Edward Knight (composer)
An American composer whose music joyfully ignores genre borders, weaving jazz riffs, theatrical flair, and orchestral color into a singular, vibrant tapestry.
Born 1961 (age 65)·American composer·Birthday: November 4·Baby Boomers
Biography
Edward Knight composes from a place of generous curiosity, treating the entire landscape of American music as his palette. A native Oklahoman, his work carries the wide-open spirit of the plains, but it's far from simple. He builds bridges between the concert hall, the jazz club, and the theater, creating pieces that are intellectually rigorous yet immediately engaging. As a professor and longtime composer-in-residence at Oklahoma City University, he has nurtured generations of young musicians, instilling in them the same fearlessness toward genre. His catalog is wonderfully eclectic: it might include a saxophone concerto that swings, an opera tackling historical figures, or a chamber work with the rhythmic punch of a Broadway number. Knight doesn't blend styles so much as he conducts a spirited conversation between them, proving that serious contemporary music can be both sophisticated and full of life.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Edward was born in 1961, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Edward Was Born
The biggest hits of 1961
#1 Movie
101 Dalmatians
Best Picture
West Side Story
#1 TV Show
Wagon Train
Edward's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1961Born
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,500Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Tossin' and Turnin'" — Bobby LewisBest Picture: West Side Story
1966Started school
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1974Became a teenager
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1977Could drive
Star Wars premieres; Elvis dies
Gas: $0.62/galHome: $31,800Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Tonight's the Night" — Rod StewartBest Picture: Annie Hall
1979Could vote
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1982Turned 21
Michael Jackson releases Thriller
Gas: $1.22/galHome: $55,200Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Physical" — Olivia Newton-JohnBest Picture: Gandhi
1991Turned 30
Soviet Union dissolves; World Wide Web goes public
Gas: $1.14/galHome: $82,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" — Bryan AdamsBest Picture: The Silence of the Lambs
2001Turned 40
September 11 attacks transform the world
Gas: $1.46/galHome: $126,400Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Hanging by a Moment" — LifehouseBest Picture: A Beautiful Mind
2011Turned 50
Osama bin Laden killed; Arab Spring sweeps the Middle East
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $138,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Rolling in the Deep" — AdeleBest Picture: The Artist
2021Turned 60
January 6 Capitol breach; COVID vaccines roll out globally
Gas: $3.01/galHome: $298,900Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Levitating" — Dua LipaBest Picture: CODA
2026Age 65 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Served as Composer-in-Residence at the Oklahoma City Philharmonic for over two decades, creating numerous works for the orchestra.
- Co-founded the Oklahoma Composers Orchestra, dedicated to performing and recording music by state composers.
- His opera "The Passion of Lizzie Borden" has been performed multiple times, exploring the infamous story through complex music.
- Received commissions from organizations like the American Composers Forum and the McKnight Foundation.
Did You Know?
He holds a doctorate in composition from the University of Minnesota, where he studied with Dominick Argento.
Knight is a skilled pianist who frequently performs in jazz and improvisational settings.
He has collaborated extensively with his wife, poet and librettist Catherine T. McMullen, on vocal and theatrical works.
His piece "The Great Figure" was inspired by a William Carlos Williams poem and a Charles Demuth painting of the same name.
“I hear the saxophone's cry in the strings, and the plains in the percussion.”
