Andrew Rindfleisch (b. 1963) is an internationally active composer, conductor, and pianist whose work continues to gain consistent critical and popular acclaim. A leading composer of his generation, he has produced dozens of works for the concert hall, including solo, chamber, vocal, choral, orchestral, and wind music. His committed interest in other forms of music-making have also led him to the composition and performance of jazz and related forms of improvisation. As a composer, Mr. Rindfleisch has been awarded many prestigious honors in recognition of his work. He is the 1997-98 recipient of the coveted Rome Prize and in 1996 received a John Simon Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship. Most recently, he received the Cleveland Arts Prize, the Aaron Copland Award, and the Koussevitzky Foundation Commission from the Library of Congress. He has also been the recipient of over thirty-five other prizes and awards, including those from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Fromm Foundation, ASCAP, and the League of Composers-ISCM. He has participated in dozens of renowned music festivals and has received residency fellowships from the Bogliasco Foundation (Italy), the Charles Ives Center for American Music, the Czech-American Music Institute in Prague, the June in Buffalo Contemporary Music Festival, the MacDowell Colony, and the Pierre Boulez Workshop at Carnegie Hall, among others. Mr. Rindfleisch holds degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (Bachelor of Music), the New England Conservatory of Music (Master of Music), and Harvard University (PhD).
An active conductor and producer, Mr. Rindfleisch's commitment to contemporary music culture has brought into performance over 500 works by living composers over the past 15 years. He has founded several contemporary music ensembles and is currently the Music Director of both the Cleveland Contemporary Players and the Utah Arts Festival Orchestra and Chamber Ensemble -- all committed to performing, presenting, and commissioning new works. Mr. Rindfleisch regularly makes guest conducting appearances throughout the United States and abroad with many diverse musical organizations; from opera and musical theatre, to orchestral, jazz, improvisational, and contemporary avant-garde ensembles.
Mr. Rindfleisch is currently a Professor of Music and Head of Music Composition Studies at Cleveland State University. Here, he has built one of the most unique and supportive programs of composition study in the country that includes the Cleveland Contemporary Players and an unprecedented Music Composition Resource Center (please visit the Music Department at Cleveland State for more information).