Biography
Steven L. Ricks (b. 1969) received his early musical training as a trombonist in Mesa, AZ. He holds degrees in composition from Brigham Young University (BM), the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (MM), and the University of Utah (PhD). He received a Certificate of Advanced Musical Studies from King’s College London in 2000, supported by a Graduate Research Fellowship from the University of Utah.
His teachers have included Morris Rosenzweig, Sir Harrison Birtwistle, Bill Brooks, and Michael Hicks. Dr. Ricks has received various awards and honors, including First Prize in the 1999 SCI/ASCAP Student Composition Competition, and three Barlow Endowment Commissions.
He has been a fellow at June in Buffalo and the Composers Conference at Wellesley College, and his works have been performed by many leading contemporary music ensembles and performers, including Speculum Musicae, the New York New Music Ensemble, Earplay, the Talujon Percussion Quartet, Rachel Rudich, and pianist Ian Pace. He currently directs the Electronic Music Studio at BYU and is co-director of the Utah Crosstalk electronic music concert series.
Research Interests
Electroacoustic composition, contemporary art music composition, improvisation with and without electronics, multimedia theater.Teaching Interests
Electronic music composition, chamber music composition, music theory.Honors and Awards
- Fromm Music Foundation Commission, Fromm Music Foundation at Harvard University (2010 - 2010)