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David Dzubay was born in 1964 in Minneapolis and raised in Portland, Oregon by his parents, architect Dale Dzubay and educator Edith Dzubay. Returning to the midwest for school, he earned a D.M. in Composition at Indiana University in 1991. Additional study was undertaken as a Koussevitzky Fellow in Composition at the Tanglewood Music Center (1990), at the June in Buffalo Festival, and as co-principal trumpet of the National Repertory Orchestra in Colorado (1988, 1989). His principal teachers were Donald Erb, Frederick Fox, Eugene O'Brien, Lukas Foss, Oliver Knussen, Allan Dean and Bernard Adelstein.

David Dzubay's music has been performed in the U.S., Europe, Canada, Mexico, and Asia, by ensembles including the symphony orchestras of Aspen, Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Cincinnati, Detroit, Honolulu, Kansas City, Louisville, Memphis, Minnesota, Oregon, Oakland, St. Louis and Vancouver; the American Composers Orchestra, National Symphonies of Ireland and Mexico, New World Symphony, National Repertory Orchestra and New York Youth Symphony; and ensembles including Le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne (Montreal), Onix (Mexico), Manhattan Brass, Voices of Change (Dallas), the Alexander and Orion String Quartets, the League/ISCM, Earplay and the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players. His music has been championed by soloists including Thomas Robertello, Corey Cerovsek, Carter Enyeart, James Campbell, Liana Gourdjia, Eric Nestler and David Starobin, and conductors including James DePreist, George Hanson, David Loebel, Michael Morgan, Eiji Oue, Richard Pittman, Iván del Prado, Lawrence Leighton Smith, Carl Topilow, David Wiley, Thomas WIlkins, Samuel Wong, Kirk Trevor, Carlos Kalmar, JoAnn Falletta, Keith Lockhart and David Zinman. His music is published by Pro Nova Music, Dorn, and Thompson Edition and is recorded on the Sony, Centaur, Bridge, Innova, Crystal, Klavier, Gia, First Edition and Indiana University labels.

Honors include 2000 and 2015 Fromm Commissions, a 2011 Arts and Letters Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Guggenheim (2007), Bogliasco (2013), MacDowell (2006, 2007), Yaddo (2008), Copland House (2008) and Djerassi (2007) fellowships; the 2010 Heckscher Foundation-Ithaca College Composition Prize, 2009 Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival Composition Competition, 2007 Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra Composition Competition, 2005 Utah Arts Festival Commission, 2005 Columbia Orchestra American Composers Competition, 2004 William Revelli Memorial Prize from the National Band Association, 2003 Commission from the Metropolitan Wind Symphony, 2001 Walter Beeler Memorial Prize, 2000 Wayne Peterson Prize; and grants from the Aaron Copland Fund for Music for all-Dzubay CDs by Voices of Change (innova 588) and the Manhattan Brass (Bridge). Dzubay has also received awards from the NEA (1992-1993), BMI (1987, 1988), ASCAP (1988, 1989, 1990), the American Music Center, Composers, Inc., Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Indiana State University, Indiana University (including the “Outstanding Junior Faculty Award”), the Tanglewood Music Center, and the Cincinnati Symphony.

Currently professor of music and director of the New Music Ensemble at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, Dzubay was previously on the faculty of the University of North Texas in Denton. Dzubay has conducted at the Tanglewood, Aspen, and June in Buffalo festivals and has also conducted the Grossman Ensemble (Chicago), the League of Composers Orchestra (New York), the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, Music from China, Voices of Change (Dallas), and an ensemble from the Minnesota Orchestra and other ensembles. From 1995 to 1998 he served as Composer-Consultant to the Minnesota Orchestra, helping direct their "Perfect-Pitch" reading sessions, and during 2005-2006 he was Meet the Composer/American Symphony Orchestra League Music Alive Composer-in-Residence with the Green Bay Symphony Orchestra. Since 2011, Dzubay has taught composition for three weeks each summer at the Brevard Music Center, including conducting composer readings with orchestra and band. During 2017, he taught for two weeks at Yonsei University, one week each at June in Buffalo and in Costa Rica, and was featured guest composer at the University of Louisville New Music Festival. Traveling to China twice in 2019, Dzubay was guest composer at the China-Asean Music Festival in Nanning (May 27-June 2) and taught at the Beijing International Composition Workshop (July 13-21). He had works premiered in 2019 by the Pacifica String Quartet, the Quad City Symphony Orchestra, and the Grossman Ensemble of the Chicago Center for Contemporary Composition on a concert he conducted that also included premieres by Kate Soper and Steve Lehman. In March 2019, Thomas Wilkins led the Boston Symphony Orchestra in eight performances of Dzubay’s Ra!.


