Cliburn Concerts: Jake Heggie, Composer & Piano

“Arguably the world’s most popular 21^st-century opera and art song composer” – The Wall Street Journal

Composer Jake Heggie is best known for the operas Dead Man Walking, Moby-Dick, It’s a Wonderful Life, Three Decembers, Two Remain, and If I Were You. He is currently at work on his 10th full-length opera, Intelligence, as well as new works for violinist Joshua Bell, New Century Chamber Orchestra, the Miró Quartet, and Music of Remembrance. The operas and his nearly 300 art songs have been performed extensively on five continents, championed by some of the world’s most beloved artists. With a libretto by the late Terrence McNally, Dead Man Walking has become “the most celebrated American opera of the 21st century” (Chicago Tribune). It has received nearly 80 international productions since its San Francisco Opera premiere in 2000.

And this season, one of the most iconic living American composers makes his first Cliburn Concerts appearance in 15 years, in a dynamic evening at the Kimbell, featuring performances of his works by locally based artists (as well as the composer himself) and an insightful conversation with the Cliburn’s Buddy Bray.