bio
Andrew McManus’ (b. 1985) orchestral work Strobe, premiered in 2014 by the New York Philharmonic, was called “riveting” and “breathless…surging…hazy…sometimes all at once” by the New York Times. In 2014 he began Neurosonics, a long-term collaboration with University of Chicago neuroscientist, that creates electronic soundscapes using data from experiments used in the study of epilepsy. New Music USA funded the project’s second work, pathways, bursting, which places the Spektral Quartet amidst a sea of occasionally violent artificial sounds. Embers, fused to ash, for Alarm Will Sound, amalgamates Wagner’s “Magic Fire Music” with other fire-based imagery and timbres.
He is a 2018 recipient of an Aaron Copland House Residency Award, as well as a residency with the Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts. Other ensembles and festivals that have featured his work include SEAMUS, eighth blackbird, the Pacifica Quartet, Fort Worth Opera, the SPLICE Institute, the Aspen Music Festival, and the Minnesota Orchestra.
In 2020 he was Limited Term Assistant Professor of Composition at the University of Georgia Hugh Hodgson School of Music. He holds degrees from the University of Chicago, the Eastman School of Music, and Yale University.
works
- impulse response [neurosonics 4] for tenor saxophone and spatial sound, 2019. 8′
- for the SPLICE Institute
- dendrites [neurosonics 3b] for spatial sound, 2018. 18′
- auras [neurosonics 3a] for clarinet, saxophone, percussion, violin, cello and piano, 2018. 8′
- for Latitude 49, with support from the Aaron Copland House and the Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts
- pathways, bursting [neurosonics 2], for string quartet and spatial sound, 2017. 21’
- for the Spektral Quartet, with support from New Music USA
- the has-been to beachey, for mezzo-soprano, violin and cello, 2016. 6’
- for Access Contemporary Music and the 2016 Ear Taxi Festival
- atlas fractures for wind ensemble, 2016. 9’
- consortium commission by the Bethel College Wind Ensemble and others
- embers, relit for clarinet, violin and cello, 2015. 4’
- for CULTIVATE and Musicians from Copland House
- embers, fused to ash for large ensemble, 2015. 9’
- for Alarm Will Sound and the Mizzou International Composers Festival
- Neurosonics I for spatial sound, 2015. 7’
- for the Arts | Science Initiative at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts
- moments from “Killing the Goat”, for chamber ensemble, 2014. 7’
- for the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble
- Killing the Goat opera for 3 voices and chamber ensemble after Mario Vargas Llosa, 2014. 40’
- for eighth blackbird, the Pacifica Quartet and the Contempo Chamber Players
- Strobe for orchestra, 2013. 10’
- Airborne Contraption for solo violin, 2013. 6’
- Mesospherics for electronic playback, 2013. 10′
- Flights for solo viola, 2012. 8’
- The Sacred and the Profane for string quartet, 2010 (rev. 2012). 13’
- for the Spektral Quartet
- Ancient Vigils for piano quintet, 2012. 8’
- for the New York Youth Symphony Chamber Music Program
- The Rarer Action for mezzo-soprano or baritone and chamber ensemble, 2012. 9’
- Frescoes for flute, clarinet, violin and cello, 2012. 4’
- for the Atlantic Music Festival
- Warrior for flute, clarinet and percussion, 2012. 13’
- for eighth blackbird
- Three Tempest Airs for soprano and piano, 2011. 6’
- The Concerto of Deliverance for orchestra, 2010. 11’
for the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra - The Generator for clarinet, viola and piano, 2010. 8‘
for eighth blackbird - The Face without Pain or Fear or Guilt for chamber ensemble, 2009. 8’
- Orbits for viola and piano, 2009. 9’
- Purpura Songs for baritone and chamber ensemble, 2008. 3’
for the Benson Forum on Creativity - Finnegan’s Logic for large ensemble and electronics, 2008-2009. 16‘
for the Eastman Composers Sinfonietta - The Immovable Movers, for chamber ensemble, 2008. 6’
- Taibhse for electronic playback, 2008. 5’
- Identity for orchestra, 2008. 10’
for the 2008 Minnesota Orchestra Composers Institute
Andrew McManus: composer | educator 