Richard Wernick

Richard Frank Wernick (January 16, 1934 – April 25, 2025) was an American composer. He is best known for his chamber and vocal works. His composition Visions of Terror and Wonder won the 1977 Pulitzer Prize for Music. Life and career Wernick was born January 16, 1934. His birthplace is reported variously as Newton, Massachusetts, Wernick went on to complete his undergraduate studies with Fine at Brandeis University. While at Brandeis, Wernick also studied with Harold Shapero, Arthur Berger, and Leonard Bernstein. His studies at Tanglewood included composition work with Ernst Toch, Aaron Copland, and Boris Blacher and conducting studies with Leonard Bernstein and Seymour Lipkin. Wernick also studied at Mills College with Leon Kirchner. During the 1950s and early 1960s, Wernick worked as a theater, film, television, and dance composer. Wernick spent much of his career as a composition professor, teaching at SUNY Buffalo (1964–1965) and the University of Chicago (1965–1968). However, his longest tenure was at the University of Pennsylvania, from 1968 to 1996. In 1983, Riccardo Muti selected Wernick to be the Consultant for New Music to the Philadelphia Orchestra. His role as advisor w