Ninov selected as chair of composers association

Posted by University News Service

April 3, 2009

Dimitar Ninov, a member of the music theory and composition faculty in the School of Music at Texas State University-San Marcos, has been selected as chairman of the board of directors of the National Association of Composers/USA (NACUSA).

Ninov’s selection recognizes his achievements as a composer as well as his professional service to the music and composition industry both in the United States and abroad.

Created in 1933, NACUSA (originally known as the National Association of Composers and Conductors) has counted among its members some of the most famous artists of the time, including Igor Stravinsky, Arturo Toscanini, Serge Koussevitzky, Leopold Stokowski, Virgil Thompson, and Otto Luening.

Born and raised in Bulgaria, Ninov holds a doctoral degree in composition from the University of Texas at Austin and master’s degrees in music theory and composition  from the National Academy of Music in Sofia, Bulgaria. He has produced a body of work for orchestra, chamber ensembles, choir, voice, and piano, and has been awarded several national and international prizes in composition from competitions held in the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, and the United States.

Ninov’s compositions have been widely performed and published. His violin and piano piece A Lonely Man’s Prayer has been selected among more than 625 submissions for inclusion in the Made in the Americas CD series, a co-production of ERM Media and Naxos. Some of his piano music is published by F.J.H. Music Company. His Piano Album for the Youth is selling thousands of copies throughout the world.

His research interests include tonal harmony, musical form, meter, and ear training. He has previously taught music theory and aural skills at the University of Texas at Austin and at the University of South Carolina.

Besides Ninov’s service at the NACUSA national level, he has been initiating international performances of the works of American composers. As the concert coordinator of the Texas Chapter of NACUSA over the past several years, he has also co-hosted several new music conferences at Texas State.