Short version biography

David Dzubay was born in 1964 in Minneapolis, grew up in Portland, Oregon, and earned a D.M. in Composition at Indiana University in 1991. Additional studies included a fellowship in composition at Tanglewood (1990) and two summers as co-principal trumpet of the National Repertory Orchestra (1988, 1989). His principal teachers were Donald Erb, Frederick Fox, Eugene O'Brien, Lukas Foss, Allan Dean and Bernard Adelstein. David Dzubay's music has been performed by orchestras, ensembles and soloists in the U.S., Europe, Canada, Mexico, and Asia. His music is published by Pro Nova Music, Dorn, and Thompson Edition and is recorded on the Sony, Bridge, Centaur, Innova, Crystal, Klavier, Gia, First Edition and Indiana University labels. Honors include 2000 and 2015 Fromm Commissions, Guggenheim, Bogliasco, MacDowell, Yaddo, Copland House and Djerassi fellowships, a 2011 Arts and Letters Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the 2010 Heckscher Foundation-Ithaca College Composition Prize, 2009 Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival Composition Competition, 2007 Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra Composition Competition, 2005 Utah Arts Festival Commission and the 2004 William Revelli Memorial Prize from the National Band Association.

A member of the faculty and director of the New Music Ensemble at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music since 1992, Dzubay is professor of music and has been chair of the composition department since 2006. He has conducted at the Tanglewood, Aspen, and June in Buffalo festivals. He has also conducted the Grossman Ensemble (Chicago), the League of Composers Orchestra (New York), the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, the Greater Dallas Youth Symphony Orchestra, Music from China, Voices of Change (Dallas), and an ensemble from the Minnesota Orchestra, among other groups. From 1995 to 1998 he served as Composer-Consultant to the Minnesota Orchestra, helping direct their "Perfect-Pitch" reading sessions, and during 2005-2006 he was Meet The Composer "Music Alive" Composer-in-Residence with the Green Bay Symphony Orchestra. Since 2011, Dzubay has taught composition for three weeks each summer at the Brevard Music Center, where he also conducts the composer readings with orchestra and band. Traveling to China twice in 2019, Dzubay was guest composer at the China-Asean Music Festival in Nanning (May 27-June 2) and taught at the Beijing International Composition Workshop (July 13-21). He had works premiered in 2019 by the Pacifica String Quartet, the Quad City Symphony Orchestra, and the Grossman Ensemble of the Chicago Center for Contemporary Composition on a concert he conducted that also included premieres by Kate Soper and Steve Lehman. In March 2019, Thomas Wilkins led the Boston Symphony Orchestra in eight performances of Dzubay’s Ra!.


Even shorter biography

David Dzubay has received commissions from Meet the Composer, Chamber Music America, the National Endowment for the Arts, the US-Mexico Fund for Culture, and the Fromm and Barlow foundations, among others. Honors include Guggenheim, Bogliasco, MacDowell, Yaddo, Copland House and Djerassi fellowships, and a 2011 Arts and Letters Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His music has been performed by orchestras, ensembles and soloists in the U.S., Europe, Canada, Mexico, and Asia, and is published by Pro Nova Music and recorded on the Sony, Bridge, Centaur, Innova, Naxos, Crystal, Klavier, Gia, and First Edition labels. Currently professor of music and director of the New Music Ensemble at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, Dzubay also spent three years as Composer-Consultant to the Minnesota Orchestra and one as Composer-in-Residence with the Green Bay Symphony. Since 2011, he has taught composition for three weeks each summer at the Brevard Music Center.