Christopher Cerrone

CHRISTOPHER CERRONE (b. 1984) is internationally acclaimed for compositions characterized by a subtle handling of timbre and resonance, a deep literary fluency, and a flair for multimedia collaborations. Balancing lushness and austerity, immersive textures and telling details, dramatic impact and interiority, Cerrone’s music is utterly compelling and uniquely his own.

In the 2018–19 season, Cerrone wrote The Insects Became Magnetic, an orchestral work with electronics for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, led by Roderick Cox. Other recent commissions include Why Was I Born Between Mirrors?, a new sextet co-commissioned by Latitude 49, Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, and Sentieri selvaggi; and a new concerto for Third Coast Percussion, Meander Spiral, Explode, co-commissioned by the Civic Orchestra of the Chicago Symphony and the Britt Festival. Cerrone orchestrated his opera All Wounds Bleed for Chicago Fringe Opera. He recently curated a series, “Reiterations,” for the Metropolis Ensemble; held residencies at Chatterbird and Baylor University; and was the 2018 Conducting/Composition Fellow at the Britt Festival. Excerpts from his new opera, In a Grove (libretto by Stephanie Fleischmann), were heard at the Morgan Library in New York in March 2019. He is currently hard at work on a new piano concerto commissioned by Shai Wosner that will be heard with the East Coast Chamber Orchestra, Phoenix Symphony, and Albany Symphonies throughout 2019 and 2020.

Recent highlights include Breaks and Breaks, an acclaimed violin concerto for Jennifer Koh and the Detroit Symphony, led by Peter Oundjian; a Miller Theatre Composer Portrait performed by Third Coast Percussion; Will There Be Singing, premiered by the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra in Jeffrey Kahane’s final concert as LACO Music Director; Can’t and Won’t, commissioned for the Calder Quartet by the LA Phil, and new works for artists including Tim Munro, Eighth Blackbird, Vicky Chow, and Rachel Lee Priday.

Cerrone’s opera, Invisible Cities, based on Italo Calvino’s landmark novel, was praised by the Los Angeles Times as “A delicate and beautiful opera…[which] could be, and should be, done anywhere.” Invisible Cities received its fully-staged world premiere in a wildly popular production by The Industry, directed by Yuval Sharon, in Los Angeles’ Union Station. Both the film and opera are available as CDs, DVDs, and digital downloads.

Christopher Cerrone holds degrees from the Yale School of Music and the Manhattan School of Music. He is published by Schott NY and Project Schott New York and will join the composition faculty of the Peabody Conservatory for 2019–2020. Website: christophercerrone.com.