D. J. Sparr

D. J. Sparr
D. J. Sparr after premiering Daron Hagen's concerto Film Noir in July 2023
D. J. Sparr after premiering Daron Hagen's concerto Film Noir in July 2023
Background information
Born1975 (age 49–50)
Westminster, MD
GenresContemporary classical
OccupationComposer & Guitarist
InstrumentGuitar
Years active1995-present
LabelsInnova Recordings, Naxos Records, Centaur Records
Websitewww.djsparr.com


D. J. Sparr (Donald Joseph Sparr, Jr.; born October 18, 1975) is an American composer and electric guitar soloist. Known for blending rock, jazz, and contemporary classical genres, Sparr has been praised by *Gramophone* as "exemplary" and recognized for his "boundary-erasing" style by *The New York Times*. He is celebrated as both a composer-performer and mentor, with works commissioned and premiered by major orchestras and opera companies.

Career

Memphis Composers Institute & 'Extended Play' (2024–2025)

In September 2023, Sparr joined the Memphis Symphony Orchestra as artistic collaborator, ultimately launching the Memphis Composers Institute in February 2025. As Artistic Coordinator, he led a three-day festival (February 7–9), mentoring emerging composers and premiering his viola concerto **Extended Play**, performed by violist Kimberly Sparr and the Memphis Symphony under the baton of Kyle Dickson.Sparr premiered his viola concerto Extended Play with the Memphis Symphony in 2025.[1]

As an electric guitar soloist, he has performed concertos by Michael Daugherty, Kenneth Fuchs, Derek Bermel, Steven Mackey, and himself with New World Symphony, Alabama Symphony, and Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, among others. He has performed with ensembles such as Eighth Blackbird, New Music Raleigh, and the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble. His performance of Glacier for electric guitar and orchestra with the London Symphony Orchestra and conductor JoAnn Falletta was one of four concertos featured on the all-Kenneth Fuchs recording released by Naxos, which won the 2018 GRAMMY Award for Best Classical Compendium.[2][3]

Sparr's eclectic style has been described as "pop-Romantic … iridescent and wondrous" by The Mercury News,[4] and as a style that "suits the boundary erasing spirit of today's new-music world," according to The New York Times.[5] The Los Angeles Times praised him as "an excellent soloist,"[6] and the Santa Cruz Sentinel wrote that he "wowed an enthusiastic audience … Sparr's guitar sang in a near-human voice."[7]

Soloist & Guest Performances

Throughout 2024–2025, Sparr was featured as electric guitar soloist with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, performing his own compositions alongside works by Shostakovich,[8] and with the Greensboro Symphony in Chris Brubeck’s Double Concerto for Two Guitars.[9] He has also appeared with ensembles including the New World Symphony, Eighth Blackbird, Houston Grand Opera, Washington National Opera, and the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra.[10]

His music has been performed and commissioned by numerous ensembles, including the Washington National Opera, Houston Grand Opera (HGOco), Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras, the Albany Symphony Orchestra, eighth blackbird, and the Dayton Philharmonic.[11] He is the recipient of the $10,000 Grand Prize in the orchestra category of the BMG/Williams College National Young Composers Competition,[12] was an alternate for the 1998–99 Rome Prize from the American Academy in Rome,[13] and has received two BMI Student Composer Awards.[14]

Dr. Sparr is a graduate of the Baltimore School for the Arts and received his Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music.[15] He completed his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in composition at the University of Michigan in 2003.[16] His composition teachers include Michael Daugherty, Augusta Read Thomas, Sydney Hodkinson, and Pulitzer Prize winners William Bolcom, Christopher Rouse, and Joseph Schwantner.[17]

Teaching & Mentorship

Sparr remains on faculty at The Walden School's Creative Musicians Retreat and served as Artistic Coordinator for the inaugural Memphis Composers Institute in 2025.[18] In 2025, he joined the faculty of Louisiana State University’s Roger Hadfield Ogden Honors College.[19] His previous academic appointments include Texas Tech University’s School of Music.[20]

Sparr has held residencies with numerous orchestras. From 2018 to 2020, he served as curator for the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra’s SOUND! chamber music series, programming works by contemporary American composers and performing as electric guitar soloist.[21] From 2011 to 2014, he was the Young American Composer-in-Residence with the California Symphony,[22] and from 2009 to 2011 he served as composer-in-residence with the Richmond Symphony Orchestra’s Department of Education and Community Engagement.[23]

Style & Recognition

Gramophone has called Sparr “exemplary,”[24] and critics have noted his style as “pop‑Romantic … iridescent and wondrous” in The Mercury News[25] and “boundary-erasing” in The New York Times.[26] He was a featured soloist on the 2018 Grammy Award–winning recording of Kenneth Fuchs’s concertos with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by JoAnn Falletta.[27][28]

Selected Works

Orchestral & Concerti

  • Extended Play (2025) – Viola Concerto, premiered by Kimberly Sparr and the Memphis Symphony
  • Katrina (2016) – Concerto for Jazz Guitar and Orchestra (Arkansas Symphony)
  • Violet Bond (2013) – Concerto for Electric Guitar and Orchestra
  • Dreams of the Old Believers (2014), Optima Vota (2012), Precious Metal (2010), among others.

