Charles Ditto is a composer and multi-instrumentalist from Texas--the son of a rockabilly guitarist/singer and a church pianist/organist. As part of an active musical family, he began studying piano, clarinet, and guitar at an early age. He received a BM in composition from the University of Houston in 1977, graduating Magna Cum Laude.  After relocating to Austin in 1980, Ditto established Ditto Records and Human Symphony Music, and has produced and marketed sixteen albums of original music to date.  He worked as a dance class pianist for 16 years at the University of Texas and Ballet Austin.  Other performance credits include the legendary Walter Hyatt, the Vanguards, Rajamani Gypsy Orchestra, Spencer Starnes, Larry Seyer, Jon Blondell, and country star Kevin Fowler.  He received a MM (1992) and DMA (1998) in composition from the University of Texas/Austin. His professional assignments have included commissioned scores for theater and dance for Peter Lobdell (New York and Amherst), the University of Texas, Amherst College, KO Theater Works, Inc., the Sharir Dance Co., Diana Prechter, Impulso (Mexico), Kenesis, and Austin Symphony oboist Ian Davidson.  His score for "Raving," was selected for performances at the International Michael Chekhov Festival (2005) and the Metropolitan Playhouse (2006) in New York. He was the recipient of the Copeland Fellowship at Amherst College (1998), and was awarded American Music Center’s (New York) Composer Assistance Award in 2007. Ditto was the National Association of Composers-USA first prize winner in 2008, and his music has been selected for publication on the Society of Composers, Inc. CD series on Capstone Records.  Additionally, Ditto's music has been released on Summit Kids (distr. by Rounder), Evios Empire, Curious Music Records, Poison Plant, and Hypertonia World Enterprises Records.  In 2009, "Cowboy Minimal," for string quartet and orchestra had it's world premier in Rome and was performed again in Florence, and other works were performed throughout the US, in Europe, and in Africa.  He has published articles on topics as diverse as Handel’s clock music and Cuban zarzuela and has presented seminars in Europe, Mexico, and the US. Ditto currently teaches at the School of Music at Texas State University in San Marcos and was the recipient of the Texas State University College of Fine Arts and Communication Presidential Award for Excellence in Scholarly and Creative Activities in 2006 and the Texas State University College of Fine Arts and Communications Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2009.  

Visit Charles' website at: http://www.charlesditto.com/