Biography
Raised in a musical family, Gann began composing at the age of 13. After graduating in 1973 from Dallas' Skyline High School, he attended Oberlin Conservatory of Music where he obtained a B.Mus. in 1977 and Northwestern University, where he received his M.Mus. and D.Mus. in 1981 and 1983, respectively. At Oberlin he studied composition with Randolph Coleman and also studied Renaissance counterpoint with Greg Proctor at the University of Texas at Austin. He studied composition primarily with Ben Johnston (1984–86) and Peter Gena (1977–81), and briefly with Morton Feldman (1975). In 1981-82 he worked for the New Music America festival, and afterward gained experience as a journalist at the Chicago Reader, Tribune, Sun-Times, and New York Times. He was hired at The Village Voice in 1986, where he wrote a weekly column until 1997 and then less frequently until December, 2005. He taught part-time at Bucknell University from 1989 to 1997. Since 1997 he has taught music theory, history, and composition at Bard College in upstate New York.
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