Composer Bio

Los Angeles-based composer and performer Thacher Schreiber’s music ranges from romantic to acerbic, and everywhere in between.  A musician since the age of eight and a composer since the age of fourteen, his interests lie in maintaining a diverse portfolio, from works for chamber ensembles and solo instruments to song cycles and symphonic works.  He is currently a member of the composition studio at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music.

Thacher began composing in high school, trying his hand at his own little pieces and arrangements for oboe and piano.  He gradually began making transcriptions and arrangements for his school’s wind ensemble and other groups.  It was here that he began to absorb the fundamentals of composition, transcribing works from an eclectic collection of master composers, including Bach, Bernstein, Ives, Ligeti, and Stravinsky.

All through his undergraduate studies at California State University, Northridge and UCLA, Thacher threw himself into a plethora of harmony and formal analysis classes, as well as studying composition and orchestration with composers Dwayne Milburn, Kay Rhie, and Richard Danielpour.  Additionally, he studied privately with Anthony Constantino during his graduate studies at the Mannes School of Music.  These years yielded great leaps and bounds in his compositional output, developing his own personal conception of harmony and rhythm with works such as his setting of James Joyce’s “Chamber Music,” his reed quintet “Ballet,” three works for large ensembles, and ideas aplenty for future projects.

In addition to his work in composition, Thacher is also an accomplished performer, with a bachelor’s and master’s degree from UCLA and the Mannes School of Music, respectively.  His most recent engagements include performances with the New York-based Indigo Winds, a residency with Fivemind Reeds (of which he is a founding member) for Interlochen Public Radio’s Sound Garden Project, and his graduate recital, where his “Sonata for Oboe and Piano” was premiered.