Teacher Resource Guide: A Solemn Place, Wayne Oquin (b. 1977)

American composer Wayne Oquin's music has been performed on five continents, in nineteen countries, and in forty states. A native of Houston, TX, Oquin is chair of the Ear Training Department at The Juilliard School, where he has worked since 2008. He holds a bachelor of music from Texas State University as well as a master of music and a doctor of musical arts from The Juilliard School. While a student at Juilliard, Oquin studied composition with Milton Babbitt and Samuel Adler, and served as a teaching fellow for Mary Anthony Cox. He won the Richard F. French Prize for best doctoral dissertation, The Juilliard Inner-Arts Award, the Palmer Dixon Prize, and was the first recipient of the Arthur Friedman Award for his orchestral composition An Unbroken Chain to Infinity. In addition to A Solemn Place, Oquin has contributed significant music to wind literature, including Tower Ascending (Oquin's tribute to the rebuilding of Ground Zero) and Affirmation (the winner of the National Band Association's 2014 William D. Revelli Award). The United States Air Force Band, who presented Oquin with the Commander's Medal of Excellence, has recorded both compositions. In addition to The United States Air Force Band, The United States Army Field Band, The West Point Military Academy Band, and many high school and university programs have performed his wind music.