Biography

Named “Chicagoan of the Year” by the Chicago Tribune in 2016, Augusta Read Thomas is one of today’s most acclaimed and widely performed contemporary composers. Her music “embodies unbridled passion and fierce poetry” (American Academy of Arts and Letters), while The New Yorker has described her as “a true virtuoso composer.” Former Mead Composer-in-Residence with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra – the longest-serving composer to hold the position – she founded and directs the Chicago Center for Contemporary Composition and the Grossman Ensemble. Among her many honours is the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize.

August 2026 - Full biography on augustareadthomas.com