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Festival Biographies
Kyle Gann
Born in 1955 in Dallas, Kyle Gann is a composer and was new-music critic for the Village Voice from 1986 to 2005. Since 1997, he has taught at Bard College. He is the author of The Music of Conlon Nancarrow, American Music in the 20th Century, Music Downtown: Writings from the Village Voice, No Such Thing as Silence: John Cage's 4'33", Robert Ashley and the introduction to the 50th-anniversary edition of Cage's Silence.
Mr. Gann studied composition with Ben Johnston, Morton Feldman and Peter Gena. Of his more than 100 works to date, about a fourth are microtonal, using up to 37 pitches per octave. He has received commissions from the Orkest de Volharding, the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir, the Dessoff Choir, the Relache Ensemble, pianist Sarah Cahill and many others. His music is available on the New Albion, New World, Cold Blue, Lovely Music, Mode, Meyer Media, Brilliant Classics, New Tone and Monroe Street labels. In 2003, the American Music Center awarded Mr. Gann its Letter of Distinction.