Anthony Davis (composer)

Anthony Davis (born February 20, 1951)^[1] is an American pianist and composer. He incorporates several styles including jazz, rhythm 'n' blues, gospel, non-Western, African, European classical, Indonesian gamelan, and experimental music.^[2] He has played with several groups and is also a professor of music at the University of California, San Diego.

Davis is perhaps best known for his operas; he has been called "the dean of African-American opera composers."^[3] His better known compositions include X, The Life and Times of Malcolm X,^[1] which was premiered by the New York City Opera in 1986; Amistad, which premiered with the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 1997; and Wakonda's Dream, which premiered at Opera Omaha in 2007. His opera The Central Park Five premiered on June 15, 2019, at the Long Beach Opera Company in California. It won him a Pulitzer Prize for Music on May 4, 2020.^[4][5]