The music of composer Marcos Balter (b.1974, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) has been described as "vital, imaginative, (...) surrealistic" [New York Times], "a virtuosic equilibrium of colliding particles (with) both intricate clarity and convincing trajectory" [Boston Globe], "utterly lovely" [Chicago Tribune], "mesmerizing" [Musical America], "delicate" and "transportive" [Time Out Chicago], "a free-form mural in volume, touch, inflection, and presence" [FAME], "colorful, inventive, (...) with vibrant sonics" [New Music Connoisseur], "exciting and refreshing, (...) agile, flexible and fragile" [Zeitschichten]. His works have been championed by many of today's most prestigious and adventurous new music ensembles, performers, and organizations such as the Meet the Composer Foundation, Chicago Symphony Orchestra's MusicNow, Carnegie Hall's Ensemble ACJW, Harvard University's Fromm Concert Series, the Aspen Music Festival, the MATA Festival, the Lockenhaus Kammermusikfestival, the Manhattan Sinfonietta, the New Millennium Orchestra, Ensemble Anaphora, Third Coast Percussion Quartet, the Holland America Music Society, the New York Miniaturist Ensemble, Brave New Works, saxophonists Ryan Muncy and Eric Hewitt, and percussionist Samuel Z. Solomon in venues such as the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan, E-Werk Freiburg, Darmstadt Ferienkurse, Teatro Colón of Buenos Aires, Seiji Osawa Hall, Merkin Hall, the Juilliard School, Le Poisson Rouge, The Stone, Harris Theater, Paine Hall, and the Chicago Millennium Park. Past awards and honors include the Leonard Bernstein Fellowship at the 2005 Tanglewood Music Center, commissions from the 2008 HAMS International Violin Competition and Boston’s New Gallery Series, performances at the MusicX, June in Buffalo, Tanglewood Music Festival, Boston Conservatory’s Hard Stuff New Music Festival, the World Saxophone Congress, the Chicago Latino Composers Festival, Panorama da Música Contemporânea, Musica Nova, as well as first prizes at several national and international composition competitions. Previous recordings of his works include Nadia Sirota's "First Things First" (New Amsterdam Records), nominated by both the New York Times and Time Out New York as one of the top-10 classical record releases of 2009. He completed his doctoral studies in music composition at Northwestern University, graduating with departmental honors as well as being the recipient of the school’s William Karlins Composition Award and the Faricy Award for Creative Music. His main composition teachers were Augusta Read Thomas, Amy Williams, and Jay Alan Yim. He has also taken lessons in festivals and master classes in Europe and North America with Louis Andriessen, George Benjamin, Pierre Boulez, Oliver Knussen, Christian Lauba, Tristan Murail, Enno Poppe, Bernard Rands, Wolfgang Rihm, and Kaija Saariaho, among others. Projects in 2010-2011 include performances in North America and Europe by artists such as the International Contemporary Ensemble, Chicago Symphony Orchestra's MusicNow, Spektral Quartet, Chicago Composers Orchestra, Anubis Saxophone Quartet, Ensemble Dal Niente, Boston Conservatory Wind Ensemble, soprano Tony Arnold, tenor Peter Tantsits, the WIRED duo (Claire Chase & Eric Lamb), violist Nadia Sirota, saxophonists Eric Hewitt and Ryan Muncy, and clarinetist Michael Norsworthy. Having previously taught at the University of Pittsburgh, Northwestern University, and Lawrence University, he is currently the Director of the Music Composition program at Columbia College Chicago. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.