Tobias Picker

Tobias Picker (born July 18, 1954) is an American composer and pianist, noted for his orchestral works Old and Lost Rivers, Keys To The City, and The Encantadas, as well as his operas Emmeline, Fantastic Mr. Fox, An American Tragedy and Lili Elbe, among many other works. Biography 1954–1975: Early years, influences, and education Picker was born in New York City on July 18, 1954, the son of painter and fashion designer Henriette Simon Picker and news-writer Julian Picker, and the cousin of film executive David V. Picker, businessman Harvey Picker, former CEO of the American Film Institute Jean Picker Firstenberg, art-patron Stanley Picker, filmmaker Jimmy Picker, and economist Kenneth Rogoff. At the age of eight, he began composing and studying the piano: Picker started composing in 1962, and, that same year, began corresponding with composer Gian Carlo Menotti, who encouraged his studies. Three years later, Picker was taken into the preparatory division of the Juilliard School of Music for instruction in piano and theory. At the age of eighteen, Picker was an improvising pianist for Martha Graham at the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance, and, that same year, he enrolled a