Augusta Read Thomas

Augusta Read Thomas is a celebrated American composer, born in 1964 in Glen Cove, New York, whose music is renowned for its extraordinary clarity, elegance, and bold resonance. Describing herself as a "poet-composer," Thomas crafts her compositions with the same meticulous care and refinement that poets bring to their verses. Her impressive body of work, which has earned her a Grammy Award, is characterized by unbridled passion and fierce poetry, offering a nuanced, majestic, and colorful listening experience. Thomas has held prestigious positions, including the Mead Composer-in-Residence for Pierre Boulez and Daniel Barenboim at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and continues to inspire as a University Professor of Composition at the University of Chicago. Her music is a testament to her artistic obsession and her ability to create works that are both lyrical and capricious, captivating audiences worldwide.