"Briggs gets far beneath the obviousness of minimalism to reach a deeply lyrical vein."

ST. PETERSBURGH
SUN-SENTINEL

COMPOSER
Roger Briggs' music has been consistently praised through out the world as some of the most compelling, imaginative, and communicative music written in recent times. Reviewers stress the music's "rare power of communication" using words and phrases like: "delicate, haunting, trance-inducing"; "intrinsic appeal to the senses"; "brilliant and expansive"; "music that coaxes the imagination to unconscious imagery"; "immersion in atmosphere and color'. His music is being performed in the U.S., Europe and South America by ensembles like the London Symphony Orchestra, the Prague Symphony, the Warsaw Philharmonic, the Seattle Symphony and others. His chamber works are performed by respected groups like the Da Capo Chamber Players, the New Performance Group, the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, Fear No Music, Zephyr, and Third Angle. He has received numerous commissions, grants, awards, and prizes for his work.

CONDUCTOR
Roger Briggs is currently the Artistic Director of the Whatcom Symphony Orchestra in Bellingham, Washington and has held that position since 1996. He has conducted and recorded with the London Symphony, the Czech Radio Symphony and the Prague Symphony. In addition to standard orchestral repertoire, Mr. Briggs is equally at home with contemporary scores-both orchestral and chamber. He founded the Michiana New Music Ensemble in South Bend, IN, the Contemporary Chamber Players at Western Washington University and the Whatcom Symphony Chamber Orchestra in Bellingham, WA. He has also guest conducted other established contemporary ensembles like The New Performance Group/Sonora, Zephyr, and Fear No Music.

BACKGROUND

Roger Briggs was born in 1952 in Florence, Alabama. He began piano studies when he was eight. By age 11 he was seriously composing and performing. At age 15, he was conducting and arranging for high school productions and private performances. By the time he had graduated from high school, he had played in, conducted, and written for numerous ensembles including Jazz Bands, Rock Bands and Orchestras. He was also an active classical pianist-both solo and chamber.

He attended the University of Memphis, the Eastman School of Music and the Dartington Institute where he received top honors in composition, conducting and performance. He studied composition with Samuel Adler, Peter Maxwell Davies, Don Freund, Joseph Schwantner and conducting with Gustav Meier, Peter Maxwell Davies and John Carewe.

He was appointed Professor of Composition and Conducting at Saint Mary's College in 1978 where he founded the Michiana New Music Ensemble and received his first National and International recognition as a composer with works such as the solo piano work, SPIRALS, the chamber orchestra work, GATHERING TOGETHER, and the chamber work, CHAMBER MUSIC.

In 1989 he was appointed Professor of Composition at Western Washington University. He founded the Contemporary Chamber Players, was appointed conductor of the University Symphony and accepted the Artistic Director post with the Whatcom Symphony Orchestra. His compositions continued to receive international acclaim and his conducting career began to receive national and international attention as well. Works such as PASSING CHIMES, TAROT, and TRACER were commissioned, performed and recorded by groups like the London Symphony, the Prague Symphony and the Czech Radio Orchestra.

Mr. Briggs is currently Professor of Composition at Western Washington University where he serves as coordinator of the Composition Program and conducts the Contemporary Chamber Players. He is also the Artistic Director of the Whatcom Symphony Orchestra.