Chris Cerrone

Christopher Cerrone (b. 1984) is internationally acclaimed for compositions characterized by a subtle handling of timbre and resonance, a deep literary fluency, and a flair for multimedia collaborations. His three-time GRAMMY-nominated work balances lushness and austerity, immersive textures and telling details.

Cerrone's recent opera, In a Grove (libretto by Stephanie Fleischmann), jointly produced by LA Opera and Pittsburgh Opera, received its sold-out premiere run in March 2022. The opera had its midwestern premiere at Northwestern University in Fall 2022 and is set for its New York debut at the PROTOTYPE Festival in January 2025. The studio recording was named one of the best recordings of 2023 by The New York Times, which noted: "Not a word or note is without purpose, and both are captured, if not enhanced, in this richly produced recording." His latest release, Beaufort Scales, an oratorio commissioned by Lorelei Ensemble and premiered at Mass MoCA, earned him his third GRAMMY nomination. Other recent projects include The Year of Silence, based on Kevin Brockmeier's story, for the Louisville Symphony and Dashon Burton; A Body, Moving, a brass concerto for the Cincinnati Symphony; Breaks and Breaks, a violin concerto for Jennifer Koh and the Detroit Symphony; The Insects Became Magnetic, an orchestral work with electronics for the Los Angeles Philharmonic; and The Air Suspended, a piano concerto for Shai Wosner.

Cerrone's first opera, Invisible Cities, was a 2014 Pulitzer Prize finalist, receiving its fully-staged world premiere in a popular production by The Industry in Los Angeles' Union Station. In July 2019, New Amsterdam Records released his GRAMMY-nominated sophomore effort, The Pieces that Fall to Earth, collaborating with Wild Up. The Arching Path, released on In a Circle Records in 2021, earned his second GRAMMY nomination. Cerrone won the 2015-2016 Samuel Barber Rome Prize in Music Composition and was a resident at the Laurenz Haus Foundation in Basel, Switzerland from 2022–2023.

Christopher Cerrone holds degrees from the Yale School of Music and the Manhattan School of Music. He is published by Schott NY and Project Schott New York and in 2021 joined the composition faculty at Mannes School of Music at The New School. He lives in Jersey City with his wife.