Moderated by Ben Sackler, musician and student
Philip Glass is an American composer of innovative instrumental, vocal, and operatic music. In the early 1960s, Glass spent two years of intensive study in Paris with Nadia Boulanger and while there, earned money by transcribing Ravi Shankar’s Indian music into Western notation. By 1974, Glass had a number of innovative projects, creating a large collection of new music for The Philip Glass Ensemble, and for the Mabou Mines Theater Company. This period culminated in Music in Twelve Parts, and the landmark opera, Einstein on the Beach, for which he collaborated with Robert Wilson. Since Einstein, Glass has expanded his repertoire to include music for opera, dance, theater, chamber ensemble, orchestra, and film. His scores have received Academy Award nominations and a Golden Globe award. Throughout his career, Glass has also collaborated with a broad array of international musicians representing diverse traditions, including Gambian kora player Foday Musa Suso and pipa player Wu Man, as well as pop and world music artists David Byrne and Paul Simon. A vital figure in the wider artistic milieu, Glass has cultivated relationships with artists who work in other mediums as well, notably painter Chuck Close, who created his portrait in numerous media and for whom he composed A Musical Portrait of Chuck Close (2005). His 2015 memoir Words Without Music chronicles his colorful life in piquant detail.
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