As the first composer-in-residence appointed by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, he presented a diverse array of artists on his series KC Jukebox using immersive production and stagecraft. Championed by legendary conductors from Riccardo Muti, Michael Tilson Thomas, Marin Alsop, and Leonard Slaktin, his symphonic music is the first to receive widespread acceptance for its unique integration of electronic sounds.
Named as the most-performed composer of his generation in a recent survey of American music, Bates has also composed for feature film, including Gus Van Sant’s The Sea of Trees starring Matthew McConaughey and Naomi Watts, and Philharmonia Fantastique, the soundtrack of which was awarded a 2022 GRAMMY Award.
This season features the premiere of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay commissioned by The Metropolitan Opera, which will present the piece next season after its debut at Indiana University in November 2024. Based on the bestselling novel by Michael Chabon, the opera tells the story of two Jewish cousins in 1940’s New York who go into the cartoon business, hoping to make enough money to save their family from Prague amidst the Nazi occupation. In the process they create the superhero The Escapist, which becomes a cultural phenomenon across America, even while Joe Kavalier descends into madness.
Also in November, the Philadelphia Orchestra premieres Spring River Flowers by Moonlight based on the Tang Dynasty masterpiece by Rouxu Zhang. Scored for solo soprano, baritone, and orchestra, the piece will be included in Philadelphia Orchestra’s tour of China this season.
Later this season, ArizonaMusicfest premieres a new concerto for the GRAMMY-winning string trio Time for Three. For this extraordinary multi-genre ensemble, Bates is composing an imaginative work stretching from electro-acoustic dance pieces to hefty concerto movements.
Several important recording projects are underway this season, beginning with the recent Bruckner and Bates release by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra under Manfred Honneck. Challenged by the Honneck to create a ‘spiritual opener,’ Bates responded with a vivid and propulsive conjuring of the Resurrection. Resurrexit is now available on all streaming platforms via Reference Recordings.
This fall brings the release of Bates’ Piano Concerto by Daniil Trifonov and the Philadelphia Orchestra under Yannick Nézet-Séguin on Deutsche Grammophon. Since its premiere several years ago, Trifonov has brought the piece to a dozen international cities to much critical acclaim. Also in the works is a recording of the new Nomad Concerto for violin superstar Gil Shaham. This piece is informed by the music of wanderers, from the Romani (once called gypsies) to Jewish mystics and early swing musicians. Giancarlo Guerrero and the Nashville Symphony Orchestra record the piece this season, and the piece was also heard at the St. Louis Symphony in September.
Continuing to delight audiences of all ages is Philharmonia Fantastique: The Making of the Orchestra, for animated film and live orchestra. The work has become Bates’ most-performed work, with close to one hundred performances in its first few years. A collaboration with multi-Oscar-winning Gary Rydstrom of Lucasfilm and Jim Capobianco of Aerial Contrivance, the work explores the connection between creativity and technology with the help of a magical Sprite, who flies through instruments as they are played. Available on Apple TV, Apple Music, and other streaming platforms, the piece this season returns to the Chicago and San Diego Symphonies and can also be heard at the California, Virginia, and Santa Cruz Symphonies, among many others.
Bates’ first opera The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs will be produced by Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in May. Directed by Francesca Zambello and conducted by Michael Christie, the opera explores an iconic figure of our time and the people closest to him. Since its premiere at Santa Fe Opera, the opera has been produced in over a dozen cities.
Highly informed by his work as a DJ, his curatorial approach integrates adventurous music, ambient information, and social platforms in a fluid and immersive way. Working in clubs under the name DJ Masonic, Bates has developed Mercury Soul, a classical club show that has packed clubs around the country. Its home series in San Francisco this season continues the organization’s celebration of spectacular spaces, with events at The Hibernia, Grace Cathedral, and other exciting venues soon to be announced.
A diverse artist exploring the ways classical music integrates into contemporary culture, Bates serves on the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
OCTOBER 2024
