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The Orchestra Moves
About the Composers and Arrangers
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) was born in Bonn, Germany. After beginning his piano studies at an early age with his father, Beethoven quickly became a famous pianist and composer ...
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) was born in Bonn, Germany. After beginning his piano studies at an early age with his father, Beethoven quickly became a famous pianist and composer in Germany. By the age of 12, he was earning a living for his family as an organist, violist, pianist, and composer. Although Beethoven began to suffer from hearing loss as early as his 20s, he continued to compose, creating some of his most famous musical works after he had become deaf. Beethoven’s originality and innovation inspired others to change the way they composed. He amplified the power of orchestral music, and his music acted as a transition into the Romantic era of music. Fun fact: One of Beethoven’s favorite foods was a special kind of macaroni and cheese!
Georges Bizet (1838–1875) was a French composer with a musical family. His mother, a pianist, and his father, a composer and voice teacher, recognized Bizet’s talent early. When ...
Georges Bizet (1838–1875) was a French composer with a musical family. His mother, a pianist, and his father, a composer and voice teacher, recognized Bizet’s talent early. When he was nine, his father enrolled him in the Paris Conservatory of Music, where he was known as a masterful pianist and an award-winning composer. He wrote more than 150 compositions for the piano, as well as a symphony, orchestral suites, operas, and songs. His final masterpiece, Carmen, an opera that caused an uproar at its 1875 premiere, is now celebrated and performed all over the world.
Thomas Cabaniss (b. 1962) is a composer and educator born in Charleston, South Carolina. Residing in New York City, Cabaniss teaches at The Juilliard School and leads arts education ...
Thomas Cabaniss (b. 1962) is a composer and educator born in Charleston, South Carolina. Residing in New York City, Cabaniss teaches at The Juilliard School and leads arts education programs throughout the city. His music ranges from chamber music to operas and film scores. He is a creative adviser for Carnegie Hall’s Link Up program, and helped launch Carnegie Hall’s Lullaby Project, which helps new and expecting parents and caregivers write songs for their children. Cabaniss uses his music to encourage collaboration and help institutions support partnerships between artists and communities.
Flannery Cunningham (b. 1991) began composing soon after she started piano lessons in first grade. Her early hits included I Love My Piano Teacher and Catching Leaves, for which she admits ...
Flannery Cunningham (b. 1991) began composing soon after she started piano lessons in first grade. Her early hits included I Love My Piano Teacher and Catching Leaves, for which she admits that she spent at least as much time decorating the cover as writing the piece. Cunningham was fortunate to study music at Princeton University, University College Cork in Ireland, Stony Brook University, and the University of Pennsylvania, where she completed her PhD in composition and musicology in 2022. Today, she writes extensively for chamber ensembles, and her music has been performed by groups such as International Contemporary Ensemble, TAK, New York New Music Ensemble, Yarn/Wire, Music from Copland House, and PRISM Quartet. She is particularly attracted to the very old and very new, especially 13th- and 14th-century song, and contemporary technologies for interactive electronics. Above all, she aims to write music that surprises and delights.
Dai Wei (b. 1989) is originally from China. Her music navigates the spaces between East and West, classical and pop, electronic and acoustic, innovation and tradition. Her artistry is ...
Dai Wei (b. 1989) is originally from China. Her music navigates the spaces between East and West, classical and pop, electronic and acoustic, innovation and tradition. Her artistry is nourished by Asian and ethnic Chinese culture in many different ways. An experimental vocalist, she performs as a khoomei throat singer and is active as a Mandopop songwriter and singer. Her music has been commissioned and performed by the Utah Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, American Composers Orchestra, Bang on a Can, and Aizuri Quartet. Fun fact: She almost chose to become a professional dancer at the age of 11.
André Filho (1906–1974) was a Brazilian actor and musician who composed many popular songs. A violinist, singer, guitarist, pianist, mandolinist, and banjo player, Filho was an ...
André Filho (1906–1974) was a Brazilian actor and musician who composed many popular songs. A violinist, singer, guitarist, pianist, mandolinist, and banjo player, Filho was an active performer and composer. He wrote “Cidade Maravilhosa” (“Beautiful City”) for the Rio de Janeiro Carnival in 1935. The song was made popular by Carmen Miranda, a Brazilian-born Broadway singer and actress, and became the anthem of Rio de Janeiro.
Elena Kats-Chernin (b. 1957) was born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. She was four years old when she started taking piano lessons, and she composed her first piano piece, Lullaby for Nick, at age ...
Elena Kats-Chernin (b. 1957) was born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. She was four years old when she started taking piano lessons, and she composed her first piano piece, Lullaby for Nick, at age five. After graduating from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, she continued her composition studies in Hanover, Germany, where she and three friends formed a vocal trio with piano called Red Hot & Blue. Back in Sydney, she collaborated with choreographer Meryl Tankard to create the “Deep Sea Dreaming” segment of the 2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony and the ballet Wild Swans. Since then, she has written numerous orchestral, solo, vocal, and chamber works, several operas, and three silent-film soundtracks. Fun fact: Elena was a competitive figure skater as a child, but ultimately chose music over sports.
Arturo Márquez (b. 1950) is one of the most prominent Mexican classical composers. Born in Alamos, Mexico, he was introduced to music by his father, a mariachi musician, and his ...
