Aaron Severini

credit: Godofredo Astudillo

Aaron Severini (b. 1981) is a versatile composer whose music includes works for concert, dance, film, television, and new media. Aaron earned his Bachelor of Music degree at The Juilliard School, studying composition with Christopher Rouse. After a successful career dancing professionally with New York City Ballet, he is now pursuing his Master of Music degree in composition at Juilliard where he is studying with John Corigliano. Aaron’s unique background and talents have drawn special attention – most recently Hilary Hahn and Cory Smythe premiered Aaron’s Catch as an encore during their recital at Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco, CA. The San Francisco Examiner called it, “a lively bundle of manic energy that could not have made for a better encore.” Previous awards and honors include the 2015 Juilliard Orchestra Competition for Sleet, the ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer Award, and multiple ASCAP Plus awards. A native of Greenfield, Massachusetts, Aaron lives in New York City.

Aaron writes:

The tone and structure of Sleet is influenced by my previous experiences as a dancer with New York City Ballet as well as my time studying composition at Juilliard. There is an extraordinary energy at both institutions that I wanted to capture within the piece. Sleet incorporates a selection of characters or moods that enter and exit consecutively and are at times intertwined. For me, these moods depict elements of power, nerve, excitement, anticipation, fear, femininity, masculinity, and childlike exuberance. I drew my inspiration from the bubbly personalities and incredibly talented musicians at Juilliard and the buzz and adrenaline felt backstage before performances at NYCB and the extraordinary artists that I worked with there.”

listen to an excerpt of Aaron’s Sleet: