Considered “one of the best of the younger American composers” (Chicago Tribune), award-winning composer and conductor Jake Runestad has received commissions and performances from leading ensembles such as Washington National Opera, the Swedish Radio Symphony, the Netherlands Radio Choir, the Dallas Symphony Chorus and Orchestra, the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, the Pacific Chorale, and True Concord Voices & Orchestra. Jake’s “Earth Symphony” garnered a 2022 EMMY® award for musical composition, and “The Hope of Loving,” an all-Runestad album from Craig Hella Johnson and Conspirare, was nominated for a 2020 GRAMMY® award. Jake’s visceral music and charismatic personality have fostered a busy schedule of commissions, residencies, workshops, and conducting engagements, enabling him to share his passion for creativity, expressivity, and community with musicians around the world.

Dubbed a “choral rockstar” by American Public Media, Jake is one of the most frequently performed composers in the world and has traveled to work with ensembles on all but one continent. Jake Runestad holds a Master’s degree in composition from the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University where he studied with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Kevin Puts.