Gordon Crosse

Composer Gordon Crosse wrote noted works in conventional media, influenced by sources as diverse as serialism and medieval music, and put them together into a distinct, individual voice. Substantial Crosse works began to appear while he was a student at Oxford. At first, he worked within serialist parameters, but as his musical language developed, he incorporated other procedures. His breakthrough came with Meet My Folks! (1964), a theatrical work for children and adults. Crosse wrote several operas and a number of orchestral works. Despite large commissions, he became disillusioned with composing and stopped altogether in 1990, devoting himself to computer programming. He returned to music at the urging of friends in 2007 and quickly became as prolific as before. Crosse died in late 2021 after a brief illness.