Jacob Druckman

Biography

Jacob Raphael Druckman (June 26, 1928 – May 24, 1996) was an American composer.

Life

A graduate of the Juilliard School in 1956, Druckman studied with Vincent Persichetti, Peter Mennin, and Bernard Wagenaar. In 1949 and 1950 he studied with Aaron Copland at Tanglewood; he continued his studies at the École Normale de Musique de Paris in 1954–55.
He worked extensively with electronic music, in addition to a number of works for orchestra or for small ensembles. In 1972, he won the Pulitzer Prize for Music for his first large orchestral work, Windows. He was composer-in-residence of the New York Philharmonic from 1982 until 1985. Druckman taught at Juilliard, The Aspen Music Festival, Tanglewood, Brooklyn College, Bard College, and Yale University, among other appointments. He was Connecticut's State Composer Laureate.
Druckman died of lung cancer at age 67 in New Haven, Connecticut. His music is published by Boosey & Hawkes. He is the father of percussionist Daniel Druckman.
The Aspen Music Festival gives out the Jacob Druckman award in his honor each festival season. The reward is given to an up-and-coming composer, who is then commissioned to write a piece to be performed in the next festival season.
Notable musicians who recorded his works include David Zinman, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Zubin Mehta, Leonard Slatkin, Dawn Upshaw, Jan DeGaetani, the Dorian Wind Quintet, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and the American Brass Quintet.