Composers
HONORARY MEMBERS
The following Composer Members have been bestowed the title of Honorary Member of the New York Composers Circle in recognition of their contributions to the creation of new music in the New York Metro area, as well as their contributions to the New York Composers Circle. We honor them for serving an integral part in the success of the NYCC.
ELLIOTT CARTER
Elliott Carter is internationally recognized as one of the most influential American voices in classical music, and a leading figure of modernism in the 20th and 21st centuries. He was hailed as “America’s great musical poet” by Andrew Porter and noted as “one of America’s most distinguished creative artists in any field” by his friend Aaron Copland.
JOHN EATON
Called by Andrew Porter “the most interesting opera composer writing in America today,” John Eaton is internationally recognized as a composer and performer of electronic and microtonal music. Eaton’s operas include The Tempest (1985), commissioned by the Santa Fe Opera, The Cry of Clytaemnestra (1980), a work with over 17 productions, including a joint US/USSR staging in Moscow, and Danton and Robespierre (1978).
DINU GHEZZO
A composer, conductor, lecturer, and performer, Dr. Ghezzo was a professor of music at New York University. In addition to his activities at NYU, Dr. Ghezzo was an associate conductor of Constanta Symphony Orchestra and Oradea Philharmonic (Romania), director of Constanta International Music Days and of The Week of American-Romanian Music in Oradea (Romania), director of the International New Music Consortium (INMC) Inc.
EZRA LADERMAN
Ezra Laderman's compositions range from solo instrumental and vocal works to large-scale choral and orchestral music. His eleven string quartets and his concertos for piano, violin, viola, cello, flute, string quartet, and double winds are notable contributions to the repertory. He has also written music to the Academy Award-winning films “The Eleanor Roosevelt Story” and “Black Fox”, and an opera based on the life of Marilyn Monroe.
TANIA LEÓN
Tania León, born in Cuba, and a vital personality on today’s music scene, is highly regarded as a composer and conductor recognized for her accomplishments as an educator and advisor to arts organizations. She has been the subject of profiles on ABC, CBS, CNN, PBS, Univision (including their noted series “Orgullo Hispano” which celebrates living American Latinos whose contributions in society have been invaluable), Telemundo and independent films.
PAUL MORAVEC
Paul Moravec, winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize in Music, has composed over one hundred orchestral, chamber, choral, lyric, film, and electro-acoustic compositions. His music has been described as “tuneful, ebullient and wonderfully energetic” (San Francisco Chronicle), “riveting and fascinating” (NPR), and “assured, virtuosic” (Wall Street Journal). The New York Times recently praised his quartet, Vince & Jan: 1945, with, “This masterly miniature conveyed warm nostalgia, buoyant swing and wartime unease.”
RAOUL PLESKOW
Composer RAOUL PLESKOW was born October 12, 1930 in Vienna, Austria. He immigrated to the United States in 1939 and became a naturalized citizen in 1945. From 1950 to 1952 he attended the Julliard School of Music in New york City. In 1956 he, graduated from Queens College, where he studied composition with Karol Rathaus, earning a Bachelor of Music (BM).