“One of the brightest stars in her generation of composers” (Audiophile Audition), writes music that delivers visceral power and otherworldly lyricism with soulful directness. Her diverse and growing body of works has often been praised for its elegance and emotion and is performed by leading musicians worldwide. The Boston Globe has called it “music of fluidity and austere beauty…with a visceral intensity of expression.” The New York Times has characterized it as “striking…her vocal music has an almost nineteenth-century naturalness.” Kati Agócs is a Guggenheim Fellow and winner of the lifetime achievement award in music composition from The American Academy of Arts and Letters. Her music is commissioned and performed by many premier organizations including the Toronto Symphony, Boston Symphony Chamber Players, Minnesota Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Aspen Music Festival, New World Symphony, Ensemble Reconsil Vienna, Lontano (U.K.), National Arts Centre Orchestra, Ensemble Contemporain de Montreal, and multiple Grammy-award winning ensemble Eighth Blackbird. She was nominated for a Juno Award for The Debrecen Passion, the title track on her vocal/orchestral album with Boston Modern Orchestra Project. The Boston Globe named the album one of its Top Ten Classical Recordings of 2016. Gramophone Magazine praised the “penetrating individuality” of the music on the album, calling the title track “an iridescent wonder.” Born in Windsor, Ontario of Hungarian and American parents, Kati Agócs earned doctoral and master’s degrees from Juilliard, studying with Milton Babbitt. She serves on the New England Conservatory’s composition faculty and maintains a studio in Flatrock, Newfoundland.
