Reynold Tharp

Assistant Professor of Composition-Theory

B.A. (Composition), Oberlin Conservatory of Music; Ph.D. (Composition), University of California-Berkeley. Student of Jorge Liderman, Richard Felciano, and Cindy Cox.

The music of Reynold Tharp has been praised for its imaginative use of instrumental colors and orchestration, rhythmic flexibility, careful craftsmanship, and dramatic and emotional power. In recent years his music has been performed in the U.S. and Europe by groups such as the Berkeley Contemporary Chamber Players, Ensemble Diffraction (Paris), the Orchestre Lyrique de Region Avignon-Provence, and the Nieuw Ensemble (Amsterdam). Awards for his music include Columbia University’s George Bearns Prize for his orchestral work Drift, BMI’s William Schuman Prize, and Berkeley’s DeLorenzo Prize.

As recipient of Berkeley’s Ladd Fellowship he spent two years in Paris studying composition with Philippe Leroux and orchestration with Marc-André Dalbavie and was selected for the Stage d’Automne at IRCAM in 2000. He has also participated in international new music festivals and workshops, including Centre Acanthes and IRCAM’s Academie d’Ete. His orchestral work Cold Horizon was performed at the 2006 Minnesota Orchestra Reading Sessions and Composer Institute. He has recently written pieces for the Berkeley Edge Festival and the Irving M. Klein International String Competition in San Francisco.

Recent projects include a commission from the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players for their 2007-2008 season, a piece for Paris-based pianist Ivan Ilic, and a duo for UIUC faculty flutist Jonathan Keeble and UIUC faculty harpist Ann Yeung.

Prior to his appointment at UIUC, Dr. Tharp has also taught composition and theory at Northwestern University’s School of Music, the University of California at Berkeley, and San Francisco State University.