Hilary Tann facts for kids

Hilary Tann (born November 2, 1947 – died February 8, 2023) was a talented composer from Wales who lived and worked in the United States. She created many beautiful pieces of music.

About Hilary Tann

Hilary Tann was born in a place called Llwynypia in Wales. She loved music and studied it a lot. She earned special degrees in music composition from the University of Wales, Cardiff, and also from Princeton University in the U.S.

Her music was so good that it was published by Oxford University Press, a very famous publisher. Some of her orchestral music, which is music for a large group of instruments, was released on a CD called Here, the Cliffs. One music critic said her music had "great integrity" and was "impeccably crafted."

Hilary Tann also wrote a special piece called "With the Heather and Small Birds." This music was commissioned for the 1994 Cardiff Festival and was her way of honoring her home country, Wales.

For many years, until 2019, she was a professor of music at Union College in Schenectady, New York. She started teaching there in 1980. She taught students about music theory and how to compose music. She also started the Union College Orchestra, which is a big achievement!

Hilary Tann was often invited to special music events. For example, she was the Guest Composer-in-Residence at the 2011 Women in Music Festival at the Eastman School of Music. There, a new piece she wrote, "Exultet Terra," was performed for the very first time. It was written for two choirs and a group of double reed instruments. She was also a guest at the 2013 Women Composers Festival of Hartford.

Awards and Recognitions

Hilary Tann received many honors and awards for her music. One of her piano pieces, "Light from the Cliffs," was chosen for the 2012 William Kappell International Piano Competition and Festival. This is a very important competition for piano players.

She also received grants and awards from many different organizations. These include ASCAP Standard Awards, Meet The Composer, NEA, NYSCA, Welsh Arts Council, and the Holst Foundation. These awards helped her continue to create her wonderful music.

Famous Musical Works

Hilary Tann composed many important pieces of music. Some of her most well-known works include concertos. A concerto is a piece of music for a solo instrument and an orchestra.

• Her violin concerto, "Here, the Cliffs," was first performed by the North Carolina Symphony in 1997.
• She wrote an alto saxophone concerto called "In the First, Spinning Place." It was first played by the University of Arizona Symphony in 2000.
• Her cello concerto, "Anecdote," was premiered by the Newark Symphony in 2000.

Another famous piece is "Shakkei." This work is for a solo oboe and a smaller orchestra. It was first performed in 2007 at the Presteigne Festival. "Shakkei" has been played many times in different cities around the world, including Dublin, Beijing, New York City, and Bangkok.

Other notable works include:

• Psalm 104 (Praise, my soul) for the North American Welsh Choir.
• "Contemplations 21, 22" for the Radcliffe Choral Society.
• First Watch, a piece for a carillon, which is a musical instrument made of many bells.

Selected Compositions

Hilary Tann wrote music for many different types of instruments and groups. Here are some of her selected works:

For Orchestra

These pieces are for a large group of instruments called an orchestra.

• As Ferns (1992), for string orchestra
• Walls of Morlais Castle (1998), for string orchestra
• Toward Dusk (2001), for string orchestra
• Water's Edge (1993), for string orchestra
• Adirondack Light (1992), for chamber orchestra (a smaller orchestra)
• Shakkei (2007), for chamber orchestra
• With the Heather and Small Birds (1994), for chamber orchestra
• Fanfare for a River (2001)
• From Afar (1996)
• From the Feather to Mountain (2004)
• High Rock Spring (2009)
• Reibo (2009)
• Sarsen (2001)
• Grey Tide and Green (2001)
• Open Field (1990)
• Through Echoing Timber (1996)

Instrumental Solos

These are pieces written for just one instrument.

• A Sad Pavan Forbidding Mourning (2002), for guitar
• Doppelganger (1984), for piano
• Embertides (2014), for organ
• First Watch (2003), for carillon
• Kilvert's Hills (2010), for bassoon
• Light from the Cliffs (2005), for piano
• Like Lightnings (2004), for oboe
• Look Little Low Heavens (1992), for trumpet
• Pinnae Ventorum (2006), for organ
• Seven Poems of Stillness (2008), for cello with optional narrator
• The Cresset Stone (1993), for cello, viola, or violin
• Windhover (1985), for soprano saxophone

Chamber Ensembles

These pieces are for a small group of instruments, usually two to ten players.

• And the Snow Did Lie (Et La Neige Resta) (2014), for string quartet (four string instruments)
• Duo (1981), for oboe and viola
• From the Song of Amergin (1995), for flute, viola, and harp
• Gardens of Anna Maria Luisa de Medici (2003), for flute, cello, and piano
• In the Theater of Air (2017), for piano, cello, and piano
• Llef (1995), flute and cello
• Melangell Variations (2018), for piano and soloists
• Nothing Forgotten (1997), for violin, cello, and piano
• Of Erthe and Air (1991), for flute, clarinet, and percussion
• On Ear and Ear... (2011), for piano and viola
• Shoji (2010), for flute and oboe
• ... Slate, Blue-Gray (2012), for violin, cello, and piano
• Solstice (2014), for marimba and piano
• Some of the Silence (2010), for saxophone quartet
• The Walls of Morlais Castle (2001), for oboe, viola, and cello
• Water's Edge (1994), for piano duet (two pianos or one piano played by two people)
• Winter Sun, Summer Rain (1992), for flute, clarinet, viola, cello, celeste

Vocal Works

These pieces include singing voices.

• A Girl's Song To Her Mother (1999), for soprano (high female voice) and oboe
• Arachne (1987), for soprano and crotale (a small cymbal-like instrument)
• Between Sunsets (2012), for soprano and piano
• Melangell Variations (2018), for string orchestra, baritone (medium male voice), and soprano
• Mother and Son (1996), for soprano, E-flat clarinet, viola, cello
• Songs of the Cotton Grass (1999), for soprano and oboe
• Sound Dawn (1991), for tenor (high male voice), baritone, bass (low male voice), and piano
• The Moor (1997), for soprano and alto chorus (a group of singers)
• Vale of Feathers (2005), for soprano and oboe
• Wings of the Grasses (2003), for soprano and oboe