New Music USA Online Library

Ernesto Pellegrini, born in 1932, studied composition with Vittorio Giannini and Vincent Persichetti while working on his Bachelor's and Master's degrees at the Juilliard School of Music, and, his doctoral studies, with Richard Hervig at the University of Iowa. He has been an IBM Fellow, a Composers' Conference Fellow, and a Charles Ives Center for American Music Fellow. He has been awarded first prize in the League of Composers-International Society for Contemporary Music National Contest, the Arizona Cello Society-ASUC Cello Ensemble competition, and second prize in the Rheta A. Sosland competition. He has been a recipient of an Indiana Arts Commission Summer Master Fellowship Grant, a Composer Assistance Grant from the American Music Center, four Creative Arts Grants from Ball State University, and a number of commissions, as well as numerous ASCAP Panel awards. Many of his works have been featured regionally, nationally, and internationally. Premieres have been featured at such conferences as the 10th Saxophone World Congress (1992), the 21st Annual Convention of the National Flute Association (1993), and more recent the 28th International Double-Reed Society (1999). His Violin Concerto (1986) was specifically composed for Dmitry Sitkovetsky and the Fort Wayne Philharmonic (1987). His Piano Concerto (1988), written for Mitchell Andrews, and Scylla and Charybdis (1993), written for Roger Malitz, were highlighted by the Muncie Symphony Orchestra (1991 and 1994). Divertimento a tre, Serenata a tre, and the Trio: Preludio, Intermezzo, and Finale have been recorded on the CRS label. CRS will include also his Duolog I in a forthcoming CD. His Movement III, for piano has been part of the SCI Recording Series (Vol. 10); “Spring” and Movement IV have been included in Vols. 6 and 29 of the SCI Journal of Music Scores. Ball State University has named him recipient of the Outstanding Creative Endeavor Award for 1988. He is an emeritus professor of music theory and composition at Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana, since 2001 where he taught for 30 years. His publications are with Dorn, Jomar Press, Subito Music (Seesaw), and Arizona Recordings.