(Photo credit: Grittani Creative)

Composer Bernard Rands has passed away at the age of 92.

Born in Sheffield, England on March 2, 1934, Rands went on to study music and English literature at the University of Wales. Later, he studied composition at the Darmstädter Ferienkurse and in Milan.

Rands composed the operas “Belladonna” and “Vincent.” His vocal works include “Walcott Songs,”Metalepsis 2,” “…now again…,” and “Canti del Sole” for tenor and orchestra which earned him a Pulitzer Prize for Music. Rand wrote a number of choral works as well as orchestral works, chamber music, music for solo instruments. His compositions were published by Schott.

Rands held residencies at Princeton University, the University of Illinois, and the University of York. He taught at the University of California, San Diego, the Juilliard School, Yale University, and Boston University. From 1988 to 2005 he taught at Harvard University, where he was Walter Bigelow Rosen Professor of Music Emeritus

In 2014 Rands was inducted to The Lincoln Academy of Illinois as a Laureate of the Arts and was awarded the Order of Lincoln. His recording of his “Canti D’Amor” performed by Chanticleer won a Grammy Award in 2000.

Rands died on March 4. He is survived by his wife Augusta Read Thomas.