When honoring him with its Goddard Lieberson Fellowship, the American Academy of Arts and Letters noted that “A rare economy of means and a strain of religious mysticism distinguish the music of James Primosch… Through articulate, transparent textures, he creates a wide range of musical emotion.”

Primosch’s compositional voice encompasses a broad range of expressive types. His music can be intensely lyrical, as in the song cycle Holy the Firm (composed for Dawn Upshaw) or dazzlingly angular as in Secret Geometry for piano and electronic sound. His affection for jazz is reflected in works like the Piano Quintet, while his work as a church musician informs the many pieces in his catalog based on sacred songs or religious texts. Primosch’s instrumental, vocal, and electronic works have been performed throughout the United States and in Europe by such ensembles as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Collage, the New York New Music Ensemble, and the 21st Century Consort.

Among the honors he has received are a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, a Guggenheim Fellowship, three prizes from the American Academy-Institute of Arts and Letters, a Regional Artists Fellowship to the American Academy in Rome, a Pew Fellowship in the Arts, the Stoeger Prize of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and a fellowship to the Tanglewood Music Center where he studied with John Harbison. Recordings of 25 compositions by Primosch have appeared on the Albany, Azica, Bard, Bridge, CRI, Centaur, Innova, and New World labels.

Born in Cleveland OH in 1956, James Primosch studied at Cleveland State University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Columbia University.  He counts Mario Davidovsky, George Crumb, and Richard Wernick among his principal teachers. Since 1988, he has served on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania.

Albums

Joy, Too

Release Date: August 2, 2024
Catalog Number: NV6642
21st Century
Chamber
Vocal Music
Piano
Voice
Music about grief is a bit like medicine: most people don't reach for it until they find themselves in need. The Vertex Duo, composed of mezzo-soprano Kristin Gornstein and pianist Jeremy Chan, might sympathize, having created just this medicine for the soul in the wake of some of their darkest biographical hours. The result is JOY, TOO, a curiously wonderful collection of melancholy songs — so lyrical and beautiful, one doesn't have to be sad to want to listen to it. In case of misfortune however, it may well be sanity-saving: with its stirring melodies and poignant lyrics, JOY, TOO serves as a testament to the universal experience of sorrow, offering solace and understanding to those grappling with its impact.

Carthage

Release Date: May 22, 2020
Catalog Number: NV6287
21st Century
Vocal Music
Choir
GRAMMY-winning chamber choir The Crossing is back with their latest installment in a multi-album series with Navona Records. CARTHAGE comes on the heels of the 2020 GRAMMY-nominated album THE ARC IN THE SKY, released last summer. In this latest offering, artistic director Donald Nally leads the choir through six striking pieces by composer James Primosch that confront the most elemental questions of Western philosophy.