Marc Mellits was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1966. He was already composing music for the piano before he started formal piano lessons at the age of 6. He went on to study at the Eastman School of Music, Yale School of Music, Cornell University, and Tanglewood. His composition teachers have included Samuel Adler, Martin Bresnick, Dominic Frasca, Bernard Rands, Christopher Rouse, Joseph Schwantner, Roberto Sierra, and Steven Stucky, yet one hears other influences in Mellits' music.
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Marc Mellits was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1966. He was already composing music for the piano before he started formal piano lessons at the age of 6. He went on to study at the Eastman School of Music, Yale School of Music, Cornell University, and Tanglewood. His composition teachers have included Samuel Adler, Martin Bresnick, Dominic Frasca, Bernard Rands, Christopher Rouse, Joseph Schwantner, Roberto Sierra, and Steven Stucky, yet one hears other influences in Mellits' music. The sound worlds of Steve Reich (with whom Mellits has been working as an apprentice since 1990) and Philip Glass resonate inside of Mellits, not to mention the rock and funk music from his childhood in the 1970's. Marc Mellits' voice began to emerge in the early 1990's with works like Aggravated Assault - an explosive work for 2 pianos written during the first Gulf War - Polysorbate 60 and Spam. His piano trio, Fruity Pebbles, established Mellits' reputation as ‘the witty post-minimalist'. Like many of the post-minimalist composers, Mellits has found a way to use minimalist techniques without relying on them entirely. He is a miniaturist, composing works that are comprised of short, contrasting movements. His music is eclectic, all-encompassing, open to reflecting whatever enters his life and mind during the period of creation. He writes music that is accessible and that communicates directly with the listener. The turn of the present century sees Mellits in full stride, receiving major commissions from the Kronos Quartet, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Sergio and Odair Assad, Bang On A Can All-Stars, Eliot Fisk, Canadian Brass, Nexus Percussion, Albany Symphony's Dog's Of Desire, and guitarist Dominic Frasca. Music born from Mellits' collaborations with Frasca, like Five Chanukkah Etudes for the Frascas and Blue, have been known to completely change what one used to assume an acoustic guitar is capable of. Mellits' has won numerous awards for his music, including the prestigious 2004 Foundation for Contemporary Arts Award. He is also a founding member of the acclaimed Common Sense Composer's Collective, which seeks new and alternative ways of collaborating with performance ensembles. In addition to his activities as a composer, Marc Mellits directs and plays keyboards in his own unique ensemble, the Mellits Consort. On CD, Mellits' music can be found on Black Box, Endeavour Classics, Cantaloupe, CRI/Emergency Music, Santa Fe New Music, & Dacia Music. Marc Mellits lives in upstate New York with his wife and two daughters, and spends significant time in Romania. Website: www.marcmellits.com
