Biography
Short-length
Praised for “astonishingly beautiful” music (The New York Times) and a “singular compositional voice, unlike any that has been heard in opera before” (The New Yorker), composer Gregory Spears is acclaimed for blending romanticism, minimalism, and early music influences into works celebrated for their melodic richness and emotional clarity.
The 2025-2026 season brings the world premieres of Spears’ newest opera,Sleepers Awake (Opera Philadelphia), as well as Secrets (The Frick Collection) and Bartleby (Tucson Desert Song Festival). His best-known opera, Fellow Travelers (libretto by Greg Pierce), marks its tenth anniversary in 2026 with the launch of a national, multi-year tour.
Spears’ music has been commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Santa Fe Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Cincinnati Opera, Seraphic Fire, The Crossing, Bang on a Can, and JACK Quartet, among many others. Spears’ opera The Righteous (libretto by Tracy K. Smith) premiered at Santa Fe Opera in 2024, earning a “Critic’s Pick” in The New York Times. Earlier collaborations with Smith include Castor and Patience (2022, Cincinnati Opera) and Love Story, commissioned and premiered by the New York Philharmonic. His first opera, Paul’s Case (written with librettist Kathryn Walat),was called “a masterpiece” by The New York Observer. Beyond opera, Spears has developed a wide-ranging catalog of orchestral, choral, and chamber works. His Requiem (2010) and Seven Days (2021) showcase his gift for balancing intimacy with dramatic scale.
A graduate of Eastman, Yale, and Princeton, and a former Fulbright Scholar, Spears teaches at New York University, and his music is published by Schott Music and Schott PSNY.