Christopher Cerrone


Christopher Cerrone is an American composer based in New York City. He was a 2014 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, a 2014 Fromm Foundation commission recipient, a 2015 Rome Prize winner in Music Composition, two Grammy Awards nominations, and has received numerous awards from ASCAP.
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Biography

Cerrone was born in Huntington, New York, United States. He studied music composition at the Manhattan School of Music with Nils Vigeland and Reiko Fueting, and then earned his Masters and Doctoral degrees at Yale studying with Martin Bresnick, David Lang, Christopher Theofanidis, Ingram Marshall, and Ezra Laderman.
In 2014 Cerrone's opera Invisible Cities based on Italo Calvino's novel Invisible Cities was produced by the Los Angeles-based opera company The Industry, the LA Dance Project, and Sennheiser. The production received glowing reviews and had a sold-out run of performances. Cerrone has received commissions from ensembles including eighth blackbird, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Present Music, and he has been the Composer-in-Residence with the Albany Symphony Orchestra, and with Exploring the Metropolis/ConEdison.
Cerrone was a founding member and co-Artistic Director of Red Light New Music and currently a member of the composers' collective, consisting of Timo Andres, Christopher Cerrone, Jacob Cooper, Ted Hearne, Robert Honstein, and Andrew Norman.
His works are published by Project Schott New York and Schott Music.

Selected works

OperaIn a Grove for four singers, nine instruments, and electronicsInvisible Cities for four solo voices, chamber choir, chamber orchestra, and electronicsAll Wounds Bleed for soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, and piano
OrchestraHigh Windows concerto for string orchestraStill Life with Violin and Orchestra for violin and orchestraInvisible Overture for orchestra
Chamber orchestraFlows Beneath for steel pan ensemble and 10 person chamber orchestra
Solo and chamber Double Happiness for electric guitar, percussion, and electronicsMemory Palace for solo percussionist and electronicsRecovering for clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, vibraphone, violin, and double bassThe Night Mare for flute, clarinet, percussion, piano, violin, cello, and electronicsHoyt–Schermerhorn for solo piano and electronicsReading a Wave for nine instruments placed throughout the audience.Variations on a Still Point for guitar, saxophone, percussion, and piano
VocalI will learn to love a person for soprano, saxophone, percussion, and piano or soprano and pianoThat Night with the Green Sky for soprano and pianoHow to Breathe Underwater for baritone, trumpet, trombone, bass clarinet, and pre-recorded electronicsRequiem for solo amplified voice and live electronics. Text by Kurt Vonnegut.three e.e. cummings poems for SSAATTBB choir

Awards and nominations

Ovation Awards
  • 2014: Nominated for Book and for Lyrics/Music for an Original Musical for The Industry's production of Invisible Cities
Grammy Awards