D. J. Sparr is one of the preeminent composer-performers of his generation. His eclectic style has been described as “pop-Romantic… iridescent and wondrous” (Mercury News) and “suits the boundary erasing spirit of today's new-music world” (New York Times). The Los Angeles Times praises him as “an excellent soloist” and the Santa Cruz Sentinel says that he “wowed an enthusiastic audience…Sparr's guitar sang in a near-human voice.” In 2011, Sparr was named one of NPR listener's favorite 100 composers under the age 40.

His compositions have been commissioned and performed by organizations such as the Houston Grand Opera, North Carolina Opera, and Eighth Blackbird. Recent/upcoming works include KATRINA: CONCERTO FOR JAZZ GUITAR AND ORCHESTRA (Arkansas Symphony) WHITE GOLD (CAM Raleigh, NC Symphony), & ON BEHALF: A METAPHOR (Tribeca New Music Festival). Asheville Lyric Opera is currently developing a touring production of his opera APPROACHING ALI.

Of the premiere of APPROACHING ALI by Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center, the Baltimore Sun writes, “…Sparr knows how to send a vocal line soaring vividly and how to extract a great deal of color from a 10-member orchestra… It also demonstrates Sparr's considerable potential; his first attempt in this tricky genre lands some very solid punches. …he reveals a good sense of propulsion; like Ali in his prime, the score is nimble on its feet.”

As an electric guitar soloist D. J. has appeared with the Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini (Parma, It), the New World Symphony, and the Cabrillo Festival of New Music with Marin Alsop, as well as with the Symphonies of Alabama, Dayton, and Fort Collins. He has performed solo works at venues such as the Smithsonian Institute's Hirshhorn Museum, Atlas Theater (Washington, DC), Ethos New Music Society (Fredonia, NY), the Flea Theater (NYC), and Spectrum (New York, NY). In the 2016-17 season, D. J. performed concertos with the UT Austin New Music Ensemble (Austin, TX), Signature Symphony (Tulsa, OK), Winston Salem Symphony (North Carolina), & Space Coast Symphony (Cocoa, FL). This will culminate in the recording of composer Kenneth Fuch's electric guitar concerto “Glacier” with the London Symphony and Joanne Falletta at Abbey Road Studios in August 2017. 

D. J. Sparr's musical interest began while standing in front of a television set holding a broom—pretending it was a guitar—while Roy Clark and Buck Owens performed on the Television show Hee Haw. Noticing this, Violet Bond—D. J.'s great grandmother—gave him a toy Mickey Mouse guitar for his third birthday and an ukulele for his fourth birthday. By age five, D. J. was taking guitar lessons and was soon performing original songs for a “captive” audience at his local music store, Coffey Music in Westminster, MD.

In early high school, D. J. spent his weekend hours with a Fostex X-26 4-track recorder writing and recording music while attending the Baltimore School for the Arts as a Jazz Guitar Major. Surrounded by classical musicians, he began to write music for other instruments and attended summer composition programs at The Walden School and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. D. J. continued honing his compositional craft at the Eastman School of Music (BM) and the University of Michigan (MM, DMA), studying with composers William Bolcom, Michael Daugherty, Christopher Rouse, Joseph Schwantner, & Augusta Read Thomas.

Hailing from Baltimore, D. J. currently lives in the mystical high plains of the Wild West with his wife Kimberly and their dogs Lloyd and Nanette.

For more information, please visit www.djsparr.com.