Curt Cacioppo

Curtis Cacioppo (born 1951 in Ravenna, Ohio) is an American composer of contemporary classical music and pianist. He is of Sicilian ancestry on his father's side, and Anglo-Saxon ancestry on his mother's side. He is distantly related to the avant-garde composer George Cacioppo and the Dixieland trumpeter and bandleader Tony Almerico.

He received his bachelor's degree from Kent State University, where he majored in piano and studied composition. He earned an M.A. degree in musicology from New York University in 1976, studying with Gustave Reese as his advisor. His thesis dealt with the music of Trecento composer Johannes Ciconia. He studied at Harvard University with Leon Kirchner, Earl Kim, and Ivan Tcherepnin, earning M.A. (1979) and Ph.D. (1980) degrees in composition. He was also mentored by George Rochberg and ethnomusicologist David P. McAllester.

Cacioppo taught at Harvard University for four years, during which time he was also Director of Undergraduate Studies in Music. He joined the faculty of Haverford College in 1983, where he is Ruth Marshall Magill Professor of Music. His notable students include Alejandro Cardona, Peter McConnell, Eric Sawyer, Ari Streisfeld, James Ross, Julia Lichten, and Joti Rockwell.