Mario J. Pelusi, Director of the School of Music and Professor of Composition and Theory, is a composer, theorist, conductor, and pianist.  He has composed numerous chamber and orchestral works, many of which were commissioned and performed by some of this country's most accomplished ensembles; e.g., the New York New Music Ensemble, the Colorado Quartet, the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, the Pro Arte Quartet, and the Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra of Columbus.  His music has been performed throughout the United States, Canada, and Germany and has been recorded on the Crystal Records label.  With respect to administrative work, he has served as a chair or as a director at three institutions for a total of twenty years.

In the early to mid-1970’s, Pelusi was active in the commercial music industry in Hollywood, California as both a jazz musician and composer of film and television music; since that time, he has composed mainly concert music. Also a conductor, Pelusi has conducted student and professional ensembles in the premieres of his own works and of works by other contemporary composers.

Pelusi is the recipient of numerous grants, prizes, and fellowships from a variety of sources; e.g., the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, the American Music Center, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, and he is an active member of many professional organizations; e.g., The American Music Center, ASCAP, the College Music Society, and the Society of Composers, Inc.

Pelusi holds the M.F.A. and Ph.D. degrees in composition from Princeton University, where his principal composition teachers were Milton Babbitt and Edward T. Cone, and the B.M. and M.M. degrees in composition from the University of Southern California, where he studied composition with James Hopkins, Robert Lynn, David Raksin, and Humphrey Searle.  He has held teaching positions at The Ohio State University, Reed College, the University of Southern California, the Lawrenceville School, and the Westminster Choir College and has taught courses in numerous subjects; e.g., composition, theory, counterpoint, analysis, orchestration, electronic music, music history (from the baroque through the twentieth century), film music, and keyboard harmony.         

In addition to his work in composition, Pelusi's research interests include music theory, music analysis, rhythm in music, music cognition, the process of creativity, music and mathematics, and music and linguistics. Finally, Pelusi has an extensive background in music administration and college admissions.

"I tend to think of myself as a "radical traditionalist"; in other words, I believe it is vitally important to preserve and put forth in the present the best accomplishments of our most creative musical predecessors, which I try to do in my music and in my work in the classroom, but at the same time, a composer must strive to be innovative if he or she wishes to develop a personal voice. Above all, I believe deeply that a young composer's most important objective should be the acquisition of an informed and facile technique. Also, I suppose I could be described as a "maximalist"; i.e., I find it fascinating to see to what extent I can explore and develop the various structural properties of an initial musical gesture."

A Select List of Compositions

• Double Concertino for Flute and Bassoon (for Woodwind Quintet) (2007)
• Fanfare for the Common Good:  In Celebration of the Opening of the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts (2006)
• Concerto for Marimba and Percussion Ensemble (2006)
• Fantasy in Three Parts for Bass Clarinet with Organ Accompaniment (2005)
• Fantasy in Three Parts for Unaccompanied Bass Clarinet (2004)
• Composition for Jazz Ensemble (2004)
• Aria for Unaccompanied Viola (2003)
• A Musical Narrative for Expanded Pierrot Ensemble (2002)
• 9.11.2001:  Symbols and Reflections (In Memory of the Victims of 9.11.2001) (2002)
• Trio for Flute, Clarinet, and Bassoon (2000)
• Duo for Flute and Bassoon (2000)
• Invention for Chamber Orchestra: B-A-C-H Recalled (2002)
• Invention for Solo Piano: B-A-C-H Recalled (1999)
• A Musical Narrative for Unaccompanied Violoncello (1997)
• A Musical Narrative for String Quartet (1995)
• Musical Narrative for Chamber Ensemble (1991)
• A Musical Soliloquy in Three Parts for Unaccompanied Flute (1989)
• A Musical Soliloquy in Three Parts for Unaccompanied Clarinet in Bb (1989)
• A Musical Soliloquy in Three Parts for Unaccompanied Bassoon (1989)
• A Musical Soliloquy in Three Parts for Unaccompanied French Horn (1989)
• A Musical Soliloquy in Three Parts for Unaccompanied Trumpet in Bb (1989)
• A Musical Soliloquy in Three Parts for Unaccompanied Trombone (1989)
• A Musical Soliloquy in Three Parts for Unaccompanied Soprano Saxophone (1989)
• A Musical Narrative for French Horn, Viola, and Chamber Ensemble (1988)
• A Musical Narrative in Three Parts for Unaccompanied Guitar (1988)
• Song and Music: for Soprano and Chamber Orchestra (on a text by Dante Rossetti) (1986)
• Meditation in Four Parts for String Octet (1986)
• Meditation No. 1 in Four Parts for Unaccompanied Flute (relatively easy) (1986)
• Meditation No. 2 in Four Parts for Unaccompanied Flute (moderately difficult) (1986)
• Meditation No. 3 in four parts for Unaccompanied Flute (difficult) (1986)
• Composition for String Trio and Seven Wind Instruments (1985)
• Composition for Two Stringed Instruments (1985)
• Composition for Four Stringed Instruments (1985)
• Composition for Large Orchestra (1983)
• Three Rossetti Songs for Soprano and Chamber Orchestra (texts by Dante Rossetti) (1980)
• Four movements for String Quartet (1979)
• Scherzo for Four Wind Instruments (1979)
• Concert Piece for Baritone Saxophone, Brass Quartet, and Percussion (1978)
• Music for String Orchestra (1977)