Jake Landau (he/him), b. 1995, is an American composer of opera, musical theater, ballet, and instrumental music. His works have been performed by the New York Philharmonic, Houston Grand Opera, and Premiere Division Ballet in venues as diverse as Carnegie Hall, Birdland Jazz Club, and the Royal Palace of Amsterdam. Select works of his have been published by G. Schirmer (Ayres, for SA and piano) and Edition Peters (Hardware Love, for orchestra). 

After completing two full-length fantasy novels as a child (he had a lot of friends), Landau turned to the closest thing to magic he could find in real life: music. At age 16, he was accepted to Oscar-, Grammy-, and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer John Corigliano’s studio at The Juilliard School. At Juilliard and as a Composition Fellow at summer institutions including the prestigious Aspen Music Festival, Landau created his core body of work in chamber and vocal music. At the same time, he worked in premiere pop music studios, experimental queer nightclubs, and as a pianist for both opera and Broadway productions. This unique background led him to a sound that at turns explores and ignores genre, in which hit-factory hooks interact with the concept-driven architectures of classical music—all in service of a theatrical worldbuilding lifted, in abstract, from fantasy novels.  

After his formative studies with theater composer and lyricist Lawrence Rosen, Landau earned his bachelor’s degree at Juilliard under John Corigliano. One year later, he graduated from Oxford University with a master’s degree and First Class Honours.

Recent significant premieres include Landau’s first opera,Pietà, which debuted in an innovative film format documenting the show’s delayed opening due to Covid and subsequent reading in New York. Filmed in 2020,Pietàwent on to win the “Best Music Documentary” laurels at such festivals as The People’s Film Festival, RAGFF New York City, and Malabar Music Festival. The full production ofPietàwas mounted in 2021 at The Narnia Festival in Italy with the composer conducting from the piano, while the American premiere was held at Oklahoma City University's prestigious opera and musical theater department. His second opera, a companion piece to Purcell’sDido & Aeneastitled& Aeterna, premiered at the same festival in Italy the following year. The opera uniquely combines period performance practice with contemporary compositional ideas, built on a libretto by Landau’s frequent collaborator Emily Garber. 

Between these two operas, Landau’s “The Coin Toss” was premiered at the legendary Birdland Jazz Club by Broadway star Sam Gravitte (most recently seen as Fiyero inWickedon Broadway). A song cycle with music, lyrics, and orchestrations by Landau, “The Coin Toss” garnered the following review from Broadway World: “though one is reluctant to use The S Word, Mr. Landau’s composition is so creative and innovative that one cannot help but be reminded of another musical theater titan whom everyone admires [Sondheim].” 

In addition to his composing, Landau is a lyricist, conductor, and Baroque keyboardist. A regular performer of his own works and others’, he has written, arranged, and music-directed concerts for a wide-range of singers from celebrated indie artists to leading Broadway stars including Katrina Lenk and George Abud at iconic venues like The Duplex, The Greenroom 42, and 54 Below. 

Landau is the youngest-ever winner of the Walter Hinrichsen Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters; one of NYFOS’S (New York Festival of Song) “9 under 34” composers; a board member of experimental theater company Off-Brand Opera; a Clarendon Scholar of Oxford University; and an Extension-Division faculty member at Juilliard in New York, where he is based full-time. Landau is represented by UIA Talent Agency.

"though one is reluctant to use The S Word, Mr. Landau's composition is so creative and innovative that one cannot help but be reminded of another musical theater titan whom everyone admires [Sondheim]" —Broadway World

"Jake could be the finest composer of his generation. His enormous talent is complemented by his technical virtuosity." —John Corgliano, Pulitzer Prize-, Grammy-, and Oscar-Winning Composer

"What strikes me most about Jake's music is its unbridled theatricality and emotional drive. He has talent to traverse that ever-elusive bridge between opera and musical theatre and the craft to make sure both forms are elevated." —Mark Campbell, Librettist and Lyricist

"Vivid, protean, and as skilled as he is gifted, Jake Landau is already writing muisc both inventive in form and rich in feeling. An artist to watch." —Mark Adamo, Composer and Librettist