JOHN LIBERATORE
composer

John Liberatore is a composer, pianist, and one of the world’s few glass harmonica players.  Described by critics as “enchanting” and “truly magical” (Boston and New York Classical Review, respectively), his music seeks poignancy through levity, ambiguity through transparency, and complexity within simple textures—“to feel pulled along at varying speeds in multiple directions, but always forward.” (clevelandclassical.com) Over the past several years, his music has received hundreds of performances in venues around the world.  He is the recipient fellowships from MacDowell (2020, 2017 NEA Fellow), Tanglewood, Yaddo, the Brush Creek Arts Foundation, the I-Park Artist’s Enclave, and the Millay Colony.  Other notable distinctions include commissions from the Fromm Music Foundation and the American Opera Initiative, two ASCAP Morton Gould Awards, and the Brian Israel Prize.  Through a 2012 Presser Music Award, he studied in Tokyo with Jo Kondo—a mentorship that made an indelible impression on his music.  Recordings of his works are available on Ravello, Innova, Centaur, and Albany record labels.  He holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music (PhD, MM) and Syracuse University (BM, summa cum laude) and teaches at the University of Notre Dame.

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