Roger Zare Music

Bio

Roger Zare has been praised for his “enviable grasp of orchestration” (New York Times) and for writing music with “formal clarity and an alluringly mercurial surface.” He was born in Sarasota, Florida, and began playing piano at age 5 and violin at age 11; he started composing at age 14. Roger holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Composition from the University of Southern California and a Master of Music degree in Composition from the Peabody Conservatory of Music. He is currently pursuing his Doctorate of Musical Arts at the University of Michigan.

An award-winning composer, Roger has written works for a variety of ensembles, including solo, chamber, choral, and full orchestra works. In early 2005, the New York Youth Symphony commissioned Roger to write an orchestral piece for them as part of their First Music competition. The 65th composer to win this commission, Roger wrote an orchestral composition entitled “The Other Rainbow,” which was premiered in Carnegie Hall in February 2006. In 2007, Roger won a BMI student composer award for his orchestral work, “Green Flash,” and has subsequently been awarded the 2009 ASCAP Foundation Rudolf Nissim Prize and the 2008 American Composers Orchestra Underwood Commission for the same work. Another of Zare's orchestral works, "Aerodynamics," received a 2009 BMI student composer award and was premiered by the Minnesota Orchestra as part of the 2009 Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute. Zare has also received a Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and was a fellowship recipient at the 2010 Aspen Composition Masterclass and the 2010 Cabrillo Festival of New Music Composer-Conductor workshop. He has been composer in residence of the Chamber Music Festival of Lexington (2010) and the SONAR new music ensemble (2008-present). His recent clarinet concerto, "Bennu's Fire," was written for and premiered by Alexander Fiterstein at the 2010 International Clarinet Association's ClarinetFest.

During his years at USC’s Thornton School of Music, Roger has studied with Donald Crockett, Tamar Diesendruck, Frederick Lesemann, and Morten Lauridsen. At Peabody, Roger studied with Christopher Theofanidis, David Smooke, and Derek Bermel, and at the University of Michigan, Roger studied with Bright Sheng, Michael Daugherty, Kristin Kuster, and Paul Schoenfield. He is a member of ASCAP.

Click here for a shortened bio that may be used for publications.

Composition honors:

Composer in residence of the 2012 Salt Bay Chamber Music Festival
Finalist in the 4x4 Prizes at the University of Oklahoma with Green Flash
Honorable Mention in the 2011-12 Pacific Chorale Young Composer Competition with Invocation
Winner of Brass Initiative composition search
2nd Prize in the 2011 Belvedere Chamber Music Festival Student Composition Contest

Composer in residence of the 2010 UBS Chamber Music Festival in Lexington, Kentucky
Participant in the 2010 Cabrillo Festival of New Music Composer-Conductor workshop, presented by the Conductor's Guild.
2010 Fellowship recipient from the 2010 Aspen Music Festival Composition Masterclass program
Participant in 2010 Omaha Symphony New Music Symposium with "The Other Rainbow"
2010 Recipient of a Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters

2009 Participant in the Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute with "Aerodynamics"
2009 Moshe Cotel Prize in Composition from the Peabody Conservatory
2009 ASTA Merle J Isaac Composition Contest winner, senior division, for "A Midsummer's Daydream"
2009 BMI student composer award for "Aerodynamics"
3rd prize in the Peabody Conservatory Prix d'Ete with "Disintegration"
Youngest ever winner of the 2009 ASCAP Rudolf Nissim Prize with “Green Flash”

Winner of the 2008-2009 Dallas Wind Symphony Brass Fanfares Competition
First composer in residence for Peabody’s student new music ensemble, SONAR
Recipient of the Underwood Commission via the 2008 American Composers Orchestra Underwood Readings with “Green Flash”
Winner of the 2008 Sarasota Music Archive Donald Morrison Memorial Composition Competition

2007 BMI student composer award for “Green Flash”
1st place in 2007 USC Undergraduate Symposium
Peter David Faith Award for “Green Flash,” from the USC Thornton School of Music, 2007

Carnegie Hall premiere of The Other Rainbow for orchestra by the New York Youth Symphony
2006 Sarasota Music Archive Donald Morrison Memorial Composition Competition winner

Clicking on a photo album will open a new window.


Pictures from Baltimore and Sarasota, 2008	2008 American Composers Orchestra Underwood New Music Readings	Photos from 2007 at USC and at the BMI Student Composer Award Ceremony

Senior Composition Recital	Carnegie Hall Premiere with the New York Youth Symphony - February 2006	2006 Florida West Coast Symphony performances