Paul Sullivan (composer)

Paul Sullivan (born July 31, 1955) is an American pianist and composer whose music blends jazz and classical styles. He has recorded 14 albums on the River Music label. He is also a member of the Paul Winter Consort and a regular composer for the Pilobolus Dance Theater. Sullivan's first major choral work, River, was premiered in 2010 by the Bagaduce Chorale of Blue Hill, Maine.

Sullivan was born and grew up in Boston, Massachusetts. He attended St. Paul's Choir School from its founding in 1963 until 1969. He graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1973 and Yale University in 1977. Sullivan began playing jazz in New Haven, and moved to New York City in 1978 where he performed at Bradley's and other major jazz clubs. He had a variety of freelance jobs including playing for and conducting Broadway shows.

In 1988 Sullivan moved to Brooklin, Maine to write music. He and his wife, Jillson Knowles, founded the record company River Music. Sullivan’s early recordings are characterized by inspiration from nature and often include recorded natural sound effects. Several of Sullivan’s recordings have won national independent record awards. His music is broadcast on radio stations around the world.

Sullivan is co-creator of the performance piece A Terrible Beauty, which is based on The Law of Dreams by Peter Behrens. The piece was performed in Maine and off-Broadway in New York City in 2010.

Sullivan's jazz ballad "Whisper" was a finalist in the 2009 International Songwriting Competition. The song was recorded by Theresa Thomason, with whom Sullivan regularly performs, and appears on Sullivan's album "Break Away", with his jazz ensemble PS Jazz.

In the 1990s Sullivan’s record label produced a line of books on tape which included White on White, a selection of E.B. White essays read by Joel White.

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