Emma Lou Diemer facts for kids

Emma Lou Diemer (born November 24, 1927 – died June 2, 2024) was an American composer. She wrote many different kinds of music. Her pieces were for orchestras, small groups of instruments, keyboards, singers, choirs, and even electronic sounds.

Emma Lou Diemer was also a talented keyboard player. She often performed her own organ music in famous cathedrals. These included the Washington National Cathedral and Grace Cathedral.

She created many pieces for the organ and piano. She also wrote music for two pianos or for four hands on one piano. Her chamber music included pieces for piano, strings, flute, violin, and cello. She even set parts of the Bible (the psalms) to music for organ and other instruments. Diemer wrote many songs for choirs and dozens of hymns for churches. Her songs used words from famous poets like Emily Dickinson.

Diemer's music style changed over the years. It went from traditional sounds to more experimental ones. She wrote music for both beginners and professional musicians. Some of her pieces were quite challenging to play. She also explored electronic music while teaching at the University of California. Emma Lou Diemer passed away on June 2, 2024, in Santa Barbara, California, at 96 years old.

Her Education and Teaching Career

Emma Lou Diemer studied music at top schools. She earned her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the Yale School of Music. This was in 1949 and 1950.

Later, she received a special scholarship called a Fulbright Scholarship. This allowed her to study composition in Brussels, Belgium. She then returned to the United States. In 1960, she earned her Ph.D. from the Eastman School of Music.

Diemer taught at the University of Maryland from 1965 to 1970. In 1971, she joined the University of California (UCSB). She became a professor emerita in 1991. This means she was a retired professor who kept her title. At UCSB, she helped start a program for computer and electronic music.

Important Musical Works

Emma Lou Diemer was a composer-in-residence for the Santa Barbara Symphony. This means she worked closely with them from 1990 to 1992. The symphony performed four of her new pieces for the first time:

• Concerto in One Movement for Piano: This piece won an award in 1992. It was recorded and performed by Betty Oberacker.
• Santa Barbara Overture
• Homage to Tchaikovsky
• Chumash Indian Dance Celebration

Other important works by Diemer include:

• Songs for the Earth: This was a large piece for choir and orchestra. It was performed in San Francisco in 2005. The words came from different poets.
• Fragments from the Mass: A piece for choir, two pianos, and percussion.
• Concerto in One Movement for Marimba (1991): This was written for a women's orchestra in San Francisco.
• Fantasy for Carillon (2009): This piece was for a Carillon, which is a musical instrument with many bells. It was played for the first time at UCSB.

Diemer worked with many musicians. She created over 50 pieces for organist Joan Devee Dixon. She also wrote several violin and piano pieces for violinist Philip Ficsor. He even recorded all her works for violin and piano.

Awards and Honors

Emma Lou Diemer received many awards for her music. Some of these include:

• Eastman School of Music
• Yale School of Music
• National Endowment for the Arts
• ASCAP (every year since 1962)
• American Guild of Organists (named Composer of the Year in 1995)
• Mu Phi Epsilon
• An honorary doctorate from the University of Central Missouri in 1999

Family

Emma Lou Diemer's father was George Willis Diemer. He was an American educator. Her mother was Myrtle Diemer. Emma Lou had three siblings: Dorothy, George II, and John. Her sister Dorothy was a poet and teacher.