Primous
FountainAn American Original

Primous Fountain is an American composer whose work spans more than five decades and includes nine symphonies and fifteen other orchestral works. Raised in Chicago’s Ida B. Wells Housing Projects, Fountain is largely self-taught and began composing while still young. His music reached the Chicago Symphony Orchestra early in his career, and he later became a two-time Guggenheim Fellow.

A key early supporter was Earl Calloway, the longtime arts editor of the Chicago Defender, who introduced Fountain to Quincy Jones. Jones became a patron and supporter of his work and later commissioned Symphony No. 2. Composer and conductor Gunther Schuller championed and conducted his music. Arthur Mitchell, founder of Dance Theatre of Harlem, later choreographed Manifestations to Fountain’s orchestral work Manifestation—Mitchell’s first ballet choreography in five years.

Fountain’s work has continued to move across classical music, dance, and international performance, including a commission connected to William Forsythe and Frankfurt Ballet. Michael Tilson Thomas also conducted Fountain’s music earlier in his career, including at Carnegie Hall. Decades later, attention surrounding the planned New World Symphony program Primous Fountain: An American Original has brought a new audience to the catalogue he has spent much of his life building.