Mar 30, 2024 4:00 pm

Italian-American composer, keyboardist and conductor Raphael Fusco has been hailed by the international press as “one of the most outstanding composers of his generation (El Mundo),” and “accomplished and winning (The New York Times).”

His genre-crossing compositions for voice, chamber ensembles, historical instruments, orchestra, opera and theater have been commissioned by Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Cecilia Chorus of New York, I Cantori New York, Hartford Chorale, Opernfestival Oberpfalz, Forum Neue Kunst, Opera Lucca, Classic Lyric Arts Festival, The German Forum, New York Repertory Orchestra, Empire Chamber Orchestra, Bachanalia, I Porporini and members of the New York Philharmonic and Metropolitan Opera Orchestras. He has collaborated with world-class artists such as GRAMMY Award winning saxophonist Branford Marsalis, countertenor Nicholas Tamagna, conductors Dirk Brossé, Mark Shapiro and many others. His works have been premiered in Carnegie Hall, Kimmel Center Philadelphia, Lincoln Center, St. Bavo Kerk Haarlem, Gaudì’s Casa Milà in Barcelona, Église de Saint Séverin in Paris, Dvorak House in Prague and Teatro Titano in San Marino.

In 2023 his song cycle Quarantine Camp was awarded 2nd Prize NATS Art Song Composition Competition and his choral work God is in All Things won 3rd Prize in the Fyfe Choral Composition. He conducted the world premieres of his An American Requiem in the Herz Jesu Kirche of Graz and his cantata La canora contesa in Lucca, Italy in 2022. In 2021 he conducted the premieres of his operas inSOMNIA in Amberg, Germany (“a multifaceted, atmospheric tone world of pure poetry and powerful energy” Mittelbayerische Zeitung) and Der Telefonist in Oldenburg, Germany. His debut album REMIXED featuring original compositions for solo piano praised for their “stunning sonic ideas (Jazz Corner)” was released in 2019. In 2016 he premiered his concerto for saxophone Alternate Routes with GRAMMY Award winning saxophonist Branford Marsalis. In 2012 Cecilia Chorus and Orchestra premiered Divis Cetera in Carnegie Hall (“a wise piece…simply wonderful” Theaterscene). In 2010 The New York Repertory Orchestra premiered his Sinfonia Drammatica. In 2007 Raphael made his Lincoln Center Debut conducting his Concertone from the harpsichord with Bachanalia Festival Orchestra, and his oratorio Lamentations of Jeremiah was premiered by Barbara Dever and I Cantori New York at the New York Society for Ethical Culture in the 2004.

Mr. Fusco has received awards from the American Prize for Music, NATS Art Song Composition Competition, Aliénor International Harpsichord Competition, Padre Martini Fugue Award, Bohuslav Martinū Composition Award, as well as grants from the National Italian American Foundation, Exploring the Metropolis, Kunstuniversität Graz KWDS, and Land Steiermark. His works are published by Universal Edition and Verlag Vienna and Ries & Erler Berlin. Since 2019 Raphael Fusco has served as Senior Artist in the Institute for music theater at the University for Performing Arts in Graz, Austria where he is pursuing a doctoral degree in artistic research.

As a pianist and harpsichordist Mr. Fusco has performed with the New York Philharmonic, American Ballet Theatre, Gotham Chamber Opera, Graz Opera, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Amherst Early Music Festival, and toured with Branford Marsalis. In 2013 and 2015 he was artist-in-residence at the Piccola Academia di Montisi where he composed on one of the world’s finest collections of historical keyboard instruments. He has conducted opera productions at Kunstuniversität Graz, Morningside Opera, Boston University, Amato Opera, Company XIV, and was music director of Figaro90210! off Broadway (“Hands down the best opera update I’ve ever seen.” Placido Domingo).

Raphael studied composition, piano, and conducting at the Mannes College of Music, Manhattan School of Music, Conservatorio G. Verdi di Torino, Vienna Konservatorium, and Paris Schola Cantorum. A passionate educator, he has given masterclasses at the Escuela Superior de Canto de Madrid, Manhattan School of Music, Boston University, Opera Lucca Festival and Classic Lyric Arts Festival in Italy.

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