A Composer Portrait

Michael Horvit (b. 1932) is Professor of Theory and Composition at the University of Houston School of Music, where he has chaired that department since 1967. For 25 years he served as Director of Music at Temple Emanu El in Houston. During his studies at Yale, Harvard, Tanglewood and Boston University, his composition teachers included Aaron Copland, Lukas Foss, Walter Piston, Quincy Porter and Gardner Read. His works range from solo instrument and vocal works to large symphonic compositions, choral cantatas and operas, many written specifically for the Jewish liturgy. Among the numerous ensembles and organizations that have commissioned his works are the Houston ballet, the Houston Symphony, the National Symphony of Mexico, the Chicago Chamber Brass, and the Esterhazy String Quartet. He is the recipient of awards from organizations that include BMI, ASCAP, the Martha Baird Rockefeller Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Fridge Trust, and the University of Houston.