Chris Lastovicka designs music dealing primarily with psychological and metaphysical subjects.
An excerpt from her opera Crossing the Horizon was performed by New York City Opera at their VOX: Showcasing American Composers festival; the opera was also a finalist in OperaVista’s international chamber opera competition (Houston). She is the winner of the inaugural Melodia Women’s Choir (NYC) Commission Competition. Her music has been performed at the Boston Early Music Festival, Merce Cunningham Studio, and in Spoleto, Italy. She composed the original score for Robin Becker Dance’s Into Sunlight, a work about the Vietnam War that has enjoyed performances throughout the country; in 2014 the work will be presented at the United Nations.
Lastovicka released her first album of chamber music Fortune Has Turned in 2005, and her opera Crossing the Horizon on the Ahari Press label. Her Láska for oboe d’amore and harpsichord is released on Classic Concert Records (Austria).
Lastovicka is the recipient of a Presser Award, a Hatz Award, a CAP Award from American Music Center, and grants from NYSCA and NYFA. At age 14, she became the youngest winner in the history of Chicago’s Gruenstein Memorial National Organ Competition. At 15, she won the Otto B. Schoepfle National Organ Competition.
She studied composition with Samuel Adler, Frederick Bianchi, Joel Hoffman, and Allen Sapp; orchestration with Dominick Argento; and organ with Roberta Gary.
She attended the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music on full scholarship and graduated summa cum laude. She was raised in Hartsville, SC. She lives in Philmont, NY with her spouse, Robin.
“Fortune Has Turned announces a distinct and alert voice…there is no denying Lastovicka’s skill or potential…there is a real sense of power and refined craft. ” –FANFARE MAGAZINE
“Lastovicka’s Crossing the Horizon…both thrills and entrances.” –HOUSTON CHRONICLE
“This is formidable stuff, dark and tempestuous — both terrifying and beautiful.” –CHRONOGRAM MAGAZINE
“[Incantations and Inspirations] ends on a wonderful note with Chris Lastovicka’s Láska, a piece with a wonderful melodic quality…” –FANFARE MAGAZINE
Interviews
with Joseph Dalton in My Big Gay Ears
with Matt Lyons in BUFORA
with Jenny Clarke and Cynthia Powell, BlogTalkRadio