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Marcos Balter (b.1974, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) composes for people rather than for instruments alone. Regarded by critics as "colorful, inventive, (...) with vibrant sonics" [New Music Connoisseur, May 2005], his acoustic works are based on highly controlled physical conditions that often elicit involuntary responses from performers. Individuality is therefore enhanced, inviting the listener to experience music in a confessional, personalized, and intimate way.
His music has been performed and broadcasted in North and South America, Europe, and Asia in venues such as the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan, Teatro Colón, Seiji Osawa Hall, and the Chicago Millennium Park. Past awards and honors include the Leonard Bernstein Fellowship at the 2005 Tanglewood Music Center, a Pre-Doctoral Fellowship from Lawrence University, commissions from the Holland America Music Society and Boston’s New Music at the Gallery, performances at the MusicX, June in Buffalo, Panorama da Música Contemporânea, Musica Nova, E-Werk, and Bounding Board festivals, as well as first prizes at several national and international composition competitions. Previous collaborators include the International Contemporary Ensemble, Ensemble SurPlus, the New York Miniaturist Ensemble, Brave New Works, and Third Coast Percussion Quartet, among others.
Upcoming projects in 2008-09 include the releasing of commercial recordings by violist Nadia Sirota (New Amsterdam Label) and cellist Russell Rolen (independent label), new commissions by harpist/composer Hannah Lash, saxophonists Eric Hewitt, Ryan Muncy, and Geoffrey Deibel, and the New Millennium Orchestra, as well as premieres in Chicago, Boston, New York, and Frankfurt.
He completed his doctoral studies in music composition at Northwestern University, where his main teachers were Augusta Read Thomas, Amy Williams, and Jay Alan Yim. He has also taken lessons in festivals and master classes in Europe and North America with Louis Andriessen, George Benjamin, Pierre Boulez, Oliver Knussen, Christian Lauba, Tristan Murail, Bernard Rands, Wolfgang Rihm, and Kaija Saariaho, among others.
He currently lives in Chicago, IL, and is a music theory lecturer at Northwestern University, teaching courses in counterpoint, analytical techniques, style analysis, and music theory.
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