Much of Dan Visconti’s musical output has been informed by his background as an active jazz and rock guitarist. Inspired by both the directness of expression and maverick spirit of the American vernacular, his works often explore gritty timbres, complex textures, and propulsive rhythms—elements that tend to collide in unexpected ways with Visconti’s experience as a classically-trained violinist, resulting in a musical stance one reviewer describes as “both mature and youthful, bristling with exhilarating musical ideas and a powerfully crafted lyricism.”

Visconti studied composition at the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Yale School of Music, primarily with Margaret Brouwer, Aaron Jay Kernis, Ezra Laderman, and Zhou Long. As an educator his commitment to engaging new audiences often involves unconventional venues and approaches; past projects include interactive videoconferencing presentations on the social history of music and civil rights in America as well as appearances at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His online journal (hosted by Dartmouth's Hopkins Center for the Arts) detailed the compositional process in a multimedia experience that garnered attention from musicians and laypeople alike.

This coming Fall, Visconti will begin a year residency at Berlin's Hans Arnhold Center as recipient of the Berlin Prize. His compositions have also been honored with awards from BMI and ASCAP, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Society of Composers as well as the Bearns Prize from Columbia University; recently, he was awarded the 2008 Cleveland Arts Prize. In addition to grants from the American Music Center, the Barlow Endowment, Meet the Composer, and Chamber Music America, he has been the recipient of artist fellowships from the MacDowell Colony, Villa Montalvo, the Annenberg Foundation, the Virginia Commission for the Arts, and Copland House, one of the youngest composers to receive these distinctions.

His works continue to receive performances by some of the country's top interpreters of contemporary music, including eighth blackbird, the American Composers Orchestra, the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, and the Cleveland Chamber Symphony. Recent commissions have come from the Kronos Quartet, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Albany Symphony, the Annapolis Symphony, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, the New York Youth Symphony, Antares, the Jupiter Quartet, the Corigliano Quartet, the Janaki Trio, and virtuoso guitarist Jason Vieaux.

Visconti is a member of BMI and currently resides in Washington, DC.

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