Andrew Ardizzoia is a native of the San Francisco Bay Area, where he began his studies in music at an early age. His works have been performed on three continents by a wide variety of soloists and ensembles, including mezzo-soprano Olga Perez-Flora, conductors Jacob Harrison and Jason Caslor, the Swedish Oratorio Chorus, the Mill Ave. Chamber Players, the University of Illinois Percussion Ensemble, as well as large ensembles at Arizona State University.  He has received numerous awards and commissions including the Presser Foundation Award, a graduate fellowship and graduate assistantship  from Arizona State University, a Herberger School of the Arts Enrichment Grant and a commission from the Iowa State University Symphony Orchestra (for Some Assembly Required), an AriZoni nomination for his incidental music for  The Laramie Project, and a teaching fellowship from the Hartt School at the University of Hartford.

Andrew’s compositions have been featured on programs at Arizona State University, The Ohio State University, the University of Oregon, Otterbein College, the Phoenix Art Museum, Scottsdale Community College, Paradise Valley Community College, Chandler-Gilbert Community College, as well as solo recitals in California and Arizona.  His works have also been part of art installations and dance programs throughout California.  His European debut took place in Helsinki in 2006.  Recent performances have included the Three Blake Choruses at Northern Arizona University, performances of Roadtrip Sunrise by bands across North America, “This Primordial, Threatening Noise…” at the University of Victoria, the Études du Désert at major saxophone conferences in Asia and the United States, as well as the Lorca Songs at the Idyllwild Summer Program, where Andrew was invited to speak about his work.   This past summer Dr. Rose French gave the first performances of the Modular Suite for horn and piano at venues in Arizona, New Mexico and Australia.

Upcoming performances of Andrew’s works include the premiere of *Some Assembly Required., a new work for the Iowa State University Symphony Orchestra (as part of a one week residency), a new work for percussionist Bill Sallak based on the writings of poet Kay Ryan, and a work conductor George Buckbee, flautist Barbara Maters and the St. John’s Chamber Orchestra (Stockton, CA) based on Andrew’s 2009 incidental music for The Laramie Project.

Andrew holds the Master of Music in composition from Arizona State University, and the Bachelor of Music in composition from the University of the Pacific Conservatory of Music.  His primary teachers have included James DeMars, Rodney Rogers, Robert Coburn and Francois Rose.  Andrew has studied conducting with Henrik Jul Hansen and Eric Hammer, and has participated in masterclasses with composers Michael Torke and Jonathan Newman, as well as conductor Karla Lemon.  In demand as a conductor, Andrew has led clinics and performances of his works around the country, and served as music director of the MotherLode Youth Symphony from 2001 through 2003.  He has also led numerous musical theatre productions, including La Cage aux Folles, Lost in the Stars, Sugar, and Fame.   Andrew is also interested in the intersection of music, gender, and culture; and in 2008 he presented a paper on the evolution of Charles Ives’s gendered language at the Freie Universität in Berlin.   He has taught at Arizona State University and at Paradise Valley Community College   This autumn, Andrew begins doctoral studies at the Hartt School at the University of Hartford in Connecticut where he will also serve as the music theory Teaching Fellow.

Andrew lives in Mesa, Arizona with his partner Rico Reyes, and a rescued Chihuahua/Jack Russell mutt named Joey, who is a very good boy.