Composers

Willem Van Twillert (The Netherlands, b. 1952) studied the organ and piano at the Regional Music School in Amersfoort with Henk Seldenthuis. Starting in 1970, he studied the organ, improvisation, and composition at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam with Piet Kee and piano with Willem Brons. In 1975 he commenced a 3-year course of orchestral conducting studies with the Dutch orchestra conductor Anton Kersjes. In 1979, he obtained a diploma for Church Music and Performing Musician Cum Laude, with a teaching-endorsement for improvisation. A scholarship afforded him the opportunity to specialize in historic music between 1978 and 1981, including studies with Gustav Leonhardt (organ). In 1976, van Twillert was the first Dutch organist to reach the final of the 'Grand Prix de Chartres' in France.

Composer James Tribble has been writing and playing music for about 30 years, gradually learning his craft. He taught himself piano at 14, creating a lot of bad habits, and he has performed and taught piano, violin and viola since then while improving his own technique.

Generally recognized as the father of the Neo-Romantic movement in music, David Del Tredici has received numerous awards (including the Pulitzer Prize) and has been commissioned and performed by nearly every major American and European orchestral ensemble. "Del Tredici," said Aaron Copland, "is that rare find among composers ó a creator with a truly original gift. I venture to say that his music is certain to make a lasting impression on the American musical scene. I know of no other composer of his generation who composes music of greater freshness and daring, or with more personality."

William Toutant was born in Worcester MA. He received his B.A. and M.A. from George Washington University and his Ph.D. in music theory and composition from Michigan State University. He joined the music faculty of California State University, Northridge in 1975. During the next 38 years he not only taught in the Department of Music, but he also served in a variety of administrative positions including Dean of the Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communication.

Pianist, composer, and accordionist Hakan A. Toker is from Mersin Turkey. He studied classical music in Turkey and the United States, graduating from Indiana University School of Music (BM), where he double majored in piano and composition. Besides his formal education, he is mostly self-taught in the fields of improvisation, jazz, and world music.

Neil Thornock was born in Washington State — the rural, agricultural side — in 1977. He received degrees in organ performance and composition from Brigham Young University and a Doctor of Music degree from Indiana University.

Virgil Thomson was born in Kansas City MO in 1896 in what was then still an agricultural society. Early years in the Midwest exposed him to the folk music, hymn tunes and popular songs that would figure so prominently in his compositions.

Richard Thompson is a performer and composer whose work encompasses jazz and Third Stream composition. Originally from Aberdeen Scotland, Thompson made his debut as a concert pianist at the Purcell Room, Queen Elizabeth Hall in London in 1984.

Robert E. Thomas (b. 1971) is an active composer, teacher, and scholar whose music has been presented around the United States and overseas. Working in both electronic and acoustic mediums for instrumentation ranging from solo works to large orchestra, his main compositional interest is working with layered structures. His music has been performed by ACME (the American Contemporary Music Ensemble), Composer's Chamber Ensemble, Contemporary Chamber Players, HELIX! Ensemble, Ionisation, Nodes Performing Arts, and Tony Oliver.

Alicia Terzian is an internationally renowned contemporary music figure who is known for her accomplishments as a composer, conductor, and musicologist. In musicology, she specialized in Latin American and 4th thru 10th-century ancient religious Armenian music.

Born in Caracas, Venezuela, in 1965, Alfonso Tenreiro entered the world of music studying organ. He graduated from Indiana University with a degree in composition.

Andy Teirstein’s music has been described by The New York Times as “magically atmospheric,” “glimmering, restless,” and “tumultuously exuberant.” A student of Leonard Bernstein and Henry Brant, Teirstein has composed film scores for BBC and PBS, the operas Winter Man and A Blessing on the Moon, and movement theater pieces including The Wild (La MaMa E.T.C.)  and The Vagabonds inspired by William Blake. The Village Voice wrote that his music “seems to speak in celestial accents of some utopia whose chief industry is dancing,” and he composes often for choreographers, including Stephen Petronio, Donald Byrd, and Liz Lerman.  As a musician, he has appeared with Paul Simon, Pete Seeger, and The Vanaver Caravan. He has acted in the Broadway show Barnum, the TV series Search for Tomorrow, the film Sophie’s Choice, and Woody Sez, an off-Broadway show about Woody Guthrie.

Deems Taylor One of the best-known musical figures of the first half of the twentieth century, Deems Taylor was a composer, radio commentator, music critic, and author. He was the composer of The King’s Henchman, the first American opera ever commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera, with libretto by Edna St. Vincent Millay. His second opera, Peter Ibbetson, was performed 22 times at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, landing Taylor on the cover of Time magazine, and was in the repertoire for several years. Both operas actually made money for the Met. He wrote two other operas, a number of orchestral pieces, including the often played Through the Looking Glass Suite, and hundreds of chorale pieces.

Jason Taurins (b. 1991) is a music educator, composer/arranger, and clinician. He has lived in Arizona since 2015. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Education from Western Michigan University, where he studied composition with Lisa Coons and Richard Adams. He also has a Master of Music from the University of Florida. His musical interests include writing for wind bands, arranging for marching band, and writing marching band drill, as well as writing chamber music. His influences are diverse, including the great Classical composers, the 20th-century avant garde, jazz, classic rock, and metal. He is an active advocate of music by living composers and diversity in musical programming.

Born in the Boston MA area, Karen A. Tarlow now lives in Western Massachusetts and composes music on commission. She has written for a wide range of vocal and instrumental forces, including ballets, solo and chamber works, choral music and music for orchestra. Most recently (2011), she composed a new work for Mak’hela: The Jewish Chorus of Western Massachusetts; new music for the Da Camera Singers; and completed music for a series of multi-media ballets and puppet shows for children for Picture Book Theatre and the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art.

Welsh-born composer Hilary Tann lived in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains in Upstate New York where she was the John Howard Payne Professor of Music Emerita at Union College, Schenectady. Her compositions have been widely performed and recorded by ensembles such as the European Women’s Orchestra, Tenebrae, Lontano, Marsyas Trio, Thai Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, and BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

Born in Caen in 1968, Éric Tanguy is to this day one of the most performed French composers in the world. Named “Composer of the Year'” by the Victoires de la musique classique in 2004 and 2008, Tanguy studied under Horatiu Radulescu, Ivo Malec, Gérard Grisey, and Betsy Jolas at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris.

Joyce Wai-chung Tang’s works have been described by Ablaze Records as “incisive and brilliant…terrific and fresh compositional voice,” and have been premiered and performed worldwide. Her works span orchestral, chamber, solo, vocal, choral, electro-acoustic, and theatrical genres, many of which have been jury-selected for performances in major festivals and conferences.

Eli Tamar’s compositions have been recognized for their high emotional intensity and personal expression. His multi-cultural background (Russian-born Israeli-American) contributed greatly to his ability to explore and synthesize different elements of styles while transcending spiritual barriers between various musical, literary, and religious traditions.

Mari Tamaki is a Japanese cellist, composer, performer, and producer whose great improvisational and compositional skills create fascinating music, fluidly crossing genres both classical and contemporary. As a composer, she has successfully created works in a variety of styles, including classical music, progressive rock, free improvisation, avant-garde, and collaboration with the Butoh dance form. In her pieces, she skillfully transitions from tense dissonance to complete harmonization by the end. She employs a lyrical style while emphasizing dissonance.