Profile
Short Bio
New York-based composer and saxophonist Patrick Zimmerli has released 6 CDs of his music. He recently completed a Chamber Symphony for the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and is producing a CD featuring pianists Kevin Hays and Brad Mehldau.
Since 2005 Zimmerli has presented a concert series, entitled Emergence, dedicated to the creation and performance of new work. Featuring his 9-piece ensemble and special guests from the classical, jazz, and electronic music communities, the series has seen 17 performances and over 40 premieres.
Current commissions include a large orchestra piece for the Colorado College Summer Music Festival’s 25th Anniversary Season. Other commissions have come from the Ying Quartet, the Seattle Chamber Music Festival, cellist Kristina Reiko Cooper, and the Belgian jazz octet Octurn.
His work has been performed at MoMA and the Guggenheim Museum, on NPR’s Fresh Sounds, at the Jazz Composers’ Collective, and at major chamber music festivals throughout the US. Zimmerli’s music has been recorded on the Arabesque, Blue Note, Songlines, Koch, Antilles, Jazz City, and Naive labels, and he has written extensively for radio, TV, and film.
From 2002–2005 Zimmerli was Composer in Residence with the Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra. Awards include first prize in the first annual BMI/Thelonious Monk Institute Composers’ Competition. Zimmerli teaches at Columbia University, where he earned a BA in 1990, an MPhil in 1996 and a DMA in 2000 in Music Composition.