JOHN KING is a world-renowned composer, guitarist and violist, who has worked collaboratively with many ensembles, string quartets, choreographers and directors. He has had commissions from the Kronos and Ethel string quartets that have led to an ongoing relationship of developing new works. Since 1985 he has been a composer and musician with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company working alongside John Cage and David Tudor. From 2003 until the closing of MCDC in Dec. 2011 he was a Co-Director of the Music Committee for the Company; curating, composing and performing the music for their many performances including MCDC’s final 2-year Legacy Tour. He has written 3 operas: herzstück/heartpiece, based on the text of Heiner Müller, premiered at the 1999 Warsaw Autumn Festival; la belle captive based on texts by Alain Robbe-Grillet, which premiered at Teatro Colon/CETC in Buenos Aires in 2003; and also his most recent opera, Dice Thrown, based on the Stéphane Mallarmé poem, performed in excerpt by the New York City Opera in May 2008; and in a complete staged version which was premiered at CalArts in April, 2010. It was during this working period when King first collaborated with Stephan Koplowitz in bringing movement and music together for the opera. He has 3 recent CD releases of music for string quartet; 10 Mysteries and AllSteel (Tzadik); and Ethel (Cantaloupe). And he is also the recipient of the 2009 Alpert Award in the Arts for Music. http://www.johnkingmusic.com
