# Augusta Read Thomas ![Augusta Read Thomas](/sites/g/files/omnuum3121/files/styles/hwp_4_5__480x600/public/fromm/files/augusta-read-thomas.jpg?itok=xenviu9v) laptop\_windows [(This composer has multiple commissions - click here to view all)](/people/augusta-read-thomas) Title: *Starlight Ribbons* Commission: 2010 Completed: 2013 Instrumentation: piano Premiere Location: Bargemusic, NYC Premiere Ensemble: Daniel Schlosberg Notes: Title: *Eclipse Musings: A Double Concerto* Commission: 1995 Completed: 1996 Instrumentation: flute, guitar, and chamber orchestra Premiere Location: The National Flute Association Convention, New York Marriot Marquis Premiere Ensemble: Bonita Boyd (flute), Nicholas Goluses (guitar) Notes: Title: *Summer Angels* Commission: 1991 Completed: 1992 Instrumentation: piano Premiere Location: Frank E Taplin Auditorium, Princeton University Premiere Ensemble: Martin Goldray, piano Notes: The music of Augusta Read Thomas (b. 1964 in New York) is nuanced, majestic, elegant, capricious, lyrical, and colorful—“it is boldly considered music that celebrates the sound of the instruments and reaffirms the vitality of orchestral music” (*Philadelphia Inquirer*). A composer featured on a Grammy–winning CD by Chanticleer and Pulitzer Prize finalist, Thomas’ impressive body of works “embodies unbridled passion and fierce poetry” (American Academy of Arts and Letters). The *New Yorker* magazine called her “a true virtuoso composer.” Championed by such luminaries as Barenboim, Rostropovich, Boulez, Eschenbach, Salonen, Maazel, Ozawa, and Knussen, she rose early to the top of her profession. The American Academy of Arts and Letters described Thomas as “one of the most recognizable and widely loved figures in American Music.” She is a University Professor of Composition in Music and the College at The University of Chicago. Thomas was the longest-serving Mead Composer-in-Residence with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for conductors Daniel Barenboim and Pierre Boulez (1997–2006). This residency culminated in the premiere of *Astral Canticle*, one of two finalists for the 2007 Pulitzer Prize in Music. During her residency, Thomas not only premiered nine commissioned orchestral works, but was also central in establishing the thriving MusicNOW series, through which she commissioned and programmed the work of many living composers. For the 2017–2018 concert season, Thomas was the Composer-in-Residence with the Eugene Symphony Orchestra, while Francesco Lecce-Chong served as Music Director and Scott Freck as Executive Director. Thomas was MUSICALIVE Composer-in-Residence with the New Haven Symphony, a national residency program of The League of American Orchestras and Meet the Composer. - ## Commission Date [1991](/commissiondate/1991) [1995](/commissiondate/1995) [2010](/commissiondate/2010) - ## Completion Date [1992](/completiondate/1992) [1996](/completiondate/1996) [2013](/completiondate/2013) - ## Composer [Thomas, Augusta Read](/composer/thomas-augusta-read) - ## Commissions [Past Commissions](/pastcommisions)