Composer and theorist Richard Drehoff Jr.’s music has been commissioned by leading ensembles and organizations including the U.S. Library of Congress, the Durham Symphony Orchestra, and the New Mexico Contemporary Ensemble. His work has been premiered by Talea Ensemble, Mivos Quartet, Ensemble Dal Niente, oboist Andy Nogal, Bergamot Quartet, and Ensemble Paramirabo, amongst others. Other recent accolades include residencies at the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts, a composition fellowship from the James Tenney Memorial Symposium, multiple grants from the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, and finalist awards from both the American Prize in Composition and ASCAP’s Morton Gould Young Composer program.

Drehoff’s current research explores perceptions of tension to better understand how listeners prioritize different timbral and harmonic elements of music. His papers exploring this along with analyses of works by Pierre Boulez, Galina Ustvolskaya, and Chaya Czernowin have been presented at annual meetings of the Society of Music Theory (2022), the International Conference on Timbre (2023, 2024), the Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic (2019, 2021, 2023, 2024), and the Music Theory Society of New York State (2023).

As Co-Director of earspace, a chamber ensemble dedicated to the cultivation of immersive performances of contemporary compositions, Drehoff actively curates and commissions programs of modern repertoire, regularly collaborating with today’s leading composers. In addition to writing for the group, Drehoff often performs with earspace as a pianist, presenting works by Hans Abrahamsen, Henry Cowell, George Crumb, Donnacha Dennehy, Simon Holt, and Kaija Saariaho. Recent and upcoming residencies include Duke University, Towson University, the University of North Carolina, and University of South Carolina. He is also the Music Director at St. James’ Episcopal Church in Mt. Airy, MD.

Drehoff is an Assistant Professor of Ear Training in the Department of Music Theory at the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University. Prior to his appointment at Peabody, he taught music fundamentals at the University of Maryland, College Park. He holds degrees in composition (Peabody DMA 2024, MM 2018), music theory pedagogy (Peabody MM 2018), and in music and mathematics (University of North Carolina, BM 2013).