Described as “yielding fascinating timbres” (Washington Classical Review), “magical” and “otherworldly” (Philadelphia Inquirer), and “personal and strong” (New York Times), the music of composer Luke Carlson explores the historied traditions and modern aesthetics of timbre, texture, and tonality. His compositions include works for instrumental soloists, chamber ensembles, vocalists, choral ensembles, orchestras, and electronics.
His music has been performed internationally by various soloists, ensembles, and organizations, including the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, the Daedalus String Quartet, the 21st Century Consort, the Khemia Ensemble, the soundSCAPE Composition and Performance Exchange, Aether Eos, the Fuse Trio, Network for New Music, Duo Cortona, the Mansfield Symphony, and the Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra.
He is the recipient of numerous honors, including the Aspen Music Festival’s Jacob Druckman Prize, a MacDowell Fellowship, a Copland House Fellowship, the grand prize in Symphony Number One’s Composer Competition, the Edward T. Cone Composition Institute, two first prizes in the macro Composers Competition, and two nominations for composition awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
