Jake Runestad

Jake Runestad is an award-winning and frequently-performed composer of “highly imaginative” (Baltimore Sun) and “stirring and uplifting” (Miami Herald) musical works. He has received commissions and performances from leading ensembles and organizations such as Washington National Opera, VOCES8, the Swedish Radio Symphony, the Netherlands Radio Choir, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Seraphic Fire, the Philippine Madrigal Singers, and more. “Earth Symphony,” Runestad’s ground-breaking choral symphony, garnered a 2022 EMMY® award, and “The Hope of Loving,” the first album dedicated to Jake’s music, recorded by Craig Hella Johnson and Conspirare, was nominated for a 2020 GRAMMY® award. Runestad’s visceral music and charismatic personality have fostered a busy schedule of guest conducting appearances, commissions, residencies, workshops, and speaking engagements, enabling him to be one of the youngest full-time composers in the world. Considered “one of the best of the younger American composers” (Chicago Tribune), Runestad holds a Master’s degree in composition from the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University, where he studied with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Kevin Puts, in addition to formative mentoring from acclaimed composer Libby Larsen. A native of Rockford, Illinois, Runestad is currently based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Photo by Travis Anderson