To Saint Cecilia

The works of composer Michael Gilbertson have been described as “elegant” and “particularly beautiful” by The New York Times, “vivid, tightly woven” and “delectably subtle” by the Baltimore Sun, “genuinely moving” by the Washington Post, and “a compelling fusion of new and ancient” by the Philadelphia Inquirer. He was one of three finalists for the 2018 Pulitzer Prize in Music for his Quartet. 

Gilbertson’s works have been programmed by the Minnesota Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, Washington National Opera, Albany Symphony, New World Symphony, Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, Grand Rapids Symphony, Santa Barbara Symphony, Virginia Opera, wind ensembles including The United States Marine Band, and professional choirs including Musica Sacra (NY), The Crossing, Volti, Conspirare, The Swedish Radio Choir, and Yale Choral Artists.  

He holds degrees from The Juilliard School, where he studied composition with Samuel Adler, John Corigliano, and Christopher Rouse, and from Yale where he studied with Aaron Jay Kernis, Martin Bresnick, David Lang, Ezra Laderman, Han Lash, Christopher Theofanidis, and Jeanine Tesori. He currently serves as Associate Professor of Composition at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee. 

Gilbertson is the recipient of the American Academy of Arts and Letters’ Lieberson Fellowship, a Copland House Residency Award, five Morton Gould Awards from ASCAP, and a BMI Student Composer Award. His published music includes choral works with Boosey & Hawkes and G. Schirmer, and orchestral works with Theodore Presser.