Described by The New York Times as a “social conscience, multimedia collaborator, system builder,
rhapsodist, historical thinker and multicultural gateway,” VIJAY IYER has carved out a unique
path as an influential, prolific, shape-shifting presence in twenty-first-century music. A composer
and pianist active and revered across multiple musical communities, Iyer has created a
consistently innovative, emotionally resonant body of work over the last twenty-five years,
earning him a place as one of the leading music-makers of his generation.

His honors include a MacArthur Fellowship, a Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, a United States
Artist Fellowship, three Grammy nominations, the Alpert Award in the Arts, the Greenfield Prize, a
Dutch “Edison” Prize, and two German “Echo” awards; he was also voted DownBeat Magazine’s
Jazz Artist of the Year four times. He has been praised by Pitchfork as "one of the best in the world
at what he does," by the Los Angeles Weekly as “a boundless and deeply important young star,” and
by Minnesota Public Radio as “an American treasure.”

Iyer’s musical language is indebted to the great composer-pianists from Duke Ellington and
Thelonious Monk to Alice Coltrane and Geri Allen, the rhythmic traditions of South Asia and West
Africa, and the African American creative music movement of the 60s and 70s. In February 2024
Iyer released Compassion (ECM Records), the second recording by his much-admired trio with
drummer Tyshawn Sorey and bassist Linda May Han Oh. The New York Times observed, “It’s as if
this band wants to both seduce you and discomfit you, stripping you of everything but the ability

to think and see for yourself.” Other recent releases include Love In Exile (Verve, 2023), a Grammy-
nominated collaboration with vocalist Arooj Aftab and bassist Shahzad Ismaily; Uneasy (ECM

Records, 2021), the acclaimed first trio session with Sorey and Oh; Far From Over (ECM, 2017)
with the award-winning Vijay Iyer Sextet; and A Cosmic Rhythm with Each Stroke (ECM, 2016) a
suite of duets with visionary composer-trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith.

Iyer is an active composer for classical ensembles and soloists, with works premiered by Brentano
Quartet, Imani Winds, Parker Quartet, Bang on a Can All-Stars, The Silk Road Ensemble, Sō
Percussion, International Contemporary Ensemble, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, East Coast
Chamber Orchestra, LA Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Oregon Symphony, American
Composers Orchestra, and virtuosi Matt Haimowitz, Mishka Rushdie Momen, Claire Chase, Inbal
Segev, Sarah Rothenberg, Shai Wosner, and Jennifer Koh. The Boston Modern Orchestra Project
produced a portrait album, Trouble (BMOP/sound 2024), comprising three of Iyer’s orchestral
works. Iyer recently served as composer-in-residence at London’s Wigmore Hall, music director of
the Ojai Music Festival, and artist-in-residence at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. His
scores are published by Schott Music.

A tireless collaborator, he has written big-band music for Arturo O’Farrill and Darcy James Argue,
remixed classic recordings of Talvin Singh and Meredith Monk, joined forces with legendary
musicians Henry Threadgill, Reggie Workman, Zakir Hussain, and L. Subramanian, and developed
interdisciplinary work with Teju Cole, Carrie Mae Weems, Mike Ladd, Julie Mehretu, and Prashant
Bhargava. Iyer is a tenured professor at Harvard University, with a joint appointment in the
Department of Music and the Department of African and African American Studies. He lives in New
York City. He is a Steinway artist.