New “Standards” for Singers: The Next Generation
of Great American Songbook Writers

Chester Biscardi (b. 1948) is an international award winning classical composer whose works have been featured at prominent music festivals and recorded on many classical labels worldwide. His compositions include works for opera, chorus, voice and piano, orchestra, chamber ensembles, and solo piano, as well as incidental music for theater, dance, and television. While most of his vocal pieces are in the art song and operatic vein, his set Modern Love Songs and his individual song “Chez Vous” contain beautiful melodies and heartfelt sentiments that characterize great standards. Composed in the classical technique with moderately complex contemporary harmonies and rhythms, these selections easily can be performed in art song or cabaret style. Biscardi’s works have been performed at New York’s Lincoln Center, Rotterdam’s Gaudeamus Festival, and many other venues in England, Japan, Brazil, and Italy. He is the recipient of numerous honors including the Rome Prize, a Guggenheim Fellowship, an Ives Scholarship, and the Aaron Copland Award. Born in Kenosha, Wisconsin, he earned an MA in Italian Literature and an MM in Musical Composition from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a DMA from Yale University. He is Director of the Music Program at Sarah Lawrence College.