ArtistInfo

John Melby

*1941 US
Composer of Electronic and Classical

John Melby (b. 1941) is an American composer and music educator from Whitehall, Wisconsin. He studied at the Curtis Institute of Music, University of Pennsylvania, and Princeton University with Henry Weinberg, George Crumb, Peter Westergaard, J.K. Randall, and Milton Babbitt. Best known for his numerous computer-synthesized and electroacoustic compositions, Melby also wrote a few large-scale orchestral and chamber pieces, including Concerto for Computer and Orchestra (1987), two symphonies and a few concertos for piano, violin, cello and viola. Throughout his educational career, John has been teaching at the University Of Illinois (from 1973 to 1997) and held faculty positions at West Chester University. Melby has many prestigious awards and honorary titles, such as NEA Fellowship (1977), the first prize in the Concours International de Musique Électroacoustique de Bourges (1979), Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship (1983), and an award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1984). His music is published by Theodore Presser Music Company, Associated Music Publishers, American Composers Alliance, and Merion Music, Inc.

Genres

• Electronic
• Classical