 Eric Sawyer Composer Profile A native of California, Eric Sawyer has received frequent performances of his compositions on both coasts. His music has been heard at New York's Weill and Merkin concert halls and at Tanglewood, as well as in England, France, and Germany. Recent performances include works on programs by Trio Phoenix, Earplay, Octagon, Alternate Currents, and the Empyrean Ensemble. He is currenly writing an opera with poet John Shoptaw entitled Our American Cousin, telling the story of the story of the assassination of Lincoln from the point of view of the acting troupe at Ford's Theater. Mr. Sawyer has received the Joseph Bearns Prize and awards from the Tanglewood Music Center and the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and has held fellowships from the MacDowell Colony and Harvard University. He has appeared frequently as a solo and chamber pianist, recently on programs by Empyrean, Lighthouse Chamber Players, and Composers in Red Sneakers. He has taught theory and composition at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Wellesley College, and MIT, and he recently was appointed Chair of Composition and Theory at the Longy School of Music. Mr. Sawyer received his undergraduate musical training at Harvard College, and completed his graduate studies at Columbia University and the University of California, Davis. His teachers have included Leon Kirchner, Ross Bauer, Tison Street, and Andrew Imbrie for composition, and Victor Rosenbaum and Tatiana Yampolsky for piano.
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