John Corigliano - biographical sketch 

Corigliano, John Paul Jr.  Composer. (1938- ).  Corigliano was born 
February 16, 1938 in New York City.  His father was John Corigliano, 
Sr., concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic for twenty-two years.  
Corigliano received a BA with honors from Columbia University in 1959.  
He studied with Otto Luening at Columbia University, with Vittorio 
Giannini at the Manhattan School of Music, and he studied privately with 
Paul Creston.  Corigliano received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1968 and 
a National Endowment for the Arts grant in 1976.  He received an 
American Academy Award and was elected to membership in the 
Institute of Arts and Letters in 1990. He was elected to membership in 
the inner circle American Academy of the Institute of Arts and Letters 
in 1991.  Following his years at Columbia University, Corigliano worked 
as a programmer and writer for two New York radio stations, and he was 
associate producer of musical programs for CBS television from 1961-72.  
Corigliano was a producer for Columbia Records during 1972-73.  He was 
head of the composition department at the College of Church Musicians in 
Washington, D.C. during 1967-68, has been a member of the composition 
faculty of the Manhattan School of Music since 1971 and an associate 
professor of music at Lehman College of the City University of New York 
since 1973.  Corigliano describes himself as an eclectic composer, using 
style as a compositional tool and freely combining styles within a single 
piece.  His main concern in composition is communicating with his 
audience, which has made him very popular with audiences and musical 
organizations.  He has composed for a variety of media, including chorus, 
orchestra, solo piano.  He also composed the score for the 1980 film 
Altered States.  Corigliano prefers to work on commission, and his latest 
works are Symphony No. 1 for the Chicago Symphony and The Ghosts of 
Versailles for the New York Metropolitan Opera.

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