Dr. Halper received a Whitaker Reading Prize from the American Composers Orchestra for his orchestral work Stalin’s Wake: Homage to Shostakovich, Paul Lustig Dunkel, conductor. His String Quartet was awarded the Walsum Prize and premiered by principal members of the National Symphony Orchestra. 

Dr. Halper’s music has been performed at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, and Merkin Concert Hall.  His works have been performed at conferences of the College Music Society, College Band Directors National Association, National Association of Composers USA, and at institutions including the Juilliard School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

Recordings include the release of his Sonata Fantasy on Albany Records (TROY976), his Trio on “New American Masters, Vol. 4” (TROY1339), and his Concerto for Flute and Wind Ensemble (TROY821). He is a 2000 and 2006 recipient of a New Jersey State Council on the Arts Individual Artist Fellowship. Dr. Halper has served as Composer-in-Residence with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra’s Greater Newark Youth Orchestra and the New Jersey Youth Symphony. He is the founder and Artistic Director of Ars Vitalis: The New Jersey New Music Forum.
 
Department/Division:  Music Conservatory

Degree Information: D.M.A., Composition, University of Maryland; M.A., Music Composition/Theory, Montclair State University; M.S., Applied Mathematics; New Jersey Institute of Technology; B.S., Electrical Engineering, Fairleigh Dickinson University

Courses Taught: Music Theory III & IV, Computer Applications for Music, Music Notation on Computers, Composition, Elementary Piano I.

Primary Area of Expertise: Music Composition, theory and technology

Advice For Students Preparing for Your Class: "A passion for music of all types and a wide-ranging intellectual curiosity are all one needs to start an educational journey in the Conservatory of Music."