Richard Toensing’s (1940-2014) compositions span a variety of styles, from the gestural, free atonal work of the 1960s and 1970s to a renewed interest in various forms of diatonic music in more recent years. He has written numerous works for chorus, chamber music in various genres, and works for large ensembles. His later compositions, particularly from the late 1990s onward, are informed by his careful study of the Orthodox Christian sacred musical tradition and suffused with his deep religious faith. Reviewers of Toensing’s works, sacred and otherwise, have said that the listener is struck by a transparency of sound, a simplicity that exists inside complexity, and a sparkling clarity of parts. Toensing won numerous awards for composition, including the Joseph H. Bearnes Prize from Columbia University, two BMI student composer awards, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and a commission from the National Endowment for the Arts. In addition to his work in his studio and the classroom, Toensing served as choir director at Atonement Lutheran Church and Grace Lutheran Church, both in Boulder, and more recently at St. Luke’s Orthodox Church in Erie. In later life, he wrote several pieces intended for Orthodox church choirs.
Portrait by Janet Braccio
