Jonathan Newman is a composer of music rich with rhythmic drive and energy, sophisticated in Western forms and contrapuntal techniques, and accessible to ears more often tuned to more standard classical and popular styles. A 2001 recipient of the Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Newman creates works of stylistic inclusion, often incorporating styles of pop, blues, jazz, folk, and funk into otherwise classical models.
Recent commissions include "The Rivers of Bowery" (2005), written for the Rutgers Wind Ensemble for the CBDNA National Conference, and arrangements of electronica for "Acoustica: Alarm Will Sound Performs Aphex Twin", a CD release on the Cantaloupe label celebrated with a performance at the 2005 Lincoln Center Festival. Newman’s "Metropolitan", selected for American Composers Orchestra’s 2004 Whitaker New Music Readings premiered with the Chicago Youth Symphony in November 2005. "The Vinyl Six", a sextet commissioned by the New York-based chamber group Avian Music premiered in Spring 2006.
Born in 1972, Newman received his bachelor’s degree from Boston University's School for the Arts, where he studied composition with Richard Cornell and Charles Fussell, conducting with Lukas Foss. He earned his Mus.M. from The Juilliard School, where he studied with composers John Corigliano and David Del Tredici, and conducting with Miguel Harth-Bedoya. Early training includes Boston University Tanglewood Institute and the Aspen Music Festival where he studied with composers George Tsontakis and Bernard Rands.
Newman’s collaborative works for dance have been performed nationwide. Written for choreographer Charlotte Griffin, "Practicing Joy" (1997) played multiple performances at The Juilliard Theater, Alice Tully Hall, and in several venues nationwide. In 1999, choreographer Toshiko Oiwa commissioned "Tree", for "I Saw Me When We Were Dancing" at P.S. 122, and in 2001, Tami Stronach Dance commissioned Mother Tongue, performed at Dance Theatre Workshop.
His works for educational ensembles, including "Moon by Night", 2003 winner of the biannual NBA/Merrill Jones Composition Award, have been performed and recorded worldwide. His work with the University of Nevada Las Vegas Wind Orchestra includes "Chunk", a 2003 commission and title track of their 2004 CD release (Mark Custom Records), and "OK Feel Good", a 1999 commission recently recorded on 3 Steps Forward (Klavier).
Newman is a founding member of the composer-consortium BCM International: four stylistically-diverse composers from across the country, dedicated to enriching the repertoire with exciting works for mediums often mired in static formulas. BCM's music has generated a following of champions around the world, several thousand fans in an active online community, and two recordings. He resides with his wife Melissa Schlachtmeyer, a costume designer, in New York City.