For the minimalist composer, see John Coolidge Adams (born 1947 in Worcester, Massachusetts). John Luther Adams (born January 23, 1953 in Meridian, Mississippi) is a composer whose music in inspired by nature, especially the landscapes of Alaska where he lives since 1978. Biography Like many composers of his generation, John Luther Adams did not grow up immersed in scored music. Adams began playing music as a teenager, as a drummer in rock bands. Through his experience in rock bands, friends introduced him to the music of Frank Zappa. Through the liner notes of a Zappa album, he discovered Edgard Varèse. Similarly, Varèse's liner notes brought him to John Cage. But it was not until Adams discovered Morton Feldman that he found his calling. Adams attended Cal Arts as an undergraduate in the early 1970s, where he studied with James Tenney and Leonard Stein. His group of classmates includes the co