Today is the birthday of American pianist and composer DAVID DEL TREDICI (d: 2023); Born as David Walter del Tredici in Cloverdale, California, he studied at Berkeley and Princeton.  In addition to the Pulitzer Prize, he has also received a Guggenheim Fellowship and Woodrow Wilson fellowship, a Brandeis Creative Arts Award, a Friedheim Award, grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, and election to the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters.

Del Tredici’s works are regularly commissioned by major orchestras in America and abroad. His “On Wings of Song” was premiered in New York City in 2004 as part of the Riverside Opera Ensemble’s 20th Anniversary Concert.  His notable students include John Adams, Richard St. Clair and Tison Street. 

Del Tredici was Composer-In-Residence at the New York Philharmonic from 1988 until 1990. In 1999 and 2000 he taught at Yale University. He also has taught at Boston University, Juilliard School, and the University of Buffalo. As of 2013, he was a faculty member of the City College of New York.

Today, Del Tredici continues to draw on literature for his song cycles. His work has continued to draw on Lewis Carroll (particularly Alice in Wonderland), but he has also been inspired by contemporary American poets. He has also created works celebrating “gayness”, acknowledging that many great composers were gay and that “it’s something to be celebrated”.

Amen brother. Amen.