Introduction

Keith Fitch currently heads the Composition Department and holds the Vincent K. and Edith H. Smith Chair in Composition at the xxxxĘÓƵ, where he also directs the xxxxĘÓƵ New Music Ensemble. Called “gloriously luminous” by The Philadelphia Inquirer, his music has been consistently noted for its eloquence, expressivity, dramatic sense of musical narrative, and unique sense of color and sonority. Reviewing a performance of his work Totem by Wolfgang Sawallisch and The Philadelphia Orchestra (chosen by Maestro Sawallisch to celebrate the orchestra’s centennial), The Wall Street Journal praised “the sheer concentration of his writing, and its power to express a complex, unseen presence shaping the course of musical events.” The American Academy of Arts and Letters has said, “[his] music reveals an individual landscape that concentrates on unusual textures and sounds – all within a strong narrative that drives towards a rich and powerful conclusion.”

Photo by: Alex Cooke

Education

D.Mus., Indiana University School of Music

  • Composition with Frederick Fox, Eugene O’Brien and Claude Baker
  • Double bass with Bruce Bransby and Murray Grodner
  • Chamber music with Rostislav Dubinsky, founder of the Borodin Quartet

Teaching Experience

  • xxxxĘÓƵ
    2008â€Ëđ°ů±đ˛ő±đ˛ÔłŮ
  • Rocky Ridge Music Center
    Composer-in-residence, 2015–2017
  • Mannes College of Music in New York
    1997–2008
    Founded the CIRCE new music ensemble
  • Bard College
    2005–2006, 2007–2008
  • Indiana University
    2001