Libby Larsen facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Libby Larsen
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Larsen in October 2017
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| Background information | |
| Born | December 24, 1950 Wilmington, Delaware, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Composer |
Elizabeth Brown Larsen (born December 24, 1950) is a famous American classical composer. She is known for creating new and exciting music. Libby Larsen also helped start the American Composers Forum, which is a group that supports composers.
She has worked with many important groups like the Minnesota Orchestra and the Library of Congress.
Contents
About Libby Larsen
Her Early Life and Music
Libby Larsen was born on December 24, 1950, in Wilmington, Delaware. She was one of five sisters. When she was three years old, her family moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Libby's musical journey started very early. She watched her older sister take piano lessons and then copied what she heard. She later began formal music lessons with nuns at Christ the King School. There, she learned to sing Gregorian Chant and read music using a system called solfege. This taught her that music can be very free and flexible, which became a big part of her own compositions. Her dad played clarinet in a jazz band, and her mom loved "boogie-woogie" music. This mix of styles gave Libby a unique American musical background.
Her Musical Journey
Libby Larsen went to the University of Minnesota for her college studies. She earned degrees in music theory and composition in 1971, 1975, and 1978. During her studies, she learned from famous composers like Dominick Argento. In 1975, she married James Reece, whom she met at the university.
In 1973, Libby Larsen and her friend Stephen Paulus started the Minnesota Composers Forum. Their goal was to create a place where new music could be heard and performed. They also wanted to help composers with the business side of music, like getting grants and making deals. In 1996, the group changed its name to the American Composers Forum and opened offices in many cities across the country. Its main office is still in St. Paul, Minnesota.
In 1983, Libby Larsen became one of the first composers to work with a major orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra. She was the first woman to have this role! For them, she wrote her first symphony, called Water Music, which was first performed in 1985. While working with the orchestra, Libby wondered why young people weren't attending classical concerts and why music by non-European composers wasn't played more often. This led her to study American classical music and its role in culture, which influenced her own music. In 1986, her daughter Wynne was born.
In 1993, Libby Larsen started the Hot Notes Series, which focused on modern keyboard instruments and how performers could interact with electronic sounds. This idea became important in her later works, like Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus (1990). This opera used cool electronic visuals, like projectors showing different views of the story. Frankenstein was one of the top classical music events of 1990!
Libby Larsen won a Grammy Award in 1993 for producing "The Art of Arlene Augér," which included her song cycle Sonnets from the Portuguese. She also received special honorary degrees from colleges in 1996.
Besides composing, Libby Larsen is also known as a musical thinker and speaker. She has given talks at many important music organizations. From 2003 to 2004, she held a special position at the Library of Congress, focusing on education and technology. In 2010, she received the George Peabody Medal for her amazing contributions to music in America.
Her Musical Style
How Libby Larsen Creates Music
Libby Larsen's music comes from her unique ideas about sound. She says her teachers have been poets, architects, painters, and philosophers. She also learns a lot by studying music scores from all kinds of artists, from Chuck Berry to classical composers.
Her music is known for being "energetic, hopeful, and full of different rhythms." It often has a clear, singing quality without harsh sounds. She gets many of her rhythms directly from the way Americans speak. She once said, "our own American language has beautiful rhythms in it; it is this American vernacular and the rhythm of our American life that is the language of my music."
Pieces like Holy Roller (about a preacher's speech) and Bid Call (about auctioneers) show this style. Libby often composes without traditional bar lines at first. She prefers to find the natural flow of a musical line and then add a common rhythm later. This gives her music a feeling of free, natural movement.
Awards and Honors
Libby Larsen has received many awards for her contributions to music:
- 1987 Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Minnesota
- 1988 National Opera Association Production Competition Award for “Christina Romana”
- 1993 Grammy Award for producer of Best Classical Vocal Performance for “The Art of Arlene Augér”
- 1996 Honorary Doctorate from St. Mary’s College/Notre Dame
- 1996 Honorary Doctorate from the University of Nebraska
- 2000 Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters
- 2004 Eugene McDermott Award in the Arts
- 2007 Inducted into the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame
- 2010 George Peabody Medal
Selected Musical Works
Libby Larsen has written many different types of music. Here are some examples:
Operas
- Clair de Lune (1984)
- Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus (1990)
- Barnum’s Bird (2000)
Orchestra Music
- Symphony No. 1 “Water Music” (1985)
- Symphony No. 2 “Coming Forth Into Day” (1986)
- Marimba Concerto: After Hampton (1992)
- Symphony No. 5: “Solo Symphony” (1999)
Music for Bands
- Strut (2003)
- An Introduction to the Moon (2005)
Choral Music (for Choirs)
- ”Who Cannot Weep Come Learn of Me” (1985)
- Songs of Youth and Pleasure (1986)
- The Settling Years (1988)
- Four Valentines: A Lover’s Journey (2000)
Vocal Music (for Singers)
- Songs From Letters (1989)
- Sonnets From the Portuguese (1991)
- Love After 1950 (2000)
- Try Me, Good King: Last Words of the Wives of Henry VIII (2000)
Instrumental Music
- “Four on the Floor” (1984)
- “Dancing Solo” (1994)
- “Holy Roller” (1997)
- “Barn Dances” (2001)
- “Bid Call” (2002)
Images for kids
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Larsen in October 2017
