Lawrence Dillon

Biography

Composer Lawrence Dillon (b. 1959) creates works that connect past and present in attractive and unexpected ways, provoking Gramophone to exclaim, "Just when you thought the string quartet may have reached the edge of sonic possibilities, along comes a composer who makes something novel, whimsical and haunting of the genre." His music is characterized by a keen sensitivity to color, a mastery of form, and what the Louisville Courier-Journal has called a "compelling, innate soulfulness." Despite losing 50% of his hearing in a childhood illness, he began composing as soon as he started piano lessons at the age of seven. In 1985, he became the youngest composer to earn a doctorate at The Juilliard School, and was immediately appointed to the Juilliard faculty. Dillon is now Composer in Residence at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where he has served as Music Director of the Contemporary Ensemble, Assistant Dean of Performance, and Interim Dean of the School of Music.

Dillon's music, in the words of American Record Guide, is "lovely...austere...vivid and impressive." Three recordings of his music were released in 2010-2011 on the Bridge, Albany and Naxos labels. His works have been commissioned and premiered in the last five seasons by the Emerson String Quartet, Le Train Bleu, the Ravinia Festival, the Daedalus String Quartet, the Lincoln Trio, the Seattle Chamber Music Society, the Cassatt String Quartet, the Mansfield Symphony, the Boise Philharmonic, Wintergreen Summer Arts Festival, the Salt Lake City Symphony, the Quartetto di Sassofoni d'Accademia, the University of Utah, Boise Philharmonic, the Winston-Salem Symphony and the Idyllwild Symphony Orchestra.

ACE Publications

110 title(s)
Composer Title SCORING/INSTRUMENTATION Year
Lawrence Dillon Slash Breeze Twelve Flute, Oboe, and Horn
Lawrence Dillon SNEGGLISH DANCES orch: pic/3-eh/3-Ebcl/3-cbsn/3; 4-3-3-1; 3perc, pf; str
Lawrence Dillon SOLITUDE solo violin
Lawrence Dillon SONATA: MOTION flute and piano
flute and piano
Lawrence Dillon SONATA: MOTION violin, piano
vn and piano
Lawrence Dillon SONNET: STOREBOUGHT ROSES
SOPRANO, 2 VIOLINS, VIOLA, 'CELLO
Lawrence Dillon SPARKLING IN THE DARK soprano sax, bassoon, fixed media audio
Lawrence Dillon STILLNESS AND VELOCITY Violin, Horn, and Piano
Lawrence Dillon STILL POINT
MzSop, viola, pf
Lawrence Dillon STRING QUARTET NO. 1 - JESTS AND TENDERNESS
string quartet
Lawrence Dillon String Quartet No. 10 String quartet
Lawrence Dillon STRING QUARTET NO. 2: FLIGHT
Lawrence Dillon STRING QUARTET NO. 3: AIR String Quartet
Lawrence Dillon STRING QUARTET NO. 4: THE INFINITE SPHERE
2 violins, viola, cello
Lawrence Dillon STRING QUARTET NO. 5: THROUGH THE NIGHT
str quartet
Lawrence Dillon STRING QUARTET No. 6 (Rapid Eye) 2 violins, viola, cello + optional playback
Lawrence Dillon String Quartet No. 7: Consensus String Quartet
Lawrence Dillon String Quartet No. 8: Last Spring String Quartet
Lawrence Dillon String Quartet No. 9: we thought we heard String Quartet
Lawrence Dillon Suspenders Bounce Tag Flute, Clarinet, and Bassoon
Lawrence Dillon SYMPHONY NO. 1 for chamber orchestra pic/1-eh/2-cbsn/2; 2-0-0-0; str
Lawrence Dillon Ten Wind Devices Trios for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Horn and Bassoon
Lawrence Dillon TERRANEAN MEDITATION
saxophone quartet

Additional Works