One of the dominant compositional voices of his generation, John Harbison’s concert music catalogue of more than 300 works is anchored by three operas, six symphonies, twelve concerti, a ballet, an organ symphony, six string quartets, numerous song cycles and chamber works, and a large body of sacred music that includes cantatas, motets, and the orchestral-choral works Four Psalms, Requiem, and Abraham. He also has a substantial body of jazz compositions and arrangements, and is author of the book What Do We Make of Bach? (ARS Nova, LLC, 2018).

Harbison has received commissions from most of America’s premiere musical institutions, including The Metropolitan Opera, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

Harbison’s numerous awards and honours include a MacArthur Fellowship and a Pulitzer Prize. He has been composer-in-residence with the Pittsburgh and Los Angeles orchestras, the American Academy in Rome, and numerous festivals including Tanglewood, Aspen, Marlboro, Santa Fe, and SongFest. A graduate of Harvard and Princeton, he is Institute Professor Emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), principal guest conductor at Emmanuel Music, and past music director of Cantata Singers. He has served as president of the Aaron Copland Fund For Music and a trustee of the American Academy in Rome. He is currently a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a trustee of the Bogliasco Foundation, and chair emeritus of the composition program at Tanglewood. He and violinist Rose Mary Harbison, the inspiration behind many of his works for violin, have been artistic co-directors of the annual Token Creek Chamber Music Festival since its founding in 1989.