Gyorgy Ligeti, Maurice Ravel, Luciano Berio, Toru Takemitsu, Steve Reich, Robert Beaser, George Tsontakis, Steven Stucky, Franco Donatoni, John Adams, Marc Andre Dalbavie, Alfred Schnittke, Niccolo Castiglioni, Esa Pekka Salonen, Christopher Rouse, Pierre Boulez, Claude Vivier, Jean Barraque
Composer Ryan Anthony Francis’s (b. 1981) compositions have been met with audience and critical acclaim throughout the United States and Europe. His works have been variously described as “sweeping” and “exceptional” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette), “compelling” (Los Angeles Times) and “shimmering”, “focused” and “rhythmically sharp-edged” (New York Times). The dynamic and inventive force of Mr. Francis's piano music was recently the focus of David Dubal's radio show "Reflections from the Keyboard", and in April 2008 Metropolis Ensemble premiered his new piano concerto with Anna Polonsky as soloist.
Mr. Francis has received commissions from Metropolis Ensemble, the Columbia Symphony of Portland, the New Juilliard Ensemble, Axiom, FearNoMusic Ensemble and the New York Youth Symphony, and his works have been performed in such venues as Carnegie Hall, New York Times Hall and Alice Tully Hall of Lincoln Center.
Mr. Francis is currently a C.V. Starr Doctoral Fellow at The Juilliard School, where he also received his M.M. in composition. He also holds a B.M. in composition from the University of Michigan. He is one of only a handful of composers to twice receive the Juilliard School’s top compositional honor, the Palmer-Dixon Prize (2005, 2008), as well as the prestigious Charles Ives scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His teachers have included Robert Beaser, Bright Sheng, George Tsontakis, Steven Stucky, Susan Botti, Erik Santos and Evan Chambers. A native of Portland, Oregon, Mr. Francis now resides in Manhattan.
Heard Danny play your "Etudes" last night in Pittsburgh: brilliant! Congrats on a fantastic set of pieces; I hope they get many more performances! Sorry you didn't make it to Pittsburgh, but hopefully next time -- I doubt this will be the last time PNME programs your music. Cheers!! -Jeff
Hello,Ryan!I'm really impressive of your
beautiful,magic orchestral compositions!
They are as flowly as a nature.
At the same time you show a wonderful sense of sharp rhytm and energy in your Remix.
I feel that your musical mind is very close to mine,even as regards instrumental choice:bells,flutes...
Wonderful.
All the clips on your page sound fantastic, Ryan! We loved the piece Danny Spiegel played at the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble with us. Any friend of Danny's is a friend of ours! Lindsey, Victoria, and Lisa
Hey! how ya been! So I decided to take an 8-week intensive film course at NYU for advanced color and sound-syncing! starts soon! hooray!!! So it looks like I'll have some projects coming up... ;) hint hint :) BTW, here's this website for this killer video you have to check out. The music is right down your alley as are the visuals down mine :) keep me posted! hope you're well!
I'm sorry I never write or call - but I DO want to get together once I get back from Texas (where I am now). Hope you're enjoying the summer. Talk to you soon :)
