Kevin Puts
About this Artist
Pulitzer Prize and Grammy winner Kevin Puts has established himself as one of America’s leading composers, gaining international acclaim for his “plush, propulsive” music (The New York Times) and described by Opera News as “a master polystylist.” He has been commissioned and performed by leading organizations around the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Carnegie Hall, Opera Philadelphia, Minnesota Opera, and many more, and has collaborated with world-class artists such as Renée Fleming, Yo-Yo Ma, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and Marin Alsop, among others.
In March 2022, Puts’ fourth opera, The Hours, had its world premiere on the concert stage by The Philadelphia Orchestra under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin. The Hours premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in November 2022 to sold-out houses as a fully staged production starring sopranos Renée Fleming and Kelli O’Hara and mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato. The opera’s revival in May 2024 marked the first instance in the Metropolitan Opera’s history of a work’s returning the season after its premiere.
Puts’ breakthrough opera Silent Night—for which he was awarded the 2012 Pulitzer Prize following its 2011 premiere by Minnesota Opera—has been heralded as “remarkable” (The New York Times). In addition to the Pulitzer Prize, Puts has received numerous honors and awards for composition. Since 2006, he has been a member of the composition faculty at the Peabody Institute and will serve as Distinguished Visiting Composer at The Juilliard School in the 2024/25 academic year. He will return to his role as Director of the Minnesota Orchestra Composer’s Institute in 2025.