MPR's The Composer's Voice

J O H N L U T H E R A D A M S
July 2000

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For the past twenty-five years composer John Luther Adams has made his home in the boreal forest near Fairbanks, Alaska. From there he has created a unique musical world grounded in the elemental landscapes and indigenous cultures of the North. He has served as composer in residence with the Anchorage Symphony, Fairbanks Symphony, Arctic Chamber Orchestra, Anchorage Opera, and the Alaska Public Radio Network, and has taught at the University of Alaska and Bennington College. Currently, he is on the faculty at the Oberlin Conservatory and the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, and is President-Elect of the American Music Center.

Adams has also worked as executive director of the Northern Alaska Environmental Center, as a wilderness guide in the Arctic, as a producer and music director for public radio station KUAC-FM, and as timpanist and principal percussionist for the Fairbanks Symphony and the Arctic Chamber Orchestra.

Listen in: Hear John Luther Adams discuss his work, along with a sampling of his music. (RealAudio 3.0; how to listen)

Music from the Show

Dream of White on White played by the Apollo Quartet and Strings/ JoAnn Falletta with Barbara Chapman, harp

Earth and the Great Weather, A Sonic Geography of the Arctic

Drumming, by Steve Reich

Rothko Chapel, written by Morton Feldman; Karen Phillips viola, James Holland Percussion and the Gregg Smith Singers.

Clouds of Forgetting, Clouds of Unknowing played by the Apollo Chamber Orcehstra led by Joann Falletta

Other Sites on the Web
John Luther Adams' official Web site

Faculty profile: from Oberlin University

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