Anthony Joseph Lanman

Anthony Joseph Lanman, a native of Houston, Texas, received his BM in composition at the University of Texas, and an MM and DMA in composition from Indiana University. Mr. Lanman was lucky enough to be taught and inspired by Adam Holzman (classical guitar), Dan Welcher (composition), Nigel North (renaissance lute) and Sven-David Sandström (composition). Mr. Lanman is also an active performer on both the classical guitar and 8-string electric guitar.

Mr. Lanman has been commissioned by such diverse ensembles as Duo46, the Noné Trio, the Strung Out Trio, the California EAR Unit, the Oregon Bach Festival for the group Fireworks,and the British new music group, Ensemble Eleven. Mr. Lanman’s music has been performed all over the United States as well as in Turkey,Cyprus, Italy, Greece, England, Austria and the Czech Republic. His music has been featured on radio stations throughout the United States,Europe and Asia. Mr. Lanman has participated as composer-in-residence at the Music02 festival held in Cincinnati, OH and at the 'EssentiallyChoral' reading sessions held by Vocal Essence in Minneapolis, MN. He has received an ASCAP/Morton Gould Young Composer Award as well as several ASCAP Standard Awards.

Critics have praised his work as 'intense' (Gramophone Magazine) and'wild, edgy and raw to contemplative, sonorous and seductive' (TheStrad). Since the advent of compressed digital music, Mr. Lanman has been active in the promotion of music on the internet. His music has been downloaded from MP3.com, Ampcast and Download.com over 150 thousand times.

Il dolce stile nuovo (2001) for violin, cello, piano

This piece, for me, is just about the joy or writing and playing music. It brings together all of my major musical influences – rock, jazz, heavy metal, renaissance and baroque music, classical Japanese music, and modern concert music. Sure, the genesis of the piece came when a friend told me that, because I was a guitarist, I would never really be able to write for piano – I don’t like it when people tell me I can’t do something – but the piece became so much more than that for me. It embodies my style and my approach to composition and was written for and dedicated to Mandy Morris.