D.J. Sparr, electric guitar

D. J. Sparr is an American composer and guitarist fluent in both classical and vernacular musical styles. He has been named the next Young American Composer-in-Residence with the California Symphony where he will write new orchestral works over a two-year period. Sparr’s music has been commissioned and performed by groups such as the Albany Symphony, the Berkshire Symphony, Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Band, the League of Composers’ Orchestra, the Los Angeles “Debut” Orchestra, New Music Detroit, the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, the University of Washington, the Verge Ensemble, Wet Ink and Yale University. His recent work Precious Metal: A Concerto for Flute and Winds was commissioned by a consortium of thirty-three colleges led by the University of Washington and was featured on their 2010 tour of Japan. Premieres for 2010-11 include the Dayton Philharmonic, the Williamsburg Symphonia, Eighth Blackbird and the Amsterdam-based Hexnut Ensemble. D. J. is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music (BM) and the University of Michigan (MM, DMA). His principal teachers include Michael Daugherty, William Bolcom, Sydney Hodkinson, Christopher Rouse, Joseph Schwantner and Augusta Read Thomas. He studied with John Harbison at the Aspen Music Festival and the Oregon Bach Festival and was an Associate Artist-in-Residence under Aaron Jay Kernis at the Atlantic Center for the Arts. He was awarded the $10,000 grand prize in the orchestra category of the BMG/Williams College National Young Composers Competition. He received BMI Student Composer Awards in 1995 and 2000 and has received awards and recognition from the American Music Center, the Composers’ Guild, Eastman School of Music, George Washington University, New York Youth Symphony and the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble. Sparr is the composer-in-residence for the Richmond Symphony’s Education and Community Engagement Department (2010-11); and in the summers, he is a faculty member at the Walden School for Musicians. An accomplished guitarist, Sparr performs in numerous solo and chamber engagements. He premiered Michael Daugherty’s electric guitar concerto Gee’s Bend with the Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini in Italy in March 2010 and with the Alabama Symphony in March 2009, and will perform alongside Marin Alsop at the 2011 Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music.

www.djsparr.com