Jay Greenberg

Jay "Bluejay" Greenberg (born December 131991, New Haven, Connecticut) is an American composer who entered the Juilliard School in 2002.

He came to the American media's attention in part through the sponsorship of Juilliard instructor Samuel Zyman, who lauded Greenberg's talent during a CBS News "60 Minutes" broadcast on November 28, 2004, and again on November 26, 2006. "We are talking about a prodigy of the level of the greatest prodigies in history, when it comes to composition. I am talking about the likes of Mozart, and Mendelssohn, and Saint-Saëns."Scott Pelley, [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/11/22/60minutes/main2205521.shtml 'Blue Jay' Spreads His Wings] , "60 Minutes"] His primary composition instructor was Samuel Adler.

Greenberg composes primarily on his computer, using a music notation program with which he can commit his ideas to paper and play his scores back on synthetic instruments. He has written five symphonies and other works. His most famous work is currently an Overture to 9-11, about the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, which became known when it was featured on PRI's "From the Top". At the time of the attacks, he was living in Macedonia but has since returned to the United States. His father is an American and makes a living as a Slavic linguist. His Israeli-born mother also has no musical background, but Jay found himself attracted to music from an early age, having begun playing the cello at the age of two.

Greenberg says he hears the music performed inside his head, and often several musical pieces simultaneously, and he is then able to simply notate what he has listened to. He rarely needs to make corrections to what he has notated. A lot of other material comes to him in this manner, not merely music which he sees as more of a hobby. He is interested in most everything and can see himself studying for instance physics, psychology, computer science or cartography.

The Sony BMG Masterworks label released his first CD on August 15, 2006; it includes his Symphony no. 5 and String Quintet [Barrymore Laurence Scherer, "A History of American Classical Music". Naperville, Illinois: Sourcebooks, Inc. (2007): 227. "Prodigy Jay Greenberg (b. 1991) whose Fifth Symphony, begun when he was twelve, and String Quintet (both recorded in 2006), bespeak extraordinary gifts."] as performed by the London Symphony Orchestra under the direction of José Serebrier and by the Juilliard String Quartet with cellist Darrett Adkins respectively.

On October 28, 2007, Joshua Bell gave the premiere of Greenberg's Violin Concerto at Carnegie Hall, performing with the Orchestra of St. Luke's. [cite web|url=http://www.carnegiehall.org/article/box_office/events/evt_8852.html?selecteddate=10282007|title=Carnegie Hall's Concert Listing]

Greenberg's works are published by G. Schirmer. [cite web|url=http://www.schirmer.com/default.aspx?TabId=2419&State_2872=2&composerId_2872=3139|title=Jay Greenberg at G. Schirmer Inc.]

Works

*Symphony no. 1
*Symphony no. 2
*Symphony no. 3
*Symphony no. 4
*"Overture to 9/11" (2002)
*"The Storm"
*Quintet for Strings (2004), for 2 violins, viola, and 2 cellos
*Cello Sonata (2004)
*Symphony no. 5 (2005)
*"Short Stories", for tenor saxophone, percussion, and orchestra
*"Intelligent Life" (2006)
*Violin Concerto (2007)
*Concerto for Piano Trio and Orchestra (2008)
*"Four Scenes", for double string quartet (2008)

References

External links

* [http://www.imgartists.com/?page=artist&id=597&c=2 Full Biography]
* [http://www.jaygreenbergmusic.com/ Jay Greenberg's website]
* [http://www.juilliard.edu/update/journal/1102journal_story_0305.asp "Juilliard Journal" article about Greenberg]
* [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/11/24/60minutes/main657713.shtml "60 Minutes" feature about Greenberg (CBS News)]
* [http://www.fromthetop.org/Programs/Performers.cfm?pid=1586 "From the Top" episode featuring Greenberg and his 9/11 Overture]
* [http://www.sonybmgmasterworks.com/artists/jaygreenberg/index.html Jay Greenberg's page on the "Sony BMG Masterworks" website]