTimemagazine's 1998 Top Ten Recordings. Tsontakis received theBerlin Prizefrom theAmerican Academy in Berlinin 2002, and theUniversity of LouisvilleGrawemeyer Award for Music Compositionfor his Violin Concerto No. 2 in 2005.[2][3][4][5]
A proficient conductor of orchestral and choral music, Tsontakis has been a composer-in-residence with the Aspen Music Festival and conductor and the founding director of the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble at theAspen Music School,where he teaches composition. He was an assistant professor at theBrooklyn CollegeConservatory of Music, and has served on the faculty ofSarah Lawrence College.He is Distinguished Faculty, Composer-in-Residence of theBard College Conservatory of Musicin Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.[6]He was a Weil fellow atAuburn University Montgomery.
Tsontakis's music has been recorded by Hyperion, Koch, Innova, and Naxos.[7]
In 2008, his Violin Concerto No. 2, recorded by violinist Steven Copes and the SPCO, was nominated for aGrammyin the category of Best Classical Contemporary Composition, but lost toJohn Corigliano'sMr. Tambourine Man: Seven Poems of Bob Dylan.He is Distinguished Composer-in-Residence at the Bard College Conservatory.[8]
References
[edit]- ^"Archived copy".Archived fromthe originalon 2008-12-05.Retrieved2009-01-30.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^"Composer José Enrique González Medina on Writing Music Musicians Love | Table Talk".7 March 2020.
- ^"George Tsontakis".18 May 2006.
- ^"Yaddo Composer George Tsontakis Wins Prestigious Charles Ives Award".Archived fromthe originalon 2007-01-11.Retrieved2010-09-26.
- ^"Composer George Tsontakis Wins Prestigious Charles Ives Award".12 December 2006.
- ^"George Tsontakis".www.bard.edu.Archived fromthe originalon 2006-09-01.
- ^College, Bard."George Tsontakis at Bard College".music.bard.edu.Retrieved2024-06-17.
- ^"Recordings by George Tsontakis | Now available to stream and purchase at Naxos".www.naxos.com.Retrieved2024-06-17.
External links
[edit]| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
- 20th-century classical composers
- 21st-century classical composers
- American male classical composers
- American classical composers
- American male conductors (music)
- Aspen Music Festival and School faculty
- Bard College faculty
- Brooklyn College faculty
- Sarah Lawrence College faculty
- Auburn University faculty
- Auburn University at Montgomery faculty
- Berlin Prize recipients
- Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia alumni
- Juilliard School alumni
- Musicians from Queens, New York
- People from Astoria, Queens
- American people of Greek descent
- 1951 births
- Living people
- Pupils of Roger Sessions
- 21st-century American composers
- 20th-century American composers
- 20th-century American conductors (music)
- 21st-century American conductors (music)
- 20th-century American male musicians
- 21st-century American male musicians