Arturo Márquez (b. 1950) is one of the most prominent Mexican classical composers. Born in Alamos, Mexico, he was introduced to music by his father, a mariachi musician, and his grandfather, a folk musician. Márquez’s family moved to Los Angeles when he was 11, and he remained committed to music, composing, and playing the violin in school. When he was 17 years old, Márquez went to the Mexican Music Conservatory to study composition. He later studied music in Paris before returning to California. His earlier works were experimental in style. When he returned to Mexico, Márquez wanted to reach a broader audience. He began to frequent Mexico City’s dance halls, where he discovered the danzón. His most famous works are eight danzónes that incorporate this Mexican style into classical forms. Márquez currently lives in Mexico City, where he teaches and continues to compose.
Rebecca Pellett (b. 1981) is a Canadian arranger, orchestrator, and composer. She began taking music lessons in rural Ontario when she was four years old, and always sang in her school ...
Rebecca Pellett (b. 1981) is a Canadian arranger, orchestrator, and composer. She began taking music lessons in rural Ontario when she was four years old, and always sang in her school choirs. She played many instruments as a student, but composition and theory were her favorite subjects right from the start. She was an apprentice under Christopher Dedrick, where she learned to score movies and television shows, as well as write for symphony orchestra. Recently, Pellett has written several pieces that will bring popular children’s books to the concert stage, including her composition Bobby Orr and the Hand-Me-Down Skates (for orchestra and narrator), which was recorded and released in 2022. When she’s not writing music, she takes care of goats and chickens, bakes bread, and step-dances to fiddle music.
Tali Rubinstein (b. 1984) began playing the recorder in second grade. Unlike most kids, she never stopped. A student of mezzo-soprano Bracha Kol, Tali was trained in classical music from a ...
Tali Rubinstein (b. 1984) began playing the recorder in second grade. Unlike most kids, she never stopped. A student of mezzo-soprano Bracha Kol, Tali was trained in classical music from a young age. She studied in prestigious music institutions in Israel and received a full scholarship to the Berklee College of Music in Boston as the first recorder player to attend. At Berklee, Tali specialized in jazz, challenging the conventional boundaries of the recorder. She also met Grammy Award–winning producer Javier Limón and worked on his Grammy Award–winning album Entre 20 Aguas. Tali was cited by Barack Obama on his list of Favorite Songs of 2018; worked on Alain Mallet’s Grammy-nominated album Mutt Slang II; has collaborated with Alejandro Sanz, Anat Cohen, Idan Raichel, and Mariza; and has been featured on Univision and Nickelodeon. Fun fact: Tali’s given name, Tal, means “morning dew” in Hebrew.
Johann Strauss II (1825–1899) was born in Vienna, where his father was a famous musician. Although his father urged him not to pursue music (he wanted him to become a banker), Strauss ...
Johann Strauss II (1825–1899) was born in Vienna, where his father was a famous musician. Although his father urged him not to pursue music (he wanted him to become a banker), Strauss rebelled against the idea and studied violin in secret. At the age of 19, Strauss started his own orchestra and conducted his first public concert. He went on to become a productive composer and tour internationally with his orchestra. Known as the “Waltz King,” he wrote more than 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as many operettas.
Tanyaradzwa A. Tawengwa (b. 1991) is a Zimbabwean gwenyambira, composer, scholar, and singer whose work builds a bridge between Madzimbabwe and Western classical music traditions. Her music ...
Tanyaradzwa A. Tawengwa (b. 1991) is a Zimbabwean gwenyambira, composer, scholar, and singer whose work builds a bridge between Madzimbabwe and Western classical music traditions. Her music is grounded in the ancestral Chivanhu canon taught to her by the generations of svikiro (spirit mediums) and n’anga (healers) in her bloodline. Tawengwa began singing and playing the piano and cello at a young age and was called to carry on the sacred tradition of mbira music when she was 16. As a child, she would dream of songs and music being sung to her by her ancestors—dreams that continue today. Tawengwa is the founder of Zimbabwe KIDS Summer Camp, Mushandirapamwe Arts Trust, and the Mushandirapamwe Singers. Her work and music have been performed at Carnegie Hall, Boston Lyric Opera, the Royal Opera of Versailles, Yale Repertory Theatre, Soho Repertory Theatre, National Sawdust, The Playroom Theater, The Public Theater, The Glimmerglass Festival, TED, and TEDWomen.
Itamar Ben Zimra (b. 1993) is a clarinetist, composer, and arranger, and began playing the clarinet in third grade, studying both classical and jazz. He’s based in Los Angeles, ...
Itamar Ben Zimra (b. 1993) is a clarinetist, composer, and arranger, and began playing the clarinet in third grade, studying both classical and jazz. He’s based in Los Angeles, composing music for film. Growing up, his heroes were J. R. R. Tolkien, Jules Verne, and King Arthur from The Tales of King Arthur, and he has a passion for adventure and fantasy that planted the seeds for his fascination with storytelling with music and its expression in cinema and theater. Ben Zimra received a full scholarship to Berklee College, where he majored in film-music composition. Through his musical journey he has performed with jazz giants such as Phil Woods, Anat Cohen, Damian Drăghici, Tigran Hamasyan, and Yoni Rechter. Ben Zimra has written the music for many film projects, most notably the score for the show Tom and Jerry in New York by Warner Animation. Fun fact: He can sleep anywhere, in any shape on any surface.