Opera & Vocal Works

  • Approaching Ali is a chamber opera composed by Sparr, with a libretto by Mark Campbell and Davis Miller. It premiered at Washington National Opera in 2013,[29] with subsequent performances by North Carolina Opera in 2015,[30] and by Opera Las Vegas and Opéra Louisiane in 2023.[31][32]

Discography

  • Sparr was the featured electric guitarist on the 2018 Grammy Award–winning recording Kenneth Fuchs: Spiritualist, Poems of Life, Glacier, Rush with the London Symphony Orchestra and JoAnn Falletta, released by Naxos.[33][34]
  • Recordings on labels including Innova, Naxos, Centaur, and Albany

References

  1. ^ "Memphis Composers Institute 2025". The Walden School. 2025-02-03. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  2. ^ "Fuchs: Piano Concerto "Spiritualist" / Poems of Life / Glacier / Rush". Naxos Records. Naxos. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  3. ^ "61st Annual GRAMMY Awards Winners & Nominees". The Recording Academy. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  4. ^ Scheinin, Richard (2011-08-14). "Review: Sparr's guitar work is wondrous in Cabrillo's vibrant finale". The Mercury News. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  5. ^ Tommasini, Anthony (2011-01-20). "From Hip-Hop to the Frontier of Classical: A Composer's Time". The New York Times. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  6. ^ Swed, Mark (2010-10-18). "Review: L.A. Chamber Orchestra opens season with 2 fresh pieces". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  7. ^ Koch, Richard (2011-08-14). "Review: Electric guitarist D. J. Sparr wows Cabrillo audience". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  8. ^ Campbell, Jackie (2024-01-22). "Classical Fusion: D. J. Sparr rocks the BPO with a bold blend of Shostakovich and electric guitar". Buffalo Rising. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  9. ^ "Greensboro Symphony Presents: Brubeck Brothers Quartet". Greensboro Symphony. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  10. ^ "Memphis Composers Institute 2025: Featured Artists". The Walden School. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  11. ^ "D. J. Sparr, Composer and Guitarist". Bill Holab Music. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  12. ^ "Alumni Notes: D. J. Sparr". William & Mary Department of Music. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  13. ^ "D. J. Sparr Biography". The Kennedy Center. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  14. ^ "BMI Student Composer Award Winners Archive". BMI Foundation. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  15. ^ "Alumni Notes: D. J. Sparr". William & Mary Department of Music. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  16. ^ "D. J. Sparr, Composer and Guitarist". Bill Holab Music. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  17. ^ "D. J. Sparr Biography". The Kennedy Center. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  18. ^ "Memphis Composers Institute 2025: Featured Artists". The Walden School. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  19. ^ "D. J. Sparr Joins LSU Honors College Faculty". LSU Ogden Honors College. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  20. ^ "Faculty Profile: D. J. Sparr". Texas Tech University School of Music|Faculty Profile. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  21. ^ "Lubbock Symphony Announces 2018–19 SOUND! Series Curated by D. J. Sparr". Lubbock Symphony Orchestra. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  22. ^ "California Symphony Composer-in-Residence: D. J. Sparr". California Symphony. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  23. ^ "Richmond Symphony Welcomes Composer-in-Residence D. J. Sparr". Richmond Symphony Orchestra. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  24. ^ "Composer D. J. Sparr joins LSO for new recording". Bill Holab Music. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  25. ^ Scheinin, Richard (2011-08-14). "Review: Sparr's guitar work is wondrous in Cabrillo's vibrant finale". The Mercury News. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  26. ^ Schweitzer, Vivien (2013-06-10). "Finding the Fist Behind the Poetic Soul of Ali". The New York Times. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  27. ^ "Fuchs: Piano Concerto "Spiritualist" / Poems of Life / Glacier / Rush". Naxos Records. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  28. ^ "61st Annual Grammy Awards". The Recording Academy. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  29. ^ Tommasini, Anthony (2013-06-09). "Review: 'Approaching Ali,' a Chamber Opera at Kennedy Center". The New York Times. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  30. ^ "Approaching Ali". North Carolina Opera. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  31. ^ "Approaching Ali – 2023 Performances". Opera Las Vegas. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  32. ^ "Spring Season Preview: Opéra Louisiane". Opéra Louisiane. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  33. ^ "Fuchs: Piano Concerto "Spiritualist" / Poems of Life / Glacier / Rush". Naxos Records. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  34. ^ "61st Annual Grammy Awards: Best Classical Compendium". The Recording Academy. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
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