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The music of American composer Tristan Wilson (b. 2002) explores silence, resonance, gesture, and meaning. Following the premiere of his Sinfonietta for string orchestra in 2014, his works have been performed regularly across the continental United States. He has enjoyed collaborations with the Grammy-nominated Neave Trio, TEMPO Ensemble, and the Julius Quartet, as well as with members of the American Modern Ensemble and Akron (OH) Symphony Orchestra. He was awarded first prize in the 2023 Cleveland Composers Guild collegiate competition for his work Five Songs (a song cycle setting poetry by the American writer Djuna Barnes), and his works are also featured on Petrichor Records’ series New Music by Living Composers, which was released in 2021.
Most at home writing for voice or otherwise in dramatic mediums, much of Wilson’s work engages with narratives that attempt to cast some light on the darker or more uncomfortable aspects of human psychology—what brings us to hurt others, and what becomes of those who have been hurt—in the hopes of holding a mirror up to contemporary society. His first chamber opera, Saint Agony, about a woman who revolts against her husband who is keeping her captive against her will, was met with great acclaim following its premiere in Cleveland in April 2024, and was described by the composer Tom Cipullo as showing “wonderful technique and a great sense of drama.” Recent and upcoming projects include Bidings, a new work for orchestra about waiting, and The Turtledove, a new chamber opera about the psychosexual effects of mass conflict on civilians following the end of World War II.
Also an accomplished violist, Wilson has made a name for himself as an interpreter of contemporary music, having performed with the Cleveland Institute of Music’s New Music Ensemble, where he worked directly with composers including Joan Tower and Marcos Balter. Equally comfortable with orchestral playing, he has served as the principal violist of the Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony Youth Orchestra (where he was principal for three seasons), and Interlochen’s renowned World Youth Symphony Orchestra. He has worked with conductors including JoAnn Falletta, Cristian Măcelaru, and Aram Demirjian.
A native of Detroit, MI, Wilson has most recently spent summers at the Mostly Modern Festival (Saratoga Springs, NY) and Center Stage Strings (Ann Arbor, MI). He holds a Bachelor of Music awarded with honors from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied viola performance with Mark Jackobs and composition with Keith Fitch, and is currently pursuing a Master of Music at the Mannes School of Music, where he studies composition with Christopher Cerrone and David T. Little. Other close mentors have included the musicologist Susan McClary and pianist Anita Pontremoli. He currently lives in New Jersey.
Tristan Wilson 