Jefferson Friedman

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American composer Jefferson Friedman was born in 1974 in Massachusetts. His work has been performed throughout the United States and abroad, most notably at The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall and Avery Fisher Hall, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, and the American Academy in Rome. Friedman has been commissioned three times by Leonard Slatkin and the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO). In October 2007, the NSO commissioned and premiered a revised version of Friedman’s Sacred Heart: Explosion, which is based on the work of visionary artist Henry Darger. In addition to his works for orchestra, Friedman has written three string quartets for the Chiara Quartet. His String Quartet No. 2 has been published by G. Schirmer, Inc. and has been recorded by The Corigliano Quartet. This piece was also recently featured with new choreography by Brian Reeder as part of Miller Theatre’s opening night in 2006, and selections from both String Quartets Nos. 2 and 3 were performed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Friedman’s honors and awards include the Rome Prize, the ASCAP Leo Kaplan Award, the BMI Student Composer Award, the ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award, and the Palmer-Dixon Prize. He received a master’s degree in music composition from The Juilliard School and a bachelor of arts degree from Columbia University.