Role

:

Composer

Birth

:

1954

Period

:

Contemporary

Genre

:

Chamber

 

Robert Aldridge is an American composer who was born on August 22, 1954, in Raleigh, North Carolina. He grew up in a musical family, with his father being a church organist and his mother a pianist. Aldridge began playing the piano at a young age and later learned to play the trumpet and French horn. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he earned a Bachelor of Music degree in composition. After completing his undergraduate studies, Aldridge went on to earn a Master of Music degree in composition from the Yale School of Music. He then studied at the Hochschule für Musik in Vienna, Austria, where he worked with the composer Friedrich Cerha. Aldridge also studied with the composer George Perle at the City University of New York, where he earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in composition. Aldridge's compositions have been performed by orchestras and ensembles around the world, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic. He has also written music for opera, ballet, and theater productions. One of Aldridge's most notable works is his opera Elmer Gantry, which he composed with librettist Herschel Garfein. The opera is based on the novel by Sinclair Lewis and tells the story of a charismatic preacher who becomes a successful evangelist but ultimately falls from grace. Elmer Gantry premiered at the Nashville Opera in 2007 and has since been performed by several other opera companies, including the Florentine Opera, the Atlanta Opera, and the Boston Lyric Opera. Another notable work by Aldridge is his Symphony No. 1, which was commissioned by the National Symphony Orchestra and premiered in 1999. The symphony is in four movements and features a variety of musical styles, including jazz and rock. The work has been praised for its energy and vitality. Aldridge has also written several works for chamber ensembles, including his String Quartet No. 1, which was commissioned by the Lark Quartet and premiered in 1994. The quartet is in four movements and features a range of moods and textures, from lyrical melodies to driving rhythms. In addition to his work as a composer, Aldridge is also a professor of music at Montclair State University in New Jersey. He has received numerous awards and honors for his work, including a Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording for Elmer Gantry in 2012. Overall, Robert Aldridge is a prolific and versatile composer whose works have been performed and celebrated around the world. His music combines a range of influences and styles, from classical to jazz and rock, and his operas and other works have been praised for their emotional depth and musical innovation.

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