By Sara Patterson

For University Prof. Augusta “Gusty” Read Thomas, each new work is an adventure. She describes her new orchestral work Bebop Kaleidoscope—Homage to Duke Ellington as akin to “Igor Stravinsky meets Miles Davis meets big band.”

Her new work premiered at the New York Philharmonic on Sept. 19, 2024, with guest conductor Ken-David Masur, the music director of the Milwaukee Symphony, and was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic as offered by Patrick Castillo, vice president of artistic planning, at the New York Philharmonic.

When composing Bebop Kaleidoscope, Thomas thought about how kaleidoscopes form new patterns with every twist. Four musical twists of her orchestral kaleidoscope’s vibrant and multi-shaped materials, result in five ever-changing bebop dances, each with a different tempo, color and rhythm which are played without pause. For the bebop in the composition, Thomas created fast paced lines, counterpoint, and vibrant big-band-like splash chords.

This is the latest composition and production premiere for Thomas, who since joining the UChicago faculty in 2010 has launched the Chicago Center for Contemporary Composition; spearheaded the city-wide Ear Taxi Festival of contemporary music; and composed an opera Sweet Potato Kicks the Sun” with a beatboxer Nicole Paris as the lead vocalist.

“One central metaphor of my life’s creative work is that of light refracting,” Thomas said. “My goal is to build, sculpt and compose clean, clear, transparent, translucent, luminous, radiant, shining, resounding and resonant musical materials.”

Composing joy

Growing up on the East Coast, Thomas started her obsession with music early—at 3 years of age. She began by listening to music, playing instruments and then moved into composition. Louis Armstrong, Leonard Bernstein, Ella Fitzgerald, and Glenn Gould influenced and inspired her creativity.

The widely celebrated composer writes orchestral, chamber, choral, band, solo, dance and ballet music as well as operas. Thomas describes composing orchestral music as particularly fun because of the wide range of the instruments. “Any musical sound turns me on, and I want to make something of it,” she said. “For an orchestra, there’s a wide palette of instruments. I think an orchestra is one of the great constructions of civilization.”

“Augusta Read Thomas is one of the most dazzling imaginative and vivacious composers around,” said Daniel Pesca, a member of the Grossman Ensemble at UChicago. “The listener is always a hair's breadth away from a moment of levity and joy, or from a moment of sublime wonder and awe.”

Her time spent composing is only part of every day. In addition to composing and teaching, Thomas attends music rehearsals and premieres of her work(s), as well as taking artists to dinner and playing the piano. She explains that her life has four layers: composing the music, teaching, volunteer Board and citizenship work and answering requests for her work.

“Music for me is an embrace of the world, a way to open myself to being alive in the world—in my body, in my sounds, and in my mind,” Thomas said. “I write music that craves a listener — whomever that listener may be.”

A musical citizen

In addition to composing music, Thomas serves as a mentor for student composers at UChicago and thoroughly enjoys conducting private teaching sessions. She helps them to develop their own voices and find what they want to say in their music.

“Gusty lives and breathes music,” said Paul Novak, a UChicago PhD student in the Department of Music. “Whenever we meet, she is 100 percent laser-focused, and has an incredible ear and an immense generosity. Her ethos of a composer as a musical citizen—someone who not just writes notes but is also active in building community and giving to others—has had a profound impact on me.”

By Sara Patterson

During her lessons, Thomas discusses her students’ work and offers her thoughts such as “this chord is fantastic,” or “the rhythmic syntax needs to be different because the tension dips.” She describes every lesson with her students as different but extremely engaging.

“We often discuss the way incredibly detailed moments can impact the entire formal trajectory of a piece, and vice versa,” said Justin Weiss, a UChicago PhD student in Music. “In her music, I feel such a strong sense of formal trajectory and clarity, yet each note is so clearly crafted.”

During her tenure at UChicago, Thomas founded and built the Chicago Center for Contemporary Composition and the Grossman Ensemble. By the end of this 2023‒2024 season, the Grossman Ensemble will have performed 75 world premieres from diverse composers, deliberately avoiding a house style for the musicians and the work they perform and for the audience.

“If the Grossman Ensemble performs four new works, they are completely different pieces,” Thomas said. 

Among the recognition for her work, her composition Astral Canticle was one of two finalists in 2007 for the Pulitzer Prize in Music. Her music was featured in the Grammy-winning CD Colors of Love by Chanticleer. For 2015‒2016, Thomas received the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra’s Composer of the Year, which recognizes living composers who make significant contributions to the field of symphonic music and serve as personal advocates of innovative approaches to music.

“Gusty is a creative force of uncompromising quality,” said Constance Volk, a member of the Grossman Ensemble. “Her virtuosic expressivity is reflected in her dazzling compositions and her advocacy for composers and performers is unmatched. The new music community is lucky to be swept up in the whirlwind of her vibrant energy.”