John Adams

COMPOSER

Born: February 15, 1947, in Worcester, MA

Education: Harvard University (Bachelor and Master Degrees); he was the first student ever to be allowed to submit a musical composition for a Harvard undergraduate thesis.

Prodigy: He began composing at age 10 and first heard public performances of his orchestral pieces as a teenager.

Positions held include: Professor at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (1972-1982); Composer-in-residence of the San Francisco Symphony (1982-1985); has presented/curated festivals for Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic

Commissions from: San Francisco Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Opera, St. Lawrence String Quartet, among others

Compositional style: “Repetitive simplicity underlies Mr. Adams's methods, but Minimalism is only the excuse to set his descriptive imagination in motion.” --New York Times

Perhaps best known for: his operas and oratorios, which are often collaborations with director Peter Sellars (Nixon in China, The Death of Klinghoffer, Dr. Atomic, El Niño and A Flowering Tree).

Other accomplishments: respected conductor; concert clarinetist; best-selling author (2008’s Hallelujah Junction); winner of the “triple crown” of classical Grammy Awards® (Best Classical Recording, Best Orchestral Performance, and Best Classical Contemporary Composition) for the recording of On the Transmigration of Souls (for which he also won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize); winner of the Grawemeyer Award for his Violin Concerto