Bernadette Speach facts for kids

Bernadette Speach (born January 1, 1948) is an American composer and pianist. She is known for her unique and experimental music style. She often mixes music she makes up on the spot (called improvisation) with music that is carefully written down.

About Bernadette Speach

Bernadette Speach was born in Syracuse, New York. She studied music at the College of Saint Rose, finishing in 1971. Later, she traveled to Italy and met famous composers Franco Donatoni and Morton Feldman. She then studied with Morton Feldman at SUNY Buffalo. She also studied at Columbia University.

Bernadette Speach learned classical music, but she also loves jazz. In her music, she sometimes leaves parts open for performers to choose what to play. This makes each performance a little different. She has written many types of music. These include pieces for solo instruments, small groups, orchestras, and choirs.

One of her pieces, les ondes pour quatre (1988), is a string quartet. It mixes parts that are set in stone with parts where the musicians can play more freely. Many famous musicians and groups have performed her music. These include the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra and the Arditti Quartet. Her music has been played at many important places around the world.

Important Music Projects

In 2001, Bernadette Speach created a big work called Embrace the Universe. It was for orchestra, chorus, and solo singers and instruments. It was first performed in Italy in 2016.

In 2010, she was asked to write a piece for a special piano project. This project was called "Liaisons: Re-imagining Sondheim from the Piano." She wrote In and Out of Love, which was inspired by songs from Stephen Sondheim's musical A Little Night Music. This piece was released on a 3-CD set in 2015. The producer of the album even won a Grammy Award!

Bernadette Speach has received many requests to write music. She has created pieces for different instruments and groups. For example, she wrote music for a solo vibraphone and for a soprano singer with piano. She also received support from groups like the National Endowment for the Arts.

She has been a composer-in-residence at Brooklyn College. She has also received awards and grants for her work. Bernadette Speach is also a skilled improviser. She often performs with her husband, guitarist Jeffrey Schanzer, and poet Thulani Davis. She is also known for playing the music of John Cage, including his pieces for toy piano.

Bernadette Speach as a Teacher and Leader

Bernadette Speach has spent her life teaching and helping run arts organizations. She has taught at many colleges and universities. These include SUNY Adirondack, The New School, and Brooklyn College. She has also given talks at many other places.

She has helped advise many arts groups. She also served as the executive director for The Kitchen and Composers’ Forum, Inc. She continues to support music in the northeastern United States. She does this by raising money, presenting concerts, and teaching. She is always looking for new ways to connect sounds with musicians.

Selected Works

Bernadette Speach has written many pieces of music. Here are a few examples:

• Pillars (2017): For piano, electric guitar, and saxophone.
• altrove/elsewhere (2012): For piano (or toy piano) and violin.
• In and Out of Love (2010): A piano piece inspired by Stephen Sondheim's music.
• TreeSing (2007): For bass clarinet, marimba, and piano, with video.
• Embrace the Universe (2001): A large work for orchestra, chorus, and soloists.
• Parallel Windows – Unframed (1996): For piano and orchestra.
• Angels in the Snow (1993): A piece for solo piano.
• les ondes pour quatre (1988): A string quartet that mixes fixed and free parts.

Music and Poetry Collaborations

Bernadette Speach has often worked with poet Thulani Davis. They combine music and spoken words in their performances.

• Meditations: Abandon All Hope of Fruition (2004): For a reciter (someone who reads poetry) and piano.
• Meditations: Kundun and The Womb of Buddha (2002): Also for reciter and piano.
• Woman Without Adornment (1995): For a small group of instruments and voices.
• Baobab 4 (1994): A large piece for many instruments, voices, a reciter, and a dancer.
• Telepathy Suite (1986–87): For a small group of instruments and a reciter.

Improvised Music

Bernadette Speach also creates music on the spot, often with her husband, Jeffrey Schanzer. These are called improvisations.

• Debabelized Brook (2004): An improvisation with video.
• Toy Rings (2002): An improvisation with electronics.
• Lago (1999): An improvisation for piano and guitar.
• Sound Crowds (1990): An improvisation for piano and guitar.

Recordings

You can listen to Bernadette Speach's music on these recordings:

• Liaisons: Re-imagining Sondheim from the Piano (ECM, 2015): Features her piece In and Out of Love.
• Reflections (Mode, 2002): Features her chamber works.
• Dualities (Mode/Avant, 1992): Improvised duets and solos with Jeffrey Schanzer.
• Without Borders (Mode, 1989): Features her chamber works.