Stephen Hartke, winner of the 2013 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition, is widely recognized as one of the leading composers of his generation, his work hailed for both its singularity of voice and the inclusive breadth of its inspiration. Born in Orange, New Jersey, Mr. Hartke grew up in Manhattan where he began his musical career as a professional boy chorister. He pursued further studies at Yale, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of California at Santa Barbara, interrupted by stints as an advertising manager for several major music publishers. He also taught in Brazil as Fulbright professor at Universidade de São Paulo. From 1987 to 2015, he taught at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music, and is now distinguished professor emeritus. He was recently appointed professor and chair of composition at the Oberlin Conservatory. Stephen Hartke has won the Rome Prize, Berlin Prize, two Koussevitzky Music Foundation Commission Grants, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the Charles Ives Living prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Most of Hartke’s music is available on CDs from Albany, Bridge, Cedille, Chandos, CRI, Delos, ECM New Series, EMI Classics, Naxos American Classics, New World Records, and Soundbrush Records.