Richard Valitutto
As a performer, Richard Valitutto has been described by the Los Angeles Times as a “vivid soloist” and “vigorously virtuosic” and was the featured pianist on the Grammy-nominated álbum Harry Partch: Bitter Music. He has performed in concert halls, museums, and conservatories across the country including Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall, REDCAT, the Broad Stage’s Edye Space, the Hammer Museum, and the Colburn School’s Zipper Hall. A strong proponent of contemporary music, he has interacted with composers such as John Adams, Sofia Gubaidulina, Steve Reich, Meredith Monk, David Lang, Michael Gordon, Chinary Ung, Clarence Barlow, Christopher Cerrone, Marc Sabat, and Timo Andres as a performer and dedicatee of their works.
As a collaborative pianist, he has been répétiteur for the Los Angeles opera company The Industry in their productions of new opera premieres by Anne LeBaron and Christopher Cerrone, and regularly coaches and concertizes with singers in the Los Angeles area. Richard has held fellowships and given performances at Tanglewood, SongFest, Bang on a Can, International Performing Arts Institute, New Music on the Point, Brevard, and Eastern Music Summer Festivals.
As a composer, he seeks to create works which balance tradition and experimentalism through a comprehensive awareness of various artistic styles and mediums and their signifiers, often drawing from improvised material as well as from the vast repertoire he himself performs. His compositions have been performed by What’s Next? Ensemble, as well as the critically acclaimed wild Up Modern Music Collective of which he is a regularly contributing performer and composer. His improvisational work has been heard at the International Society of Improvised Music conference as well as at various venues in Los Angeles, and his improvisations can be heard on the forthcoming release from pfMENTUM Records, Saturn’s Rival.
In addition to wild Up, Richard is a founding member of the new music quartet gnarwhallaby, called “startlingly versatile” (New York Times) in their Carnegie Hall debut. He has given numerous performances and made album recordings with both ensembles since 2011. He holds degrees in piano performance from the California Institute of the Arts (MFA) and the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music (BM, summa cum laude).
As a collaborative pianist, he has been répétiteur for the Los Angeles opera company The Industry in their productions of new opera premieres by Anne LeBaron and Christopher Cerrone, and regularly coaches and concertizes with singers in the Los Angeles area. Richard has held fellowships and given performances at Tanglewood, SongFest, Bang on a Can, International Performing Arts Institute, New Music on the Point, Brevard, and Eastern Music Summer Festivals.
As a composer, he seeks to create works which balance tradition and experimentalism through a comprehensive awareness of various artistic styles and mediums and their signifiers, often drawing from improvised material as well as from the vast repertoire he himself performs. His compositions have been performed by What’s Next? Ensemble, as well as the critically acclaimed wild Up Modern Music Collective of which he is a regularly contributing performer and composer. His improvisational work has been heard at the International Society of Improvised Music conference as well as at various venues in Los Angeles, and his improvisations can be heard on the forthcoming release from pfMENTUM Records, Saturn’s Rival.
In addition to wild Up, Richard is a founding member of the new music quartet gnarwhallaby, called “startlingly versatile” (New York Times) in their Carnegie Hall debut. He has given numerous performances and made album recordings with both ensembles since 2011. He holds degrees in piano performance from the California Institute of the Arts (MFA) and the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music (BM, summa cum laude).
