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Oscar Bettison is a composer of visceral, uncompromising, and immersive music that has been described by radio host and music writer John Schaefer as having a “menacing beauty.”
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An unconventional lyricism and a menacing beauty
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Awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship in 2017
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Commissions include Los Angeles Philharmonic, MusikFabrik, So Percussion, Ensemble Klang, Bang on a Can All Stars, London Sinfonietta,the BBC, Oregon Symphony, Alarm Will Sound, and New World Symphony
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Writes for existing instruments with creative and re-imagined roles, as well as "Cinderella" instruments (invented instruments made from found materials)
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Composition Faculty at Peabody Institute since 2009
Oscar Bettison’s I Am a Garden Adorned Premieres with loadbang
Loadbang. Photo credit: Tatiana Daubek
On February 24, Oscar Bettison’s I Am a Garden Adorned receives its world premiere with new music ensemble loadbang at The Center for Contemporary Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, followed by a performance in Albuquerque the next day. Commissioned by the Serge Koussevitzky Music Foundation in the Library of Congress, the work is written for a mixed ensemble of baritone, bass clarinet, trumpet, and trombone, plus electronics. The concerts are presented by Chatter, whose mission is to promote contemporary repertoire and the use of unusual instrumentation. [read more]
[Latest Project] Watch behind the scenes video
The Light of Lesser Days
Oscar Bettison’s opera The Light of Lesser Days premieres with soprano Katrien Baerts, mezzo-soprano Barbara Kozelj, Asko|Schoenberg, and conductor Clark Rundell on September 9 in Utrecht. The opera also premieres in Amsterdam, September 16.