TED HEARNE (b.1982, Chicago) is a composer, singer, bandleader and recording artist noted for his “pan-stylistic freedom” (Pitchfork), and “wildness of spirit” (The New York Times), who “writes with such technical assurance and imaginative scope” (San Francisco Chronicle). Hearne’s Sound From the Bench, a cantata for choir, electric guitars and drums setting texts from U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments and inspired by the idea of corporate personhood, was a finalist for the 2018 Pulitzer Prize.
The New York Times included Hearne’s oratorio The Source on its list of the best classical vocal performances of 2014, and (along with The New Yorker and The Nation) the best albums of 2015. Alex Ross wrote in The New Yorker “Hearne’s piece holds up as a complex mirror image of an information-saturated, mass-surveillance world, and remains staggering in its impact.” Pitchfork called The Source “some of the most expressive socially engaged music in recent memory — from any genre.” Premiered to rave reviews at the 2014 BAM Next Wave Festival in Brooklyn, The Source was subsequently presented by LA Opera and San Francisco Opera. Law of Mosaics, Hearne’s 30-minute piece for string orchestra, was recently performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and San Francisco Symphony, and was named one of The New Yorker’s most notable albums of 2014 by Alex Ross. His newest album Sound from the Bench, featuring Philadelphia’s acclaimed choir The Crossing and released this year on Cantaloupe Music, was praised in The New Yorker: “Hearne has forged a fierce and timely grace.”
A charismatic vocalist, Hearne performs with Philip White as the vocal-electronics duo R WE WHO R WE, whose debut album (New Focus Recordings, 2013) was called “eminently, if weirdly, danceable and utterly gripping.” (Time Out Chicago). R WE’s sophomore release, “I Love You” was named one of the Best Albums of 2017 by The Nation. Recent collaborations have paired Hearne with directors Daniel Fish and Patricia McGregor, visual artists Sanford Biggers and Rachel Perry, poet/performer Saul Williams, and legendary musician Erykah Badu. An active recording artist, his albums Katrina Ballads, The Source and Outlanders are available on New Amsterdam Records.
Ted Hearne is the recipient of the Gaudeamus Prize and the New Voices Residency from Boosey and Hawkes. He recently joined the composition faculty at the University of Southern California. His works have been conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas, John Adams and Gustavo Dudamel. Recent and upcoming works include commissions from the San Francisco Symphony, eighth blackbird, A Far Cry, Ensemble dal niente, Roomful of Teeth. Hearne’s evening-length theatrical work Place, commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Beth Morrison Projects, premiered in October 2018 at BAM to critical acclaim.