Gwyneth Van Anden Walker facts for kids
Gwyneth Van Anden Walker (born March 22, 1947) is an American music teacher and composer. She writes many different kinds of music, including songs for choirs, orchestras, and instruments.
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About Gwyneth Walker
Gwyneth Walker was born in New York City. She grew up in New Canaan, Connecticut, in a Quaker family. Quakers are a religious group known for their peaceful beliefs. Gwyneth started writing music when she was very young. She went on to study music composition at Brown University and the Hartt School of Music.
After finishing her studies, she taught music for fourteen years. She taught at places like the Hartt School of Music and the Oberlin College Conservatory. Later, she moved to a dairy farm in Vermont. There, she became a full-time composer, focusing only on writing music. In 1988, she helped start the Consortium of Vermont Composers. She later became the director of this group, which supports composers in Vermont.
The Gwyneth Walker Chord
The Gwyneth Walker Chord is a special musical sound. You can hear it right at the beginning of her choral piece called 'Tell the Earth to Shake'. This piece is for a choir and an orchestra or piano. The chord is made up of four specific musical notes: A, Bb, D, and E.
Awards and Honors
Gwyneth Walker has received many awards for her music.
- 1999: She received the Brock Commission from the American Choral Directors Association.
- 2000: The Vermont Arts Council gave her a Lifetime Achievement Award. This award celebrates her long career in music.
- 2008: She won the Athenaeum Award for Achievement in the Arts and Humanities.
- 2012: She was chosen as a Fellow of the Vermont Academy of Arts and Sciences.
- 2017: She was named Composer in Residence with the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra in Michigan. This means she worked closely with the orchestra for a period.
Her Musical Works
Gwyneth Walker has created a wide variety of musical pieces. Her compositions include:
- Song cycles: These are groups of songs that are meant to be performed together.
- Jazz, folksongs, and spirituals: She often uses these styles in her music.
- Choral music: This is music written for choirs to sing.
- Orchestral music: Pieces written for a full orchestra.
- Instrumental music: Music for specific instruments like violin, piano, flute, or guitar.
Examples of Her Music
Here are some examples of her many works:
Orchestral Pieces
- An American Concerto for Violin and Orchestra
Instrumental Pieces
- A Vision of Hills, which includes pieces for violin and piano.
- New World Dances for piano trio (three instruments).
- Five Pieces for Flute and Guitar.
- Raise the Roof! for a brass quintet (five brass instruments).
Choral Pieces
- An Hour to Dance for choir and piano.
- Harlem Songs for choir and piano.
- How Can I Keep From Singing? for choir, brass, percussion, and piano.
- I Thank You God for women's choir and piano.
- This Train for choir.
Vocal Works
- Song cycles like though love be a day and Mornings Innocent for singers and piano.
- No Ordinary Woman! is another song cycle.
Keyboard Works
- Cantos for the End of Summer for piano.
- In Celebration for organ.
