Nicolas Roussakis

Biography

Nicolas Roussakis (1934-1994), composer and founder of the American Composers Orchestra, was born in Athens, moved to the United States at the age of 15 and was granted U.S. citizenship at 21. He earned a doctorate in music at Columbia University, where he taught from 1968-77, and he studied in Germany on a Fulbright grant. He served on the faculty at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J. and won several awards for his compositions. He received commissions from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York State Council on the Arts and received two fellowships from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.

Among his works are the symphonic poem "Fire and Earth and Water and Air," the "Hymn to Apollo" for small orchestra and "Ephemeris" for string quartet. Mr. Roussakis was an energetic promoter of contemporary music. He was the Executive Director of the Group for Contemporary Music from 1971-85, President of the American Composers Alliance from 1975-81 and Vice President of the American Composers Orchestra, of which he was a co-founder in 1976 with Dennis Russell Davies, Francis Thorne and Paul Lustig Dunkel.

ACE Publications

38 title(s)
Composer Title SCORING/INSTRUMENTATION Year
Nicolas Roussakis PIANO SONATA solo piano
Nicolas Roussakis OVERTURE FOR STRING ORCHESTRA string orchestra
Nicolas Roussakis THREE PIECES FOR FIVE WOODWINDS - MARCH, SONG, AND DANCE 5ww: fl (OR cl), ob (OR cl), 2cl, bsn (OR cl)
variable combinations of five instruments selected from flute, oboe, clarinets, bassoon
Nicolas Roussakis STRUCTURE IN TIME orchestra 2222 4331 perc (3) hp pf strings incl 3 solo violins
Nicolas Roussakis COMPOSITION FOR BRASS TRIO Brass Trio
trumpet, horn, trombone
Nicolas Roussakis STRING QUARTET string quartet
Nicolas Roussakis WOODWIND QUINTET wind quintet fl, ob, cl, hn, bsn
Nicolas Roussakis SEXTET fl,cl,vln,vla,vcl,pf
Nicolas Roussakis MOVEMENT Brass Quintet
two trumpets, horn, trombone and bass trombone or tuba
Nicolas Roussakis CONCERT TRIO Dbl bass, oboe, piano
Nicolas Roussakis SONATA FOR HARPSICHORD hpschd
Nicolas Roussakis THREE EPIGRAMS clarinet, piano
Nicolas Roussakis TWENTY-ONE QUARTETS FOR SAXOPHONES alto I, alto II, tenor and baritone saxophones
Nicolas Roussakis NIGHT SPEECH speaking chorus, 2 perc
Nicolas Roussakis SIX SHORT PIECES FOR TWO FLUTES 2 fl
Nicolas Roussakis CONCERTINO fl,ob,cl,bsn,2perc
Nicolas Roussakis ODE AND CATACLYSM orch: 2-2-2-2, 4-2-2-0, pf, perc(4), strings
Nicolas Roussakis SYRTOS pic-2-2-3-alcl-bcl-4sax 2,4-2tpt-3cor-2euph- 3tbn-tb,4perc
Nicolas Roussakis SYMPHONIA 2222 4220 perc (4) piano strings
Nicolas Roussakis EPHEMERIS string quartet
Nicolas Roussakis VOYAGE 8 part satb a capella
Nicolas Roussakis FIRE & EARTH & WATER & AIR orch:2-pic-2-ehn-2-bcl- 2-cbsn,4-4-3-btbn-tb,4perc,pf,str(2-1-1-1)

Additional Works