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Samuel Adams (composer)

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For other people named Samuel Adams, see Samuel Adams (disambiguation).
Samuel Adams
Background information
Birth nameSamuel Carl Adams
Born (1985-12-30) December 30, 1985 (age 38)
OriginSan Francisco, California, United States
GenresContemporary classical, electronic, electroacoustic
OccupationsComposer, sound designer, double bassist
Years active2010–present
Websitewww.samuelcarladams.com
Awards: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship, 2019

Samuel Adams (born December 30, 1985) is an American composer. He was born in San Francisco, California. He is a recipient of a 2019 Guggenheim Fellowship.

Life and career

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Adams grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he performed double bass and studied composition and electroacoustics at Stanford University; he later studied with Martin Bresnick. His music draws on his experiences in a diverse array of disciplines including classical forms, microsound, noise, improvised music and field recording.[1]

Adams has received commissions from New World Symphony, San Francisco Symphony,[2][3][4] Carnegie Hall, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and has collaborated with performers such as Emanuel Ax, Sarah Cahill, Karen Gomyo, Jennifer Koh, Anthony Marwood, Joyce Yang and conductors such as David Robertson, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Michael Tilson Thomas. He is currently one of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's two composers-in-residence, having been jointly named to the post with Elizabeth Ogonek in 2015.[5]

He is the son of composer John Adams and photographer Deborah O'Grady.[6]

Notable works

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Orchestral and Large Ensemble Works

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  • Drift and Providence (2012)
  • Violin Concerto (2013)
  • Radial Play (2014)[7]
  • many words of love (2016)[8]
  • Chamber Concerto (2017)
  • Movements (for Us and Them) (Concerto Grosso) (2018)
  • Variations (2020)
  • Echo Transcriptions (2022)
  • No Such Spring (2021-2022)
  • Eden Interstates (2023)

Chamber works

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  • Tension Studies for electric guitar, percussion, and electronics (2010 - 2011)
  • String Quartet in Five Movements (2013)
  • Quartet Movement (2016)
  • Quintet with Pillars (2018)
  • Second Quartet (2016-2019)
  • Violin Diptych (2020)[9]
  • Sundial (2021)

Solo works

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  • Shade Studies (2014)
  • Impromptus (2015)
  • Sonatas (2016)
  • Playing Changes (2020)
  • Etudes (2023)

Multimedia works

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  • Lyra (2018-2020)

Discography

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  • Current (Other Minds Records, 2023)
  • Lyra (Earthy Records, 2022)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Day, Jeffrey (2013-06-02). "A brief, rough draft of music history". Charleston City Paper. Archived from the original on 2013-09-06. Retrieved 2013-09-06.
  2. ^ Anthony Tommasini (2012-09-30). "Orchestra and Laptop on a Voyage of Discovery". New York Times. Retrieved 2013-09-06.
  3. ^ Joshua Kosman (2012-09-30). "'Drift and Providence' delivers: review". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2013-09-06.
  4. ^ Mark Swed (2013-04-18). "Critic's Notebook: Music That's All Over the Map". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2013-09-06.
  5. ^ Doyle Armbrust (2015-10-01). "Meet the Chicago Symphony's Newest Composers-in-Residence". Chicago Magazine. Retrieved 2017-03-19.
  6. ^ "For Samuel Carl Adams, a Composer Is Both Architect and Bricklayer". www.sfcv.org. Retrieved 2023-09-04.
  7. ^ Anastasia Tsoiuclas (2014-07-22). "America's Youth Orchestra Hits The Road — This Time, Playing For U.S." National Public Radio. Retrieved 2017-03-19.
  8. ^ Nancy Malitz (2017-03-20). "Lyricism Layered in Words of Love". Classical Voice America. Retrieved 2017-03-20.
  9. ^ Merlijn Kerkhof (2020-11-20). "Violinist Joe Puglia brings us into an almost trance with expressive grinding and stunning violin notes". De Volkskrant. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
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