Nicolas Roussakis
Nicolas Roussakis (born June 10, 1934 in Athens , † October 23, 1994 in New York City ) was an American composer and music teacher of Greek origin.
life and work
Roussakis moved early from Greece to Estonia and Italy into Switzerland . He came to the United States at the age of 15 and became a US citizen in 1956. He studied at Columbia University in New York with Otto Luening , Henry Cowell and Vladimir Ussachevski, among others . A Fulbright scholarship enabled him to take part in the Darmstadt summer courses with Luciano Berio , Pierre Boulez , György Ligeti and Karlheinz Stockhausen in 1962/63 . He also studied for a while in Hamburg with Philipp Jarnach . Since 1968 he taught at Columbia University, from 1977 at Rutgers University in New Jersey . Roussakis was president of the American Composers Alliance from 1975 to 1981 and co-founder of the American Composers Orchestra in 1976 .
In his compositions Roussakis made use of the techniques of twelve-tone music and serialism , but was also inspired by Greek folk music. The titles of his works, including the symphonic poem Fire and Earth and Water and Air (1983), Hymn to Apollo for chamber orchestra (1989) and Ephemeris for string quartet (1979) refer in part to Greek mythology.
literature
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Roussakis, Nicolas |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American composer and music teacher of Greek origin |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 10, 1934 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Athens |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 23, 1994 |
| Place of death | New York City |