Roger Sessions (1896-1985)
Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1896, Roger Sessions occupies a distinguished place in the musical world. During an active career spanning more than 50 years, he has written many notable works in virtually every musical form: opera, symphony, choral and chamber music. Sessions has also taught widely; and as a writer on music, has contributed insights into the aesthetic issues and professional problems with which today's musician must contend.

In his early year, Sessions was influenced by Ernest Bloch, with whom he studied, and later assisted at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Since that time, he had been affiliated with Princeton University, the University of California and the Julliard School of Music. He received countless awards and distinctions, including memberships in the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Berlin Akademie der Kunste and the Academia de las Bellas Artes, Argentina. In 1981 his Concerto for Orchestra was awarded the Pulitzer Prize .