Eric Schwartz was born in New Jersey, studied composition at Cleveland Institute of Music and, later, at New York University where he also taught. An important aspect of his music is its ability to bring together a synthesis of archetypes and genres or, in the composer’s own words, ‘genre-bending projects’, that might, typically bring together 80s glam rock and Schoenberg. He was appointed Resident Composer for the Los Angeles based Tonoi contemporary music ensemble’s 2007-08 season and his debut CD, 24 Ways of Looking at a Piano, was named one of the top classical CDs of 2005 by All Music Guide. He has recently taken a position at the University of North Carolina School for the Arts, where he now works full time with dancers.