Paul Salerni's music pulses "with life, witty musical ideas and instrumental color (Philadelphia Inquirer)" and has been described by the New York Times as "impressive" and "playful." Salerni is a widely performed composer whose one-act opera on a libretto by Dana Gioia (Tony Caruso's Final Broadcast) won the NOA's Chamber Opera Competition in 2007. The recording of that opera was released by Naxos this past year. Salerni second one-act opera, The Life and Love of Joe Coogan, is based on an episode of the Dick Van Dyke show and was premiered in September. Both operas are published by Theodore Presser. Salerni's chamber, song, and symphonic literature is published by Alfred, BERBEN, and Domilo Music.
Paul Salerni is the NEH Distinguished Chair in the Humanities at Lehigh University and the past Chair of the Suzuki Association of the Americas Board of Directors. He is also the Artistic Director of the Monocacy Chamber Orchestra. An expert in the music of his teacher Earl Kim, he has performed Kim's music at the Kennedy Center, the Aspen Festival, and in Korea.