Elizabeth R. Austin facts for kids
Elizabeth R. Austin, born in 1938, is an American composer. She writes many different kinds of music. Her music has been played all over the world.
Contents
About Elizabeth R. Austin
Early Life and Music Studies
Elizabeth R. Austin was born in Baltimore. She started learning music at The Peabody Conservatory. A famous music teacher, Nadia Boulanger, heard Elizabeth's early music. She was so impressed that she gave Elizabeth a scholarship to study music in France. This was at the Conservatoire Americaine in Fontainebleau.
Elizabeth also taught at the Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford. While there, she earned a Master's degree in Music. She helped set up a program for students and teachers to visit a music school in Germany. Later, while getting her advanced degree (a Ph.D.) at The University of Connecticut, Elizabeth won a big prize. She won First Prize in the Lipscomb Electronic Music Competition for her piece called Klavier Double. This piece was for piano and tape recording.
Awards and Recognition
Elizabeth Austin has received many special awards. She got a grant from the Connecticut Commission on the Arts. A group called GEDOK, which supports women artists in Germany and Austria, chose her to represent her region in an art show. She also won First Prize in the IAWM's Miriam Gideon Competition in 1998 for her music piece Homage for Hildegard von Bingen. She even had a special stay at the Rockefeller Foundation in Italy in 2001 to work on her music.
Music Around the World
Elizabeth Austin's music has been played in many places. This includes countries in Europe and Scandinavia, as well as in the United States and the Caribbean. Her music is well-known and has received great reviews. A pianist from Germany, Ulrich Urban, often plays her piano music. He has performed her pieces in famous concert halls like the Gewandhaus.
Many people have studied Elizabeth Austin's music. Two professors, Dr. Michael K. Slayton and Dr. Teresa Crane, wrote their special research papers about her compositions. Her music has also been featured in interviews and articles in music journals.
Recent Work and Performances
In 2015, Dr. Austin was a special composer at Vanderbilt University. Part of her opera, That I am One and Double Too, was performed. The final scene of this opera was also performed again in 2018. The Hartford Musical Club gave her a special request to write a new piece of music for their 125th anniversary. This new piece was played for the first time at a concert featuring her music. In 2017, another one of her pieces, Litauische Lieder, was performed in Berlin, Germany.
Elizabeth Austin's music is published by several companies like Arsis Press and Tonger Musikverlag. Her music is also available on CDs from labels like Parma and Leonarda. You can find her music scores through the American Composers Alliance.
Awards and Honors
- 1983: First Prize, David Lipscomb Electronic Music Competition for Klavier Double.
- 1998: First Prize, IAWM's Miriam Gideon Composition Competition for A Hommage for Hildegard.
- 1996: Chosen by GEDOK (a group for women artists) to represent her region in a special art exhibition in Germany.
- 1998: A special concert was held in Mannheim, Germany, to celebrate her music.
Selected Musical Works
Here are some of Elizabeth Austin's musical works:
- Drei Rilke Lieder (1958) – a group of songs for a singer and piano.
- Zodiac Suite (1983, revised 1993) – a set of pieces for piano.
- Klavier Double (1983) – for piano and recorded tape.
- Wilderness (Symphony No.1) (1987) – a large musical piece for an orchestra.
- Sonnets from the Portuguese (1988) – another group of songs.
- To Begin (1990) – for a group of brass instruments.
- Lighthouse (Symphony No.2) (1993) – another large musical piece for an orchestra.
- Water Music I: Beside still waters... (1996) – for eight cellos.
- Homage for Hildegard (1997) – for singers, flute, clarinet, percussion, and piano.
- A Woman's Love and Life (1999) – a group of songs based on poems by Adelbert von Chamisso.
- An American Triptych (2001) – three pieces for piano.
- Rose Sonata (2002) – a piece for piano.
- When the Song of the Angels is Stilled (2005) – for a choir singing without instruments.
- B-A-C-Homage (2007) – for viola and piano.
- I Felt a Funeral in My Brain (2007) – for carillon (a musical instrument with bells).
- A Celebration Concerto (2007) – for a wind ensemble and a child soprano singer.
- Puzzle Preludes (1994-2008) – a collection of short pieces for piano.
- Psalm 22 (2009) – for a choir singing without instruments.
- That I am One and Double Too (2009) – an opera, which is a play set to music.
Her music has also been recorded on CDs, including:
- Society of Composers, Inc.: Songfest (1995)
- Window Panes, Navona NV6304 (2020)
