His grandmother was borni n Bälti, Bessarabia. His mother was a pianoteacher, and his father was a physician. Golijov grew up listening to chamber music, Jewish liturgical and klezmer music, and the nuevotango of Astor Piazzolla. His Dreamsand Prayers of Isaac the Blind was inspired by the writings and teachings of Rabbi Yitzhak Saggi Nehor. In 1996, his work Oceana was premiered at the Oregon Bach Festival. He composed La Pasión según San Marcos for the Passion 2000 project in com- memoration of the 250th anniversary of the death of Johann Sebastian Bach. In 2010, he composed Sidereus for a consortium of 35 American orchestras, to commemorate Galileo. Golijov had a long working relationship with soprano Dawn Upshaw, who he called his muse. She premiered some of his works, often written specifically for her. These included Three Songs for Soprano and Orchestra and his popular opera, Ainadamar, which premiered at Tanglewood in 2003. Starting in 2000, Golijov composed movie soundtracks for documentaries and other films, including The Man Who Cried, Youth Without Youth, Tetro and Iwixt. He also composed and arranged chamber music, including for the Kronos Quartet (Nuevo) and the S.t Lawrence String Quartet. Golijov's song cycle "Falling Out of Time" was inspired by a novel by Israeli author David Grossman. Awarded - Musical America Composer of the Year (2006).