Bio

Praised by William Bolcom for his “mature tone ... [and] considerable spiritual depth”, Andrew Faulkenberry (b. 1999) is a composer of emotionally evocative works that pose questions about the human experience. His works address topics such as philosophy, communication, the natural world, and art itself.

Faulkenberry’s works have been premiered across the United States. Recently, his orchestra piece Bloodroot—a whimsical depiction of the bloodroot flower, which is both beautiful and toxic—was selected to be premiered by Maestro Keith Lockhart on the Brevard Music Center’s Soloists of Tomorrow concert. In 2019, his American Prize–awarded Symphony No. 1 was premiered in 2019 by the Rutgers Wind Ensemble and subsequently broadcast on WWFM—The Classical Network. At Connecticut Summerfest 2020, members of the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) recorded and virtually premiered his Ripples in the Silence, a work contemplating the inherent impermanence of musical performance. Further, the Julius Quartet premiered the March-Serenade movement of his String Quartet as part of the Fall 2020 EMERGE String Quartet Workshop.

In addition to composing, Faulkenberry is fascinated by musical notation and its impact on musical performance. In 2018, he interned with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra library; this experience informed his belief that musical notation is an art form in itself. Subsequently he has prepared and engraved music for Munson Music Services, Just A Theory Press, and MusicFirst’s PracticeFirst software, working to create scores that visually reflect the meticulousness and artistry with which the work was composed.

Faulkenberry received a B.M. Composition from Rutgers University in 2021, where he studied with Robert Livingston Aldridge and graduated summa cum laude. As an undergraduate, he developed and taught an accredited undergraduate course, Exploring Music, and published research on Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Gesang der Jünglinge with the Rutgers Undergraduate Research Journal. At Rutgers, he was also the recipient of the Presser Undergraduate Award in 2020. Currently, he is pursuing a M.M. Composition at Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, studying with Kevin Puts and serving as a Graduate Assistant for Ear Training.