Tyshawn Sorey

Composer and multi-instrumentalist Tyshawn Sorey has performed globally with his own ensembles, as well as alongside artists including John Zorn, Bill Frisell, Joe Lovano, Vijay Iyer, Jason Moran, King Britt, Claire Chase, Roscoe Mitchell, and Steve Lehman, among many others.

Sorey was named the 2024 Pulitzer Prize winner in Music for his composition Adagio (for Wadada Leo Smith), after being recognized as a 2023 Pulitzer Finalist for Monochromatic Light (Afterlife). He is also a 2017 MacArthur Fellow and a 2018 United States Artists Fellow. DownBeat recognized Sorey with its 2023 Critics Poll Award as a Rising Star Producer, and has annually placed him near the top of its Composer and Drum Set performance lists. Other recent honors include the Pew Fellowship, the Fromm Fellowship, the American Academy of Arts and Letters' Goddard Lieberson Fellowship, and the Koussevitzsky Prize.

Sorey has composed works for the International Contemporary Ensemble, Talea Ensemble, soprano Julia Bullock, PRISM Quartet, JACK Quartet, TAK Ensemble, Brooklyn Rider, A Far Cry, cellists Seth Parker Woods and Matt Haimovitz, the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, bass-baritone Davóne Tines, Alarm Will Sound, pianist Awadagin Pratt, vocal group Roomful of Teeth, pianist Sarah Rothenberg, violinist Johnny Gandelsman, and tenor Lawrence Brownlee, among others. His music has been performed at the Library of Congress, Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Hollywood Bowl, 92nd Street Y, Park Avenue Armory, Donaueschinger Musiktage, Lucerne Festival, and Lincoln Center. His compositions are published by Edition Peters.

Sorey is currently on the composition faculty at the University of Pennsylvania. He received his D.M.A. in composition from Columbia University, an M.A. in composition from Wesleyan University, and a B.M. in Jazz Studies and Performance from William Paterson University.