Biography

The music of American composer Bruce Stark reflects the varied elements of his musical upbringing: studies in percussion, jazz piano, and classical composition. He completed a masters degree in composition at the Juilliard School as a student of Roger Sessions and Vincent Persichetti, thereafter residing in Tokyo for more than 20 years, producing a collection of works that reveal a compelling musical voice. In 2013 he returned to the U.S. and joined the music faculty of DigiPen Institute of Technology in Redmond, Washington.

From piano and chamber works to choral and orchestral pieces, Stark’s music has been performed on the concert stages of four continents, recorded on numerous CDs and broadcast on radio programs worldwide. His Sonata for Piano, commissioned by the Washington State MTA, was awarded Honorable Mention by the Music Teachers National Association in the 2019 Distinguished Composer of the Year Award competition, and he was winner of the 2019-2020 South Texas Brass Symposium Composition Competition for his Adagio and Allegro for horn, trombone and piano. Other awards include First Prize in the Composers Guild Contest, Second Prize in the Barlow International Competition, ASCAP composer awards, First Prize in the Wildflower Music Showcase International Recording Competition, and a Friends of Today's Music commission. His compositions have been featured in the National Flute Association Convention, American Piano Festival, International Trombone Festival, Canberra International Chamber Music Festival, MasterWorks Festival and BluePrints series in New York City. Performances have included the Baton Rouge and Lansing symphonies under Timothy Muffitt, Hong Kong Philharmonic (David Charles Abell), Rapides Symphony (Joshua Zona), Jakarta Symphony (Rebecca Tong), Northwest Symphony Orchestra (Anthony Spain), numerous woodwind quintets and pianists, and trombonists Megumi Kanda and Don Lucas.