Jonathan Leshnoff
Professor
Biography
Distinguished by The New York Times as 鈥渁 leader of contemporary American lyricism,鈥� GRAMMY-nominated composer Jonathan Leshnoff is renowned for his music's striking harmonies, structural complexity, and powerful themes. The Baltimore-based composer has been ranked among the most performed living composers in recent seasons with performances by over 100 orchestras. He has received commissions from Carnegie Hall, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the symphony orchestras of Atlanta, Baltimore, Dallas, Kansas City, Nashville, and Pittsburgh, among others. Leshnoff鈥檚 compositions have also been premiered by classical music鈥檚 most celebrated soloists, including Gil Shaham, Johannes Moser, Manuel Barrueco, Noah Bendix-Balgley and Joyce Yang.
Highlights in recent seasons include the premiere of a Violin Sonata written for Gil Shaham and Robert Spano at the Aspen Music Festival and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra鈥檚 premiere of Leshnoff鈥檚 new hour-long oratorio, The Sacrifice of Isaac. This oratorio has been co-commissioned by the Baltimore Symphony, and the Nashville Symphony, who is performing and recording the work in February 2026 for commercial release. Also in this 25-26 season, the Dallas Symphony premieres 鈥�Four Scenes from Childhood,鈥� Demarre McGill premieres Flute Concerto No. 2 with the Fairfax Symphony, Joyce Yang premieres Rhapsody on America in honor of America鈥檚 250th anniversary with the commissioning consortium of the Orchestra Lumos, Pasadena, Valdosta and San Jose Orchestras and the Knoxville Symphony premieres a new orchestral work. Future projects include his 5th Symphony for the Buffalo Philharmonic under the direction JoAnn Falletta and a 6th symphony for the Baltimore Symphony.
There are nine all-Leshnoff albums to date. Leshnoff鈥檚 Symphony No. 4, 鈥淗eichalos鈥� with the Violins of Hope, recorded by the Nashville Symphony and conductor Giancarlo Guerrero and released by Naxos, was nominated for a 2020 GRAMMY for Best Classical Compendium. Last year, Naxos also released the world premi猫re recording of Leshnoff鈥檚 Violin Concerto No. 2, with violinist Noah Bendix-Balgley and the Oklahoma City Philharmonic conducted by Alexander Mickelthwate. Also on that album was 鈥�Of Thee I Sing,鈥� commissioned by the Oklahoma City Philharmonic to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Oklahoma City Bombing. In the fall of 2020, Reference Recordings released a highly acclaimed all-Leshnoff album featuring world premiere recordings of his Piano Concerto and his Symphony No. 3 commemorating World War I. Earlier in 2020, Reference Recordings released an extensively reviewed album by the Pittsburgh Symphony and conductor Manfred Honeck featuring the world premiere performance of Leshnoff鈥檚 Double Concerto for Clarinet and Bassoon, which made it to the top of the Billboard charts. Other notable releases include a 2016 recording of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus performing Leshnoff鈥檚 Symphony No. 2 and Zohar oratorio, and three earlier all-Leshnoff albums鈥攐f both his orchestral and chamber music works鈥攐n the Naxos American Classics label. An album featuring all of his string quartets was also released in August 2020.
Celebrated by BBC Music Magazine as 鈥渆nchanting鈥� and by American Record Guide as 鈥渓yrical, virtuosic, tender, and passionate all at once,鈥� Leshnoff鈥檚 music has been lauded by Strings Magazine as 鈥渄istinct from anything else that鈥檚 out there鈥� and by The Baltimore Sun as 鈥渞emarkably assured, cohesively constructed and radiantly lyrical.鈥� Leshnoff鈥檚 catalog is vast, including several symphonies, oratorios, concerti, and solo / chamber music works. Leshnoff is a Professor of Music at Towson University where he teaches orchestration and music theory.