Raphael Fusco

Composer, keyboardist, conductor

Italian-American composer, keyboardist, and conductor Raphael Fusco has been hailed by the international press as “accomplished and winning" (The New York Times) and “one of the most outstanding composers of his generation" (El Mundo).

His genre-crossing compositions for voice, chamber ensembles, orchestra, and theater engage audiences with soaring melodies,  energetic rhythms, colorful harmonies, and rich textures. He has collaborated with leading artists and ensembles such as GRAMMY Award winning saxophonist Branford Marsalis, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, American Ballet Theater, Martha Graham Dance Company and members of the New York Philharmonic and Metropolitan Opera Orchestras in venues including  Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Kimmel Center, St. Bavo Kerk Haarlem, Gaudi's Casa Milà,  the Église de Saint Séverin in Paris, and more.

Raphael's music is published by Verlag Ries & Erler in Berlin and Universal Edition in Vienna.

One of the most outstanding composers of his generation.

— MATIAS NESPOLO, EL MUNDO

Latest News

May 25, 2023

"Fusco is a leader in the world of opera today"

Raphael discusses his sensational new chamber opera inSOMNIA with Operawire.

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February 7, 2023

Quarantine Camp wins 2nd Prize in the 2023 NATS Art Song Composition Competition

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Featured Compositions

inSOMNIA

2021
/
Opera

This sensational chamber opera draws the audience into an imaginary realm, blurring the line between dreams and reality.

Le parole dei mesi

2023
/
Choral

A madrigal for SATB choir a cappella on a text by Tonino Guerra which captures the sounds, scents, and tastes of the Italian countryside

Quarantine Camp

2022
/
Vocal

A cycle of six songs on poems by Ryan Vine which explore the surreal experience of life under lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic.  *Awarded 2nd Prize in the 2023 NATS Art Song Composition Competition

La contesa canora fra le Pieridi e le Muse (The Singing Contest between the Pierides and the Muses)

2022
/
Opera

Arrogance battles virtue in this cantata about the legendary singing competition between the Muses and the Pierides. Ovid himself narrates while a cast of 21 singers reenacts the events of that fateful day. In the end the winners are crowned and all join in an epic, foot-stomping fugue.

An American Requiem

2022
/
Choral

Written after a series of mass shootings throughout the United States, and revised during the COVID-19 pandemic, this powerful oratorio fuses different styles from Gospel and Blues to Renaissance counterpoint and Romanticism. This original adaptation of the traditional Requiem text in English offers a message of hope and salvation for dark times.

Remixes on a Theme by Handel

A musical guessing game disguised as a theme and variations for solo piano. The theme is one of Handel's most beloved melodies. Can you figure out which one it is before we reach the double bar line?

A lively player and fine improviser.

— MARK SWED - LOS ANGELES TIMES

Calendar

October 6, 2023

16:30

Graz, Austria

ARTikulationen Festival

Kunstuniversität Graz

Raphael will present his most recent artistic research in a lecture recital entitled "Making (Non)Sense: Exploring Phonemes, Neologisms and Extended Vocal Techniques through Composition." The event will conclude with the world premiere of the orchestrated version of NONSENSE!

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October 18-29, 2023

Budapest-Prague

Musical Magic Along the Blue Danube

A series of exclusive lecture recitals for Tauck River Cruises

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March 25-29, 2024

New York City

Manhattan School of Music

a week of masterclasses for singers and pianists

Raphael will coach and give mastercalsses to the talented students of MSM on early music performance practice, bel canto singing, and basso continuo accompaniment

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May 12, 2024

11:00 AM

New York City

Hail Thee, Festival Day!

Church of St. Ignatious Loyola

The world premiere of a new, festive anthem for SATB choir and the grand Mander organ

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Fusco led the orchestra with verve and precision.

— ZACHARY WOLF - THE NEW YORK TIMES
featured album

REMIXED

April 1, 2019

Classical structures, Jazz harmonies, Rock grooves, and lyric melodies bridge contemporary music to the past in Raphael Fusco's debut Album "Remixed."

SEE album details

“Fusco can do it all, from whisper quiet to percussive and lush, allowing the sound to truly take flight.”

All About Jazz

Press