Hilary Tann – Page 2

Picture Post

Hello All!

We cannot thank you enough for all of your support in helping us to make this year’s Festival so wonderfully successful. One of the highlights of this year’s program of lectures and concerts was the WCForum. For the entire day, from 9am till 6pm, there were seminars and lectures. The variety of topics was astounding. From theoretical analysis to compositional techniques, there was something there to interest everyone. Here are a couple of pictures from that day for you to enjoy. More will be coming soon!

Pictured from left to right: Left “Penny Brandt speaking on Elsa Olivieri-Sangiacomo Respighi at the 2013 WCForum.” Center “Mary Matthews and Nicole Chamberlain discuss performer/composer relationships at the 2013 WCForum.” Right “Hilary Tann talks on the nature of composition at the 2013 WCForum.”

2013 Festival in Pictures

Another wonderful festival this year with so many incredible performances and events.

And so many PICTURES! We couldn’t wait to start sharing them (and there are so many great highlights) so enjoy these few. They’re just the tip of the iceberg!

Today’s photos are a few highlights from the festival’s first day-long conference presenting papers and research on various topics related to women composers, historical and living, and their music. The full list of presenters included Michele Aichele, Penny Brandt, Stephanie Lind, Katherine Eberle, David Pearson, Tatev Amiryan, Julia Mortyakova, Mary Matthews, Melissa Wertheimer, Nichole Chamberlain, Jessica Rudman, and guest-composer Hilary Tann.

Penny Brandt (piano) and Coralie Gallet (soprano)

Penny Brandt presented her paper, Listening for Elsa’s Voice: Influences and Styles of Three Songs by Elsa Olivieri-Sangiacomo (Respighi), which included research on Elsa’s music and her relationship with Ottorino Respighi. The talk included a performance of Elsa’s songs by Penny and Coralie Gallet.

Melissa Wertheimer, Mary Matthews, and Nicole Chamberlain (L to R)

The Dahlia Flute Duo and Nicole Chamberlain discussed building composer/performer relationships in the course of building respective careers.

David Pearson

David Pearson discussed the use of poetic form and other pitch and rhythm processes found in Crawford’s music in his talk The Poetic Sensibility of Ruth Crawford’s Diaphonic Suite No. 1. The talk included a performance of Crawford’s Diaphonic Suite No. 1 by David on saxophone.

The 2013 Festival is upon us!

One week from tonight, Wednesday March 6th, the 2013 Festival Guest Composer Hilary Tann we speaking at the Hartt School’s Composer’s Seminar. These lectures are fun and exciting and FREE! If you are at all interested in her music or her compositional approach and style, this will be a fun and rewarding hour of discussion. For more info visit http://womencomposersfestivalhartford.com/?page_id=530

Afterwards, you can head over to the Charter Oak Cultural Center for the Local Composers Concert. The unifying theme of the concert is that all of the composers are from the greater Tri-State/New York areas. However, the pieces are extremely varied in style and instrumentation. For more info visit http://womencomposersfestivalhartford.com/?page_id=352

So come check out an evening of exploration and discussion, and a concert of diverse music supporting local women.

Composition Competition Results

Hello All!

We are happy to announce that the winner for the composition competition has been selected. We received a wonderfully overwhelming amount of submissions. Unfortunately, with the sheer volume of submissions to go through and the weather barriers such as the hurricane, we were a bit slow in the decision making process. However, we are happy to finally announce the winner and three finalists.

The winner, Anna Rubin, won with the piece Consulting the Oracle for Flute and Alto Flute. The three finalists were Cynthia Folio, Dafina Zeqiri, Tamar Muskal. Make sure to mark your calendars for the March Festival where you can hear this piece performed!

We are extremely pleased at the turnout of submissions. If you submitted this year, or thought about submitting, please check back next fall and submit your wonderful work.

2013 Guest Composer – Hilary Tann

The Women Composers Festival of Hartford is pleased to announce Hilary Tann as their guest composer for its 2013 festival. A celebration of the diversity of women’s music, the festival is scheduled March 6-10 at institutions across the Greater Hartford area, featuring the Welsh-born composer in multiple programs. The festival will include performances of Dr. Tann’s music, in addition to an international selection of historical and living women composers.

Hilary Tann lives in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains in Upstate New York where she is the John Howard Payne Professor of Music at Union College, Schenectady. She holds degrees in composition from the University of Wales at Cardiff and from Princeton University. From 1982 to 1995 she held a number of Executive Committee positions with the International League of Women Composers and she was Composer-in-Residence at the 2011 Eastman School of Music Women in Music Festival. Praised for its lyricism and formal balance, her music is influenced by her love of Wales and a strong identification with the natural world. A deep interest in the traditional music of Japan has led to private study of the shakuhachi and guest visits to Japan, Korea, and China. Her compositions have been widely performed and recorded by ensembles such as the European Women’s Orchestra, Tenebrae, Lontano, Meininger Trio, Thai Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, BBCNOW, and KBS Philharmonic in Seoul, Korea. As composer-in-residence, she is speaking at The Hartt School’s Institute for Contemporary American Music, Central Connecticut State University’s Music Forum, the Musical Club of Hartford and other regional institutions. Information on her music and recordings can be found at www.hilarytann.com.

The Women Composers Festival of Hartford has, for the last twelve years, provided an educational and entertaining platform for the promotion of women’s music. Recognized as a champion of women’s music by institutions such as Meet the Composer, the International Alliance for Women in Music, and the Women’s Education and Leadership Fund, the festival’s goals include informing audiences through performances of music that has been and still is being written by women in an effort to broaden people’s understanding of musical literature and women’s contributions to this field.