Michael Gandolfi has a broad range of musical interests encompassing not only contemporary concert music but also jazz, blues and rock, by which route he first became a musician. The span of his musical investigation is paralleled by his cultural curiosity, resulting in many points of contact between the world of music and other disciplines, including science, film, education, and theater.
Mr. Gandolfi has had long-standing relationships with the Atlanta, Boston, and Memphis Symphony Orchestras, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the Grant Park Orchestra and the Boston Musica Viva. His wind ensemble works are now a mainstay of the band repertoire and are routinely heard around the world.
Mr. Gandolfi’s discography includes The Garden of Cosmic Speculation, (Telarc, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Robert Spano, conductor) inspired by Charles Jencks’ spectacular private garden in Dumfries, Scotland. It earned a 2009 Grammy nomination for ’Best Classical Contemporary Composition.’ His BMOP Sound recording ‘Y2k Compliant’ was cited by the New York Times as a ‘Best CD of 2008,’ and his ‘From the Institutes of Groove’ (BMOP Sound) received the Boston Globe’s ‘Best Album of 2013’ distinction. Other works are recorded on the Deutsche Grammophon, Telarc, ASO Media, BSO Classics, Reference Recordings, Foghorn Classics, CRI, Innova, Klavier and BMOP Sound labels.
Mr. Gandolfi chairs the composition department at the New England Conservatory of Music, is Head of Composition at the Tanglewood Music Center, and has been a faculty member at Harvard, Indiana, and Boston universities.
B.M., M.M. with honors in composition, NEC. Studies with Oliver Knussen, William Thomas McKinley, and John Heiss. Former faculty of Harvard University. Director of Compositional Activities, Tanglewood Music Center.
