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Composers BureauAugusta Read ThomasBiography Conductors including Mstislav Rostropovich, Pierre Boulez, Seiji
Ozawa, Daniel Barenboim, Hans Vonk, Gerard Schwarz, Dennis Russell
Davies, Jahja Ling, Keith Lockhart, Lawrence Leighton Smith, George
Manahan, Jac Van Steen, Gianpiero Taverna, David Gilbert, and
Grant Llewellyn have programmed her work. Recent past projects
include WORDS OF THE SEA, commissioned and premiered by the Chicago
Symphony Orchestra, Pierre Boulez conducting in December 1996;
CHANSON for cello and orchestra commissioned by Mstislav Rostropovich
and premiered by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa conducting,
in April 1997 (Symphony Hall, Boston and Carnegie Hall, NY); BRASS
AXIS for the Rascher Saxophone Quartet and orchestra commissioned
by the American Composers Orchestra, Dennis Russell Davies conducting
(premiered Carnegie Hall, January 11, 1998); FIRE SONG for soprano
saxophone and sympathetically vibrating instruments commissioned
and premiered (October 5, 1997) by J Upcoming premieres and projects include NEW WORK FOR ORCHESTRA commissioned by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, which they will premiere with Daniel Barenboim conducting in 2000; CONCERTO FOR ORCHESTRA (for re-seated orchestra - divided into ten sections - 8 concertino groups with 9 soloists and two chamber orchestras,) commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, which will be premiered with Pierre Boulez conducting on November 27, 1998; a BALLET commissioned jointly for the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and the James Sewell Dance Company which they will premiere in Minneapolis at the Ordway in September, 1998; a short work for SOLO ORGAN commissioned by the American Guild of Organists for a premiere in July, 1998; a CELLO CONCERTO for David Finckel commissioned by the Aspen Music Festival for premiere during its fiftieth anniversary season in July 1999; and a NEW WORK for Scott Kluksdahl, cello soloist, with chamber ensemble commissioned by the Philadelphia Network for New Music. Her discography includes VIGIL, for cello and chamber orchestra which is recorded by Edwin London, Conductor, Norman Fischer, Cellist, and The Cleveland Chamber Symphony on the GM Sound Encounters Series, CD# GM2045. Her work MEDITATION for trombone and orchestra is recorded by world renowned trombonist, Christian Lindberg and available on the Grammofon AB BIS (Sweden) label, CD# BIS788. WIND DANCE for orchestra and NIGHTS MIDSUMMER BLAZE for flute, viola, harp and large orchestra are recorded by the Louisville Orchestra on the New Dimensions Series, CD# LCD010. WHITES for solo piano is recorded on Albany Records CD# TROY 231 by Patricia Goodson. SPRING SONG for solo cello is recorded on CRI by cellist Scott Kluksdahl, CD# 762. ANGEL SHADOWS for alto flute is recorded on the 4-TAY label by Laurel Anne Maurer. ANGEL CHANT for piano trio is being recorded this season by the Kapell Trio for the Gasparo label as well as by the Loins Gate Trio for CRI. ECLIPSE MUSINGS for flute guitar and chamber orchestra is being recorded for Albany Records by Bonita Boyd and Nicholas Goluses. FIRE SONG for soprano saxophone and sympathetically vibrating instruments is being recorded by Jamal Rossi, on Open Loop recordings. Ms. Thomas' chamber-opera LIGEIA, (Librettist: Leslie Dunton-Downer/ based on a short story by Poe) won the prestigious International Orpheus Prize (Luciano Berio: President of the jury) and was performed in Spoleto, Italy (Luca Ronconi: Director.) LIGEIA, commissioned by Mstislav Rostropovich and Rencontres Musicales d'Evian, was premiered by Maestro Rostropovich in the 1994 Evian Festival. The American Premiere took place at the Aspen Music Festival in Aspen, Colorado, July 1995. Leslie Dunton-Downer and Augusta Thomas are continuing their work on a new opera entitled DREAMS IN THE CAVE OF EROS. Augusta Thomas has received prizes and awards from: ASCAP, BMI, the National Endowment for the Arts (1994, 1992, 1988), the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters (1994, 1989), the Guggenheim