Elizabeth Ogonek facts for kids
Elizabeth Ogonek (born May 26, 1989) is an American composer who writes modern classical music. She creates many different kinds of musical pieces, often for orchestras and other groups of musicians.
About Elizabeth Ogonek
Elizabeth Ogonek was born in Anoka, Minnesota. She grew up in New York City, where she started her music lessons at the Manhattan School of Music. She studied music at several universities. She earned her first degree from Indiana University in 2009. Later, she received more degrees from USC Thornton School of Music in 2012 and Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2015. At Guildhall, she studied with a well-known composer named Julian Anderson. In 2015, Elizabeth became a special "composer-in-residence" for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. This meant she worked closely with the orchestra for three years, writing new music for them. She shared this important role with another composer, Samuel Adams. From 2015 to 2021, she taught music composition at Oberlin College and Conservatory. After that, she joined the music faculty at Cornell University.
Her Musical Style
Elizabeth Ogonek's music often has a strong connection to words and poetry. She frequently uses poems or stories as inspiration for her pieces. This has led her to work with several young writers, including Sophia Veltfort, Ghazal Mosadeq, Ralph Nazareth, and Jonathan Dubow.
Some of Her Works
Here are some of the musical pieces Elizabeth Ogonek has composed:
- Three Pieces: This work is for a guitar and a narrator, someone who reads a story aloud.
- Three Biographies: This is a song cycle, which is a group of songs meant to be performed together. It's for a countertenor (a male singer with a high voice) and a cello. It was first performed at Wigmore Hall in May 2014.
- The Mysteries of Jacob: This piece is an adaptation of a play by poet Jonathan Dubow. It features a narrator and a clarinet. It premiered at the Royal College of Music in January 2014.
- In Silence: This is a violin concerto, which means it's a piece for a solo violin and an orchestra.
- All These Lighted Things: This is an orchestral dance suite, a collection of musical pieces meant to be danced to. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra first performed it in September 2017, led by conductor Riccardo Muti.
- Lightenings: The Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival asked her to write this piece. It's for a violin, clarinet, percussion (like drums), and piano.
- As Though Birds: She wrote this orchestral work in 2013. It was inspired by her discovery of Félix Fénéon at Tanglewood Music Center and her work with Jonathan Dubow.
