Hilary Tann facts for kids

Hilary Tann (born November 2, 1947 – died February 8, 2023) was a talented Welsh composer. She spent most of her life creating music in the United States.

Her Musical Journey

Hilary Tann was born in Llwynypia, a town in Wales. She studied music composition at the University of Wales, Cardiff, and later at Princeton University. Her musical pieces were published by Oxford University Press, a well-known publisher.

Her orchestral music, which is music for a large group of instruments, was featured on a CD called Here, the Cliffs. One music critic said her music had "great integrity" and "impeccable craft." This means her music was honest, well-made, and showed real feeling.

In 1994, the Cardiff Festival asked her to write a special piece. She composed an overture, which is like an opening piece of music, called "With the Heather and Small Birds." This piece was her way of honoring her home country, Wales.

For many years, until 2019, Hilary Tann was a professor 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 helped start the Union College Orchestra.

Hilary Tann was often invited to be a special guest composer at music festivals. In 2011, she was the Guest Composer-in-Residence at the Women in Music Festival. This festival was held at the Eastman School of Music. For this event, she wrote a new piece called "Exultet Terra." It was performed for the very first time there. She was also a guest at the 2013 Women Composers Festival of Hartford.

Awards and Recognition

Hilary Tann received many awards and honors for her music. Her piano piece, "Light from the Cliffs," was chosen as a special piece 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 included ASCAP Standard Awards, Meet The Composer, and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). These awards helped her continue to create her beautiful music.

Famous Musical Pieces

Hilary Tann wrote several important concertos. A concerto is a piece of music for a solo instrument and an orchestra.

• Her violin concerto, "Here, the Cliffs," was first performed in 1997. The North Carolina Symphony played it with Corine Brouwer Cook on the violin.
• She also wrote an alto saxophone concerto called "In the First, Spinning Place." It was first played in March 2000 by the University of Arizona Symphony.
• Her cello concerto, "Anecdote," was first performed in December 2000. Ovidiu Marinescu, a cellist from Romania, played the cello part.

Another well-known piece is "Shakkei." This piece is for an oboe solo and a chamber orchestra. A chamber orchestra is a smaller orchestra. "Shakkei" was first performed in August 2007 at the Presteigne Festival. It has been played many times in different countries, including Ireland, China, Brazil, and Thailand.

She also composed Psalm 104 (Praise, my soul) for the North American Welsh Choir. Another work was First Watch, a piece for carillon. A carillon is a musical instrument with many large bells.

What Kind of Music Did She Write?

Hilary Tann composed many different kinds of music. She wrote pieces for large orchestras and smaller chamber ensembles. She also wrote music for solo instruments and for singers.

For Orchestra

She wrote several pieces for string orchestras, which are groups of instruments like violins and cellos. Some of these include As Ferns and Walls of Morlais Castle. She also composed for chamber orchestras, such as Adirondack Light and With the Heather and Small Birds.

Instrumental Solos

Hilary Tann wrote many pieces for single instruments. She composed several works for piano, including Doppelganger and Light from the Cliffs. She also wrote for organ, guitar, bassoon, trumpet, cello, and saxophone. Her piece First Watch is for the carillon.

Chamber Ensembles

She created music for small groups of instruments, called chamber ensembles. These pieces often combined different instruments like flute, viola, harp, cello, and piano. Examples include And the Snow Did Lie for string quartet and From the Song of Amergin for flute, viola, and harp.

Vocal Works

Hilary Tann also wrote music for singers. These pieces often featured a soprano, which is a high female voice, along with instruments like the oboe or piano. Some of her vocal works include A Girl's Song To Her Mother and Wings of the Grasses.