Laura Schwendinger facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Laura Schwendinger
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| Born |
Laura Elise Schwendinger
January 26, 1962 |
| Education | San Francisco Conservatory of Music The Boston Conservatory University of California at Berkeley, PhD |
| Occupation | Composer Professor of Music |
| Years active | 1994- |
| Spouse(s) | Menzie Chinn |
Laura Elise Schwendinger (born January 26, 1962) is a famous American composer. She was the first composer ever to win the American Academy in Berlin's special Berlin Prize. This award is a big honor for artists and writers.
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About Laura Schwendinger
Laura Schwendinger is a very talented composer. She won the 2023 American Academy of Arts and Letters Charles Ives Opera Award for her opera Artemisia. This is the biggest award for vocal music in the United States! She also received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2009, which is another important award for artists.
Laura is a Professor of Composition at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. This means she teaches students how to create their own music. She also leads the Contemporary Chamber Ensemble there and is in charge of the composition program. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of California Berkeley.
She has been invited to talk about her music at many top universities. These include Harvard University, Yale University, and the Juilliard School. She has also taught at summer music programs and festivals. In 2016, she was a special guest director at the Irish Composition Summer School.
Laura Schwendinger was born in Mexico City. Before working in Madison, she taught music at other universities. She even started a program for young composers in 1985 at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
Her Amazing Music and Performances
Laura Schwendinger has written many different kinds of music. Her pieces have been performed all over the world.
One of her recent works is a double violin concerto called Nightingales. This piece was played by the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra. Another piece, Fluorescenza, was recorded for a special project by cellist Matt Haimovitz. Her work Brushstrokes was performed by a group called Collage New Music in Boston.
She also wrote Chiaroscuro Azzurro, a "Pocket Concerto" for violin and orchestra. It was first performed by the famous violinist Jennifer Koh. Her cello concerto Esprimere was written for and performed by Matt Haimovitz.
A famous singer, Dawn Upshaw, and pianist Gilbert Kalish performed Laura's song in Just- spring for many years. They played it at famous places like Carnegie Hall in New York and Wigmore Hall in London. You can even find it on a DVD called Voices of Our Time.
Laura's String Quartet #1 was played by the Arditti Quartet. This was a special commission from the Koussevitzky Foundation. Another piece, Celestial City, was performed in Berlin at the Berlin Philharmoniker Kammermusiksaal. Her work Arc of Fire was performed in New York City's Bryant Park.
Her music has been heard at many other important venues. These include Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center and Zankel Hall. In 2012, she wrote Shadings for the American Composers Orchestra. Her Seven Choral Settings were also performed at Zankel Hall in 2013.
In 2017, the National Flute Association asked Laura to compose a piece for their Young Artist Competition.
Her Opera: Artemisia
Laura Schwendinger wrote an opera called Artemisia. An opera is a play where the story is told mostly through singing. This opera is about the famous painter Artemisia Gentileschi. Laura worked with writer Ginger Strand on the story.
Artemisia had its first full performances in 2019. There was an orchestral version and a smaller chamber version. Critics loved the opera. The New York Times said it had "music of quivering intensity." The San Francisco Classical Voice called it "sumptuous on every level" with a "striking" score.
Awards and Recognitions
Laura Schwendinger has received many important awards and honors. These include:
- The Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship.
- Awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
- Fellowships from places like the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Conference Center, Yaddo Corporation, and MacDowell Colony. These fellowships give artists time and space to work.
- She was the first prize winner of the 1995 ALEA III International Composition Competition.
- She is one of only a few composers to receive two commissions from the Koussevitzky Foundation. This means they asked her to write two new pieces of music.
Some of Her Compositions
Here are some of the musical pieces Laura Schwendinger has created:
- Artist's Muse (1998) for several instruments.
- Chiaroscuro Azzurro (2008) for violin and a small orchestra.
- High Wire Act (2005) for flute, strings, and piano.
- Esprimere Concerto for cello and orchestra (2005) for cello and orchestra.
- Celestial City (2002) for clarinet, violin, viola, cello, and piano.
- String Quartet (2001) for four string instruments.
- Magic Carpet Music (1999) for flute, clarinet, violin, and cello.
- Chansons Innocentes (songs including In Just Spring-) for voice and piano.
- Fable (1994) for several instruments.
- Van Gogh Nocturnes (2008) for solo piano.
- Rapture (2003) for cello and piano.
- Sonata for solo violin (1992) for a single violin.
- Songs of Heaven and Earth (1998) for mezzo-soprano and several instruments.
- Artemisia (2019) – her opera about Artemisia Gentileschi.
Her Recorded Music
Laura Schwendinger's music has been released on several albums. These recordings let people listen to her compositions.
- Voices of Our Time – a live recording of Dawn Upshaw singing, available on DVD.
- Chamber Concerto for piano and chamber orchestra – on an album called Grand Designs.
- 3 Works for Solo Instruments and Orchestra – featuring Matt Haimovitz and Christina Jennings.
- Quartets – features the JACK Quartet playing her String Quartet #1 and Creature Quartet.
- Notable Women: Trios by Today’s Female Composers – features the Lincoln Trio playing her music.
- Cow Music – on an album from Austria.
