Tobias picker biography of william
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Tobias Picker
American composer
Tobias Picker (born July 18, 1954) is an American composer, pianist, and conductor,[1] noted for his orchestral works Old and Lost Rivers, Keys To The City, and The Encantadas, as well as his operas Emmeline, Fantastic Mr. Fox, An American Tragedy and Lili Elbe, among many other works.[2][3][4]
Biography
[edit]1954–1975: Early years, influences, and education
[edit]Picker was born in New York City on July 18, 1954, the son of painter and fashion designer Henriette Simon Picker and news-writer Julian Picker, and the cousin of film executive David V. Picker, businessman Harvey Picker, former CEO of The American Film InstituteJean Picker Firstenberg, art-patron Stanley Picker,[5] filmmaker Jimmy Picker,[6] and economist Kenneth Rogoff. At the age of eight, he began composing and studying the piano:
I was raised by my teachers on a diet of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Schuman, and eventually Brahms, my favorite. There was always some "modern" music thrown in.... With the discovery of each new composer a new world opened up for me. It wasn't really until I discovered the music of Charles Wuorinen with whom I began studying at eighteen that I finall
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Tobias Picker -- 'An American Tragedy' American composer Tobias Picker (born 1954) has the unusual good fortune (for a living composer) of having received a number of commissions for full-scale operas, from some of the most important American opera companies. Although Picker has composed works in all forms, including three symphonies, three piano concerti, concerti for oboe, violin, viola, cello, and a number of songs and chamber music, he has recently focused his attention primarily on opera.
Beginning in 1996 with Emmeline (based on the novel by Judith Rossner) for the Santa Fe Opera, Picker burst onto the operatic scene as a composer with true dramatic flair and a real gift for the lyric theater. This initial opera was followed by Fantastic Mr Fox (based on the book by Roald Dahl) for the Los Angeles Opera. Next came Therese Raquin (based on the novel by Emile Zola), commissioned by the Dallas Opera. Both Emmeline and Therese Raquin are available on commercial CD releases.
Picker studied at the Manhattan School of Music, The Juilliard School, and Princeton University. He has been commissioned by most of the major American orchestras, many other orchestras worldwide, and has works represented on numerous CD releases. He served as composer-in-reside