Osvaldo Golijov

Osvaldo Golijov (b. 1960) is an Argentine composer of classical music and music professor, known for his vocal and orchestral work. Osvaldo Golijov was born in and grew up in La Plata, Argentina, in a Jewish family that immigrated to Argentina from Romania. In 1983, Golijov immigrated to Israel, where he studied with Mark Kopytman at the Rubin Academy of Music in Jerusalem. Three years later, he studied with George Crumb at the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned his Doctor of Philosophy degree. In 1991, Golijov joined the faculty of the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, where he was named Loyola Professor of Music in 2007. During the 2012–13 concert season, he occupied the Richard and Barbara Debs Composer's Chair at Carnegie Hall. As of 2016, Golijov lives in Brookline, Massachusetts. In 1996, his work Oceana was premiered at the Oregon Bach Festival. He composed La Pasión según San Marcos in commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the death of Johann Sebastian Bach. Golijov had a long working relationship with soprano Dawn Upshaw, who he called his muse. She premiered some of his works, often written specifically for her. These included Three Songs for Soprano and Orchestra and his popular opera, Ainadamar, which premiered at Tanglewood in 2003. Starting in 2000, Golijov composed movie soundtracks for documentaries and other films, including The Man Who Cried, Youth Without Youth, Tetro and Twixt. He also composed and arranged chamber music, including for the Kronos Quartet (Nuevo) and the St. Lawrence String Quartet. Golijov's song cycle Falling Out of Time was inspired by a novel by Israeli author David Grossman.