Foundation, the New York Foundation for the Arts (1998) the John W. Hechinger Foundation, the Kate Neal Kinley Foundation, The Debussy Trio Music Foundation and Thomas van Straaten, Columbia University (Bearns Prize), the Naumburg Foundation, the Fromm Foundation (1996, 1992), the Barlow Endowment, Harriett Eckstein, Chamber Music America, a prize in the French International Competition of Henri Dutilleux, The Rudolph Nissim Award from ASCAP, the New York State Council for the Arts, a Finalist Award in the Massachusetts Artists Fellowship Program, the Indiana State University Orchestral Music Prize, the Third Century Award from the Office of Copyrights and Patents in Washington, D.C. Ms. Thomas was awarded fellowships from the Bunting Institute of Radcliffe College, the Rockefeller Foundation (Bellagio), the International Rotary Foundation, L'Ecole Normal in Fountainbleau, France, Tanglewood Music Center, the Gaudeamus Foundation, the Wellesley Composers Conference, the Atlantic Center for the Arts, the Aspen Music Festival and June in Buffalo. She was a Junior Fellow in the highly prestigious Society of Fellows at Harvard University between 1991 and 1994. She was elected and initiated as an Honorary Member of Sigma Alpha Iota Music Fraternity in 1996. Her work was featured on NPR's "Morning Edition." In 1996-97, she taught composition to high school students at the Harley School in Rochester, NY as part of The Commission Project. She was a Master Artist, leading a 3 week composition program, at the Atlantic Center for the Arts. She was twice a featured artist in a one week program at the Conductor's Institute. Frequently she undertakes short-term residencies in Colleges and Universities across the country. She studied with Jacob Druckman at Yale University; Alan Stout and Bill Karlins at Northwestern University. Thomas' orchestral works have been performed by the New York Philharmonic,
the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Boston Symphony, the Cleveland
Orchestra, the National Symphony, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra,
the Residentie Orkest of The Hague, the Dallas Symphony, the Rotterdam
Philharmonic, the Minnesota Orchestra, the New Jersey Symphony,
the Seattle Symphony, the Louisville Orchestra, the Pittsburgh
Symphony, ORF-Vienna (Austrian Radio Orchestra), Bochumer Symphoniker,
the Fort Worth Symphony, the New York Chamber Symphony, the Cleveland
Chamber Symphony, the American Composers Orchestra, the Virtuosi
Players, the Marin Symphony, the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, the
Berkshire Symphony, the Eastman Philharmonia, the Moscow Conservatory
Orchestra, the Syracuse Youth Orchestra, the Columbus (GA) Symphony,
the San Francisco Women's Philharmonic, Boston Civic Orchestra,
the Long Beach Symphony, the New York Youth Symphony, the Concord
Symphony, the Memphis Symphony, Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphony
Orchestras, Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra (with Gerardo
Ribeiro, soloist,) Chamber Orchestra of the South Bay and the
Virtuosi Orchestra. Band works have been performed by the Eastman
Symphonic Wind Ensemble, the Kansas Symphonic Band. Chamber music
works have been performed by the Aspen Music Festival, the Tanglewood
Music Festival, Chanticleer, the Eroica Trio, the Stonybrook Contemporary
Music Ensemble, the San Francisco Contemporary Chamber Players,
the Network for New Music, the Contemporary Chamber Players at
the University of Illinois, the Indiana State University Contemporary
Ensemble, the Green Umbrella Series, the Syracuse Society for
New Music, the Fischer Duo, Heinrich Schiff, Catherine Tait, the
Kapell Trio, the Debussy Trio, The Wellesley Composers Conference
at the Miller Theater in NY, Trio West, The Lydian String Quartet,
Eastman Brass, J Compositions Available from A.R.T. Musings, below. Further Information
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Augusta Read Thomas (born in 1964 in New York) is an Associate
Professor on the composition faculty at the Eastman School of
Music and she has been appointed to a three year term as Composer-in-Residence
with the