Honorary Degree Recipient
Doctor of Humane Letters
College of Liberal Arts, June 4, 2008
Dominick J. Argento, University of Minnesota Regents Professor Emeritus, and faculty member in the School of Music from 1958 to 1997, is one of America’s leading composers. He is recognized internationally for his artistic achievement. He has composed more than twelve operas and has written several song cycles that are expected to become classics. Casa Guidi, performed by the Minnesota Orchestra with Frederica von State, won a Grammy award in 2004 for “ Best Classical Contemporary Composition,” and his song cycle From the Diary of Virginia Woolf, was awarded the Pulitzer for Music in 1975. He has received numerous honors and recognition, including a lifetime appointment as Composer Laureate to the Minnesota Orchestra. In 1979 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Through his teaching, and his commitment to students, he has made a profound impact on generations of Minnesota composers.
Biographies are as-of time of award presentation.