Gordon Getty

American composer Gordon Getty has contributed more than forty works to the canon, and his music continues to be performed by leading artists and ensembles in some of the world’s most prestigious venues. San Francisco Symphony will premiere several of his new choral works at Davies Symphony Hall in June 2023. His Old Man Trilogy, three choral settings of his original poetry, will be premiered in July 2024 at Festival Napa Valley.

Goodbye, Mr. Chips, his operatic adaptation of the 1934 novella and short stories by James Hilton, was produced in an innovative cinematic format that premiered in 2021 at the Mill Valley Film Festival, in partnership with Festival Napa Valley. It has since been shown in New York, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Minneapolis, with upcoming screenings in Austin and Montreal. A new recording of Goodbye, Mr. Chips is slated to be released on the Pentatone label later this year. Getty’s other operas, which include Plump Jack, Usher House, and The Canterville Ghost have been staged in San Francisco, Cardiff, Leipzig, New York, and Los Angeles and have been recorded by Pentatone.

Getty’s Joan and the Bells, a cantata setting of the trial and execution of Joan of Arc, has enjoyed performances in Russia, Germany, France, and England, as well as throughout the US. His Ancestor Suite has been staged by the Bolshoi Ballet and presented in Moscow, Beijing and Shanghai. His song cycle The White Election, a collection of 32 songs on poems by Emily Dickinson, has been presented at such venues as Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, and the Hermitage Theatre in St. Petersburg. 

The composer has received numerous awards and honors, including League of American Orchestra’s Gold Baton, Kennedy Center Outstanding American Composer, European Culture Prize, Opera America’s Opera Hall of Fame, San Francisco Opera’s Spirit of the Opera, and Young People’s Chorus of New York City’s Legacy Honoree. His work is published by Rork Music.