Tyshawn Sorey is Opera Philadelphia’s New Composer-in-Residence

Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Opera Philadelphia’s next composer-in-residence is a musical polymath whose work bridges a wide range of influences and genres. Tyshawn Sorey — a percussionist, pianist, conductor, trombonist, composer, and 2017 MacArthur Fellow — will spend the next year or two immersing himself in the elements of a genre new to him. Sorey grew up in Newark, N.J., and is a professor at Wesleyan University. Although he has never written an opera, his appointment grew out of Cycles of My Being, a set of emotionally complex songs he composed for Opera Philadelphia exploring the African American male experience. It premiered at the Kimmel Center in 2018.