ArtistInfo

Rick Sowash

*1950 US
Composer of Classical

Rick Sowash - American composer, author, filmmaker Rick Sowash (b. 1950) is an American composer from Ohio. He has been composing what most people would call "classical" music since his early teens. He has written over 165 works and had his Carnegie Hall debut in 2007. Sowash often compares his career to fellow American composer Charles Ives. Ives a nonacademic, wrote the majority of his music at his leisure while earning money through other means. Sowash's music, however, bears scant resemblance to Ives'. Listeners have likened his music to Beethoven, Sibelius and Vaughan Williams. Others have drawn comparisons to Barber, Thomson, Thompson, Copland, sometimes even Gershwin, Sousa and Billings. Sowash prides himself in taking an Americanist and regionalist approach to music composition; his compositions are tonal, accessible, melodic, and often pastoral. In addition to writing music, Sowash is a prolific author and public speaker. He is also one of a few composers to hold public office.