Judith Weir (b. 1954) is a British composer who is actively commissioned and performed. In 2007 she became the third recipient of the Queen’s Medal for Music. Born in Cambridge to Scottish parents, she often draws inspiration from medieval history, and is...
We’ve featured American composer Julia Perry (1924-1979) on this blog before, but the excellence of her music—and the neglect it still faces—bears more mention. Born in Ohio, Perry received support from her parents for her musical endeavors from an early age. A...
Scottish-born Thea Musgrave (b. 1928) was a student of Nadia Boulanger and Aaron Copland, and during the course of her lifetime composed 12 operas (often featuring prominent female historical figures, like Harriet Tubman and Mary, Queen of Scots) and many orchestral...
Today is the 199th birthday of German composer Josephine Lang—born March 14, 1815 and died December 2, 1880. Born in to a musical family (with a violinist for a father and an opera singer for a mother), she was encouraged from the beginning and received great...
Welsh-born Hilary Tann is a contemporary composer currently living and teaching in New York State. She writes for large and small ensembles and her work is most often characterized as lyrical, with Tann drawing inspiration from the natural world, especially that of...