FRANK LA ROCCA earned the B.A. in Music from Yale University, and the M.A. and Ph.D in composition from the University of California at Berkeley. Among his awards and honors are an ASCAP Young Composer Award, California State Artist Fellowship, and an NEA Composer Fellowship.
His music has been performed in major cities throughout the United States and in countries on six continents, recent performances having been heard in Japan, South Africa, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Austria, Italy, Belgium and Colombia. Among the soloists and ensembles who have performed and commissioned works are soprano Christine Brandes, California Symphony, Marin Symphony, Redwood Symphony, Orchestra Sonoma, Composers, Inc.,San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, Strata, Camellia Orchestra, San Francisco Chamber Singers, North/South Consonance, and the Alexander String Quartet. Recent commissions and premieres include Magnificat for women's chamber choir, Veni Sancte Spiritus for soprano, clarinet and Baroque string quartet, In This Place, for clarinet, violin and piano, commissioned by Strata, a commission from Orchestra Sonoma (While Orpheus Dreamed) and new works for the San Francisco Chamber Singers, SF Bay Area Chamber Choir, and the CSUH Chamber Singers.
Capstone Records has just released a CD of the choral work, Exaudi (CPS-8674), and No Strings was recently recorded by the Northern Illinois University Wind Ensemble (MEDR, Vol. 6) Other works have been recorded on CRI and CRS. La Rocca is a founding member and Artistic Director of COMPOSERS, INC. of San Francisco and teaches at California State University, Hayward, where he is Head of Composition and Theory.