Composer David Del Tredici (1937 - 2023) was widely considered the pioneer of the Neo-Romantic movement in music. His work not only forged for himself a fresh compositional path, but also gave hope to a generation of young composers seeking a new way of creating music. Del Tredici's work received numerous awards and has been performed by nearly every major American and European orchestral ensemble. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1980 for In Memory of a Summer Day for soprano and orchestra.
Many of Del Tredici’s early works were inspired by the writings of James Joyce and Lewis Carroll. His Alice in Wonderland settings, which were written over a span of more than 25 years (1968-1995), included Final Alice and In Memory of a Summer Day, which both became best-selling classical music recordings. More recently, Del Tredici set to music numerous contemporary American poets, often celebrating a gay sexuality. These compositions, including Gay Life and Love Addiction, garnered Del Tredici considerable media attention. He was twice named one of Out Magazine’s “People of the Year.” Del Tredici’s work has been performed by chamber ensembles and orchestras globally and recorded on more than a dozen labels, earning him a Grammy nomination for Best New Classical Composition in 2007.
Del Tredici was a Fellow at MacDowell 18 times between 1965 and 1998. He was also on the faculties of Harvard and Boston Universities, and for more than 25 years, a distinguished professor of music at The City College of New York.
