Steven Stucky, D.M.A. ’78 and the Given Foundation Professor of Music at Cornell has recently been honored with the Goddard Lieberson Fellowship. The $15,000 fellowship is presented to two composers by the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
“These awards from the American Academy are made by one’s colleagues … to think that other composers appreciate my work is very rewarding,” Stucky said.
John Hsu, Old Dominion Professor of Humanities and Music at Cornell said, “[Stucky] is a very effective champion of new music and contributes to the excitement of music at Cornell by his lectures, conducting and teaching.”
Stucky plans to use the fellowship money for the costs of recording projects, such as Ensemble X, a Cornell group that he conducts. Stucky teaches composition and music theory at Cornell, but is currently on sabbatical “doing what [he] usually does, except teaching.”
Stucky’s music has been performed by many major American orchestras including those in Baltimore, Chicago, Cincinnati, Los Angeles and Philadelphia. His work has also received international attention from groups and orchestras in Mexico and Singapore. Stucky feels that working with the Los Angeles Philharmonic is one of his “most rewarding professional” accomplishments.
“I’ve been able to hear some of my pieces played at the highest level,” he said.
Stucky’s other achievements include his book, Lutoslawski and His Music about the Polish composer Lutoslawski. Stucky has also been awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship (1986) and the Bogliasco Fellowship (1997).
Stucky completed his undergraduate studies at Baylor University and also has an MFA from Cornell. He has been on the Cornell faculty since 1980. His former teacher, Robert Palmer, the Given Foundation Professor Emeritus said that Stucky was a prize student and was outstanding from the beginning.
“[Stucky has] more than justified his early promise … [he is] one of the finest composers of his generation,” Palmer said.
Archived article by Diana Lo