Arlene Sierra facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Arlene Sierra
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Arlene Elizabeth Sierra |
| Born | Miami, Florida, U.S. |
| Origin | New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Composer |
| Instruments | Piano |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Labels | Bridge Records |
| Associated acts | New York Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, BBC National Orchestra of Wales |
Arlene Sierra is an American composer who writes modern classical music. She lives and works in London, United Kingdom.
Contents
Learning Music: Arlene Sierra's Journey
Arlene Sierra went to some amazing music schools. She studied at the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, Yale University School of Music, and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She earned a special degree in music in 1999.
She also learned from many famous composers. These included Martin Bresnick, Michael Daugherty, and Jacob Druckman. She even studied at special music programs like the Britten-Pears School and Tanglewood.
Arlene Sierra's Music Career
Arlene Sierra's music has been played by many famous groups. These include the New York Philharmonic and the Seattle Symphony. Her pieces have also been performed by the London Sinfonietta and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.
Awards and Recognitions
In 2001, Arlene Sierra made history. She was the first woman to win the Toru Takemitsu Composition Award. This is a very important prize for composers.
In 2007, she received a Charles Ives Fellowship. This award praised her music as "urgent, poetic, evocative and witty."
Recordings and Albums
Her first music album, Arlene Sierra, Volume 1, came out in 2011. It featured her chamber music. That same year, she was named Composer of the Year.
Her second album, Game of Attrition: Arlene Sierra, Vol. 2, was released in 2014. This album included four orchestral pieces. They were played by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.
One of her orchestral works, Moler, was nominated for a Latin Grammy Award. This was a big achievement! Her most recent album, Butterflies Remember a Mountain, came out in 2018.
Teaching and Publishing
Arlene Sierra taught at Cambridge University for a short time. Since 2004, she has been a Professor of Composition. She teaches at Cardiff University School of Music. Her music is published by Cecilian Music.
What Inspires Arlene Sierra's Music?
Arlene Sierra's music often gets ideas from interesting places. She started by playing classical piano. She also learned about electronic music.
Nature's Influence
Many of her pieces are inspired by sounds from nature. She listens to bird songs and insect calls. For example, her piano trio Butterflies Remember a Mountain was inspired by monarch butterflies. This piece then led to her Nature Symphony.
Other works inspired by nature include:
- Cicada Shell (2006)
- Birds and Insects, Books 1 and 2 (2007, 2015) for piano
- Insects in Amber (2010) for string quartet
- Urban Birds (2014) for three pianos
Strategy and Games
Arlene Sierra also finds ideas in military strategy and game theory. She has read old books about war strategies.
Some of her works inspired by these ideas are:
- Ballistae (2000)
- Surrounded Ground (2008)
- Art of War (2010), a piano concerto
Her orchestral work Game of Attrition (2009) combines both interests. It uses ideas from Charles Darwin's book The Origin of Species. This piece shows how nature and strategy can connect.
Since 2012, she has also been writing new music for old films. These include films by Maya Deren, like Meditation on Violence and Ritual in Transfigured Time.
See also
- [[List of compositions by Arlene Sierra
