American composer IAN KROUSE was born in 1956 in Olney, Maryland.  His music has been described as "absorbing, brutal, beautiful, and harsh, all at the same time," [Soundboard, Winter 1989-90] and is well known to lovers of guitar music, especially those who follow the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet [LAGQ].  In recent seasons Mr. Krouse's works have been performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, (whose performances of his Concerto for Bass Clarinet were broadcast over one thousand times in 1995 over Public Radio International), the Mexico City Chamber Orchestra, the Pasadena Chamber Orchestra, the Ukrainian Radio and Television Orchestra, the Armenian and Cairo Philharmonic Orchestras, the American Youth Symphony, and the UCLA and USC Orchestras, among others.

Recent premieres include his American Interlude for large wind ensemble, commissioned by the Michigan State University Wind Symphony; River of Stars by the Los Angeles Chamber Singers; Hommage à Messiaen by Pacific Serenades (Los Angeles Philharmonic concertmaster Martin Chalifour, clarinetist Gary Gray, cellist Cécilia Tsan, and pianist Joanne Pearce Martin); Prelude-weaver for orchestra, commissioned by the American Youth Symphony; Río de llantos, performed by flutist Sheridon Stokes, violinist Mark Kaplan, violist Evan Wilson, cellist Barry Gold, and pianist Walter Ponce; Elegy, given by violinist Searmi Park and pianist Dennis Doubin; and Guitar Quartet No. 7 (‘Civil Guard’),  performed by the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet with tenor Tom Speckhard.  Other recent performances include Thamar y Amnón, by the Twentieth Century Consort at the Smithsonian Institution; Cinco Canciones Insólitas, by the Debussy Trio with mezzo-soprano Suzann Guzman; and Tientos, by the USC New Music Ensemble.  Mr. Krouse has recently accepted commissions from the Verdehr Trio, for a new work for clarinet, violin, and piano, and the St. Cloud University in Minnesota, for a concerto for percussion and large wind ensemble, to be premiered and toured in Mexico during the 2000-2001 season.

In February, 2000, Mr. Krouse's first solo disc was released by Koch International Classics, featuring Maria Bachmann's performance of his Rhapsody for Violin and Orchestra, with the New Zealand Philharmonic conducted by James Sedares; Tientos for flute and string trio, performed by Boston based Dinosaur Annex; Cuando se abre en la mañana, performed by soprano Sun Young Kim and guitarist Scott Tennant; and Thamar y Amnón, performed by the Debussy Trio.   Other recent releases include Jason Vieaux's performance of Variations On A Moldavian Hora, on Naxos; and Scott Tennant's performances of Air and Da Chara, with flutist James Walker, for Delos.  Upcoming releases include the first CD re-issue of ‘Pastorale,’ a disc on the Lissadell label containing performances of Air and Da Chara, by flutist Valarie King, and guitarist Anisa Angarola, and one for RCM, featuring premiere recordings of Mr. Krouse’s works for flute, harp, and viola, performed by the Debussy Trio.  In 1995, Mr. Krouse performed as a guest artist with the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet for the release of the composer's Labyrinth (On A Theme of Led Zeppelin), his third guitar quartet to be recorded and toured by the group and his second for the Delos label.

He has received dozens of awards, including an AT&T American Encores Grant (for the second performance of an orchestral work), three opera development grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, and two from Meet the Composer, as well as several from the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations and the Atlantic-Richfield Corporation.  He has won the BMI Award and the Gaudeamus Festival Prize, was a semi-finalist in the 1991 Kennedy Center Friedheim Awards, and a finalist in the Barlow Competition, and Big Ten Commissioning Project.  Fifteen of his works have been commercially recorded on the Koch, Delos, Naxos, RCM, Lisaddell, GSP and GHA labels among others, some several times.  His principal teachers were Halsey Stevens, James Hopkins, and Morten Lauridsen.  Additional studies were with Earle Brown, William Kraft, and Leonard Rosenman.  Early studies in composition were with Barton McLean, and David Barton.  Mr. Krouse, who holds a B.M., and Performer’s and Composer’s Certificates from Indiana University at South Bend, and an M.M. and D.M.A. in composition from the University of Southern California, is a Professor of Music at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he serves as Administrative Vice-chair for the Music Department.  He resides in Southern California, with his wife and three small children.