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 prestigious venues across the world.
As an artistic-researcher Raphael's work investigates intermediality, expressive agency and the role of empathy in vocal composition. His interdisciplinary research synthesizes concepts from linguistics, performance practice, aesthetics and psychology to explore the expressive power of song.
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.”
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Featured Compositions
inSOMNIA
This sensational chamber opera draws the audience into an imaginary realm, blurring the line between dreams and reality.
Le parole dei mesi
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
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)
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
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.”
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“Fusco led the orchestra with verve and precision.”
REMIXED
Classical structures, Jazz harmonies, Rock grooves, and lyric melodies bridge contemporary music to the past in Raphael Fusco's debut Album "Remixed."
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