John Adams

Considered a minimalist, he is one of the most recognisable contemporary American composers. Adams originates from New England and studied at Harvard. While still studying, he worked with the prestigious Boston Symphony Orchestra. For 11 years, he was the Department Head of the Music Composition Faculty at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. His operas are seen as very controversial but at the same time have been the most frequently performed stage works of the last two decades. He also composes orchestra pieces, oratorios, chamber pieces, film and electronic music. He works with ensembles as a conductor. Some of the ensembles that have performed under his baton include: Cleveland Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony and London Sinfonietta. He has been showered with prizes. For Volin Concerto, Reich received the prestigious Grawemeyer Award in 1995. The orchestra piece On the Transmigration of Souls, composed on the occasion of the first anniversary of the World Trade Center attack, brought him a Pulitzer Prize for Music 2003. Adams is a member of the American Academy of Arts & Letters.