Joan Tower

Full biography Joan Tower

Joan Tower is a celebrated American composer known for her prolific contributions to contemporary classical music. Born on September 6, 1938, in New Rochelle, New York, Tower grew up in a family of musicians, which exposed her to classical music at a young age. She began playing the piano when she was just nine years old and gravitated towards the genre of classical music as she grew older.

Tower attended Bennington College, where she studied music and piano performance. After her undergraduate studies, she pursued graduate degrees in composition at Columbia University and the University of Chicago, where she was mentored by composer and music theorist Ralph Shapey.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Tower's compositions gained widespread recognition, often utilizing unconventional tonal structures and musical techniques. She was awarded numerous grants and prizes, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts grant, and the prestigious Grawemeyer Award.

Tower's music has been performed by major orchestras and ensembles around the world, including the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the Tokyo String Quartet. Her works frequently explore themes of energy, transformation, and empowerment, with pieces such as "Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman," a modern tribute to Copland's "Fanfare for the Common Man," becoming widely recognized.

In addition to her work as a composer, Tower has also been a dedicated music educator and mentor, serving on the faculty at Bard College since 1972. She has impacted countless students with her innovative and inspiring teaching methods, and her passion for pushing the boundaries of classical music has solidified her place as one of the most important composers of the 20th and 21st centuries.