Henry Mollicone

Henry Mollicone, a graduate of the New England Conservatory, has studied composition with Donald Martino, Ron Nelson, Daniel Pinkham, Gunther Schuller, and Seymour Schifrin. He was a professor at Santa Clara University (1985-1999) and taught at Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont, CA.

His one-act operas, Emperor Norton, Starbird, The Face on the Barroom Floor, and The Mask of Evil, commissioned by the Central City Opera, Houston Grand Opera, San Francisco Opera, the Kurt Herbert Adler Award Fund, and The Minnesota Opera, have been performed extensively. The Face on the Barroom Floor, a recipient of the American Composers' Recording Award, is one of America 's most oft-performed contemporary operas, and has also been produced in various European countries.

Mr. Mollicone was a Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow from 1997 to 2022, and has served on various panels for The National Endowment for the Arts. He was an associate director of the Ernest Bloch Music Festival in Newport, Oregon, and director of its composers' symposium, and in the summer of 1999, he was composer-in-residence at the Brevard Music Festival.

In addition to opera, Mr. Mollicone has written works for orchestra, voice, chorus, ballet, and various chamber combinations, as well as music for film, television, and theater, including the Guthrie Theater (Minneapolis) and the Old Globe Theater (San Diego). His works have been performed by many distinguished artists, including JoAnn Falletta, Frederica Von Stade, Erie Mills, and Maria Spacagna.

Mr. Mollicone has guest-conducted at several American opera companies including those in Baltimore, Portland, Augusta, Lake George and Central City. In 1976, Mr. Mollicone was a musical assistant to Leonard Bernstein for the show 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, and from 1971 to 1976 was an assistant conductor at the New York City Opera. He was also the music director of the Winchester Orchestra of San Jose.