From a Tunbridge Childhood
To ‘New Yorker’ Prominence

Prominent New York City recognition came last week to a 26-year-old composer who spent much of his childhood in an old farmhouse high on the ridge between Tunbridge and East Randolph.

A flattering 10-page illustrated profile in the New Yorker magazine was devoted to Nico Muhly, who grew up splitting his time between Tunbridge and Providence R.I. He’s the son of Frank Muhly and Bunny Harvey, an artist who herself spent much of her childhood in Randolph.

After attending both Columbia University and Julliard Conservatory simultaneously, young Muhly has established himself as one of the most sought-after and written-about musicians in New York City and already has an international career in both composing and conducting. Since his sophomore year in college, he’s worked for Philip Glass, probably the best-known American composer today.

The article in the Feb. 11 / Feb. 18 New Yorker was composed during a year of interviews and research, as author Rebecca Mead followed the likeable prodigy around New York and to London for the premiere of his violin concerto.

Randolph concert-goers have already had a chance to hear Nico Muhly’s work. A new four-minute piano composition of his, "A Hudson Cycle," was played by Cynthia Huard at the nine-hour "101 Premieres" concert that celebrated Chandler Music Hall’s 100^th anniversary in September.

Muhly’s rippling, calm, and very listenable piece was the last on the entire program, representing the promise of the next century in American music.