Biography — Tobias Picker

Tobias Picker is an American composer whose music has been described as “displaying a distinctively soulful style that is one of the glories of the current musical scene” and “one of the most consistently interesting among the present generation of US theatre composers” (BBC Music Magazine), “a genuine creator with a fertile unforced vein of invention” (The New Yorker), and “our finest composer for the lyric stage” (Wall Street Journal).

He was the recipient of the 2020 Grammy Award for “Best Opera Recording” for his family opera, Fantastic Mr. Fox (BMOP Sound). Picker’s operas have been commissioned by Theater St. Gallen (Lili Elbe), Santa Fe Opera (Emmeline), LA Opera (Fantastic Mr. Fox), Dallas Opera (Thérèse Raquin), The Metropolitan Opera (An American Tragedy), San Francisco Opera (Dolores Claiborne), and Opera Theatre Saint Louis (Awakenings). The chamber version of Thérèse Raquin was premiered at The Royal Opera House’s Linbury Theater. His orchestral music has been performed by major American orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, The Philadelphia Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, and the Cleveland Orchestra, as well as the Munich Philharmonic, Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra, and at the BBC Proms. Picker served as Artistic Director of Tulsa Opera from 2016-2022, during which time he cast Lucia Lucas as Don Giovanni, the first transgender opera singer in a leading role on the American stage, as well as producing Greenwood Overcomes, a concert featuring works by 23 Black composers in observance of the 2021 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial. He and his partner of 44 years, novelist and neuroradiologist Aryeh Lev Stollman, were married by Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. His music is published exclusively by Schott.

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Abbreviated Biographies

300 Words:

Tobias Picker is an American composer whose music has been described as “displaying a distinctively soulful style that is one of the glories of the current musical scene” (BBC Music Magazine), “a genuine creator with a fertile unforced vein of invention” (The New Yorker), and “our finest composer for the lyric stage” (Wall Street Journal).  He was the recipient of the 2020 Grammy Award for “Best Opera Recording” for his family opera, Fantastic Mr. Fox (BMOP Sound). Picker’s operas have been commissioned by Theater St. Gallen (Lili Elbe), Santa Fe Opera (Emmeline), LA Opera (Fantastic Mr. Fox), Dallas Opera (Thérèse Raquin), Opera Theatre Saint Louis (Awakenings) San Francisco Opera (Dolores Claiborne), and the Metropolitan Opera (An American Tragedy). The chamber version of Thérèse Raquin was premiered at The Royal Opera House’s Linbury Theater. His catalog includes three symphonies, concertos for violin, viola, cello, oboe, four piano concertos and a ballet, Awakenings (distinct from the opera) commissioned by the Rambert Dance Company and a large body of chamber music. Picker served as composer-in-residence of the Houston Symphony (1985-1990) and subsequently for the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival and the Pacific Music Festival, followed by appointments as artistic director at Opera San Antonio and Tulsa Opera. Picker is a lifetime member the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Tobias Picker was born in New York City in 1954. He studied composition with Charles Wuorinen, Elliott Carter, and Milton Babbitt, and holds degrees from Manhattan School of Music, Juilliard, and Princeton University. He is married to Aryeh Lev Stollman, novelist, neuroradiologist, and librettist for Awakenings and Lili Elbe, based on the life of the Transgender painter, Lili Elbe. His music is published exclusively by Schott. (6/27/23).

180 Words:

Tobias Picker has been commissioned to write operas for the Santa Fe Opera (Emmeline), LA Opera (Fantastic Mr. Fox), Dallas Opera (Thérèse Raquin), San Francisco Opera (Dolores Claiborne), Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (Awakenings) and Metropolitan Opera (An American Tragedy). He has also composed numerous works in other genres, including three symphonies, concertos for violin, viola, cello, and oboe, as well as four piano concertos and chamber music. His orchestral works have been commissioned and performed by the BBC Proms, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Helsinki Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, Munich Philharmonic, National Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, ORF Vienna Radio Symphony, and Tonhalle Orchester Zürich, among others. His honors include the 2020 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording (Fantastic Mr. Fox), and a lifetime membership at the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He is married to Aryeh Lev Stollman, novelist, neuroradiologist, and librettist for his forthcoming opera Lili Elbe, an opera based on the life of the Trans painter, Lili Elbe. His works are published exclusively by Schott Music (6/27/2023).

100 Words:

Tobias Picker, deemed “our finest composer for the lyric stage” by The Wall Street Journal, is a prolific composer in all genres. He has composed six operas, commissioned by Dallas Opera, LA Opera, Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Santa Fe Opera, and Opera Theatre St. Louis. Picker has composed numerous symphonic works including three symphonies, concertos for violin, viola, cello, and oboe, as well as four piano concertos and a ballet. Picker’s recent honors include the 2020 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording (Fantastic Mr. Fox), and a lifetime membership at the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His music is published by Schott (6/27/2023).

70 Words:

Composer Tobias Picker, called “our finest composer for the lyric stage” (The Wall Street Journal), has written six operas, commissioned by Dallas Opera, LA Opera, Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Santa Fe Opera, and Opera Theatre St. Louis. Picker’s recent honors include the 2020 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording (Fantastic Mr. Fox), and a lifetime membership at the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His music is published by Schott (6/27/2023).

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