Evan Kassof

Evan Kassof

Philadelphia

Evan (b. 1988) is an opera maker, composer, conductor, based in Philadelphia. His most recent opera – libretto by Aleksandar Hut Kono – Ganymede 5 premiered in the 2019 Philly Fringe Festival. Elevator, a short chamber opera, premiered in March as the first episode of the 2019 Serial Opera Project. His operas Colony and Greenland were performed in London at the Royal Opera House, and Greenland was revived in 2018 in the Philadelphia Fringe in an ENAensemble production. He is the Music Director of ENAensemble and Temple Composers Orchestra and served as President of the Temple graduate employee labor union TUGSA. With a background in physics, Evan’s compositions often use science as source material, collaborating with physicists on Heat Death and Turbulence. Since becoming involved in labor organizing, some of his music has taken a more political turn. Cosmos 3 – Or – A Succession of Fascist Clowns and the mock-tone poem Collective Bargaining each are based on his experiences in labor organizing. His recent orchestral works include FS and the flute concerto Blue, written in collaboration with flutist Chelsea Meynig. As co-founder and Music Director of the contemporary music theater group ENAensemble, his recent projects have included the 2019 Serial Opera Project (where ENA premiered six new chamber opera ‘episodes’), a fully-staged production of Pierrot Lunaire, and a serialized musical. As Music Director of the Temple Composers’ Orchestra, a sinfonietta which only premieres new works, he has developed and conducted the premiere of over a dozen new works.