Richard Sorce

Richard Sorce is a published author, composer and Billboard charted songwriter, arranger and producer, and has been on the faculty at Ramapo College since 1999. Prior to his current positions, he directed the music program at Passaic County College, and was on the faculty at New York University from 1980-1996.

He holds a Ph.D. in music theory and composition from New York University, an M.A. from NYU in theory, composition and higher education, and did undergraduate study at the Manhattan School of Music and the New York College of Music, as well as piano study at the Shenandoah Conservatory.

Sorce has composed music for piano solo, chorus, ensembles and orchestra, written and co-written over 400 songs, and was commissioned to compose a ballet for the celebration of the Constitution Bicentennial performed by the Trenton Symphony Orchestra and the New Jersey Ballet. His music has been published by Standard Music, G. Schirmer, Theodore Presser, Warner Brothers, Boston Music Co., Excelsior Music, Middle Melody Music, Jackaroe Music and Imagine Music Publishers. His books, including Music Theory for the Music Professional: A Comparison of Common Practice and Popular Genres, are published by Scarecrow Press/ Rowman and Littlefield. His latest textbooks, Musicianship for the Contemporary Musician, and Pitch Perception through Applied Theory are published by Linus Publishing.

Recordings of his “commercial” songs have been released on Arista Records, Vanguard Records, CBS Records (France), BMG, Quality Records (Canada), Green Pepper (Great Britain), United Performers, EverJazz Records and others.

Sorce has received several Meet the Composer grants; he is an ASCAP award winning composer and songwriter, and the recipient of the Esteemed Faculty Award from New York University.  His current projects, appearing on EverJazz Records, include four recent albums, “A Place I’ve Never Been,” “Closer Than Before,” “The Sorcerer’s Accomplice,” “Samba para a Vida” and Bossambal Brazil.  Escrito No Vento (Written in the Wind) from the CD, Samba para a Vida, won Best Brazilian Song of 2017 on The Sounds of Brazil Radio.  Reviews of his recent recordings have appeared in numerous music journals where his work has been cited as “a major contribution and continuation to the Brazilian Latin Jazz Legacy.” Recent albums are published and distributed internationally by HD Music Now, Sony and Universal.