Marti Epstein facts for kids
Marti Epstein, born on November 25, 1959, is an American composer. She writes music! She also teaches others how to compose music as a professor at the Berklee College of Music and the Boston Conservatory at Berklee.
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Marti Epstein's Early Life and Learning
Marti Epstein was born in Denver, Colorado. She grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and went to Omaha Burke High School. She finished high school in 1978.
Even before graduating, Marti started learning about music composition in 1977. Her first teacher was Professor Robert Beadell at the University of Nebraska.
She went on to earn several degrees in music. She got her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Colorado in 1982. She then earned her Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from Boston University. Some of her main music teachers were Charles Eakin, Joyce Mekeel, and Bernard Rands.
Marti Epstein's Music Career
Dr. Epstein has received many special awards and requests to write music. In April 2020, she won a Guggenheim Fellowship for her music. This is a very important award for artists.
She was also a fellow at the MacDowell Colony and the Tanglewood Music Center. There, she worked with famous composers like Oliver Knussen and Hans Werner Henze.
Marti has won prizes like the Massachusetts Cultural Council Grant. She has also been asked to write music by many groups and musicians. These include the American Dance Festival, the San Francisco Symphony, and the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston.
Her music has been played in many places, both in Europe and America. Groups like the Radio Symphony Orchestra of Frankfurt and Ensemble Modern have performed her pieces. In 1992, she was asked to create a puppet opera called Hero und Leander for a special music festival in Munich, Germany.
People describe Marti Epstein's music in interesting ways. Her piano piece, Waterbowls, is called "a luminous study in quiet sonorities." This means it sounds bright and calm. A writer for The Boston Globe, David Weininger, said her music feels "fragile and almost static." This means it feels delicate and still, like it's floating.
Marti Epstein's Music Albums
Here are some of the albums that feature Marti Epstein's music:
- Two Canons, Seattle Trumpet Consort: 2008
- Doloroso, Apostolos Parskevas: 2006
- She Fell Into a Well of Sorrows, Kathleen Supove: 2003
- The Five Chairs, Atlantic Brass Quintet: 2003. Summit Records DCD 396
- The Parting Glass, Ulf Golnast: 1997
- The Five Chairs, Iowa Brass Quintet: 1997
- Waterbowls, Kathleen Supové: 1993
- Hypnagogia, Ludovico Ensemble: 2015
Selected Musical Works
Marti Epstein has composed many different types of music. Here are some examples of her works, grouped by the instruments they are written for.
Orchestral Music
This music is written for a large group of instruments, like a symphony orchestra.
- Twylle [1999]
- Pring [1998]
- Concerto Grosso for Cello, Double Bass and String Orchestra [1997]
- Celestial Navigation [1988]
Choral Music
These pieces are written for choirs, which are groups of singers.
- Weather Patterns [2009]
- The Streets of Laredo [2000]
- The Radiant Sisters [1995]
- Flower World; 3 poems from the Yaqui Deer Dance [1992]
Large Ensemble Music
These works are for a big group of musicians, but not always a full orchestra.
- Bloom [2009]; for English horn and wind instruments
- Color Wheel [2005]; for a concert band
- Chant [2001]
- Victoria's Secret [1997]; for cellos, double basses, and pianos
- Kinderfarben [1988]
Brass Music
These pieces are for brass instruments like trumpets, trombones, and tubas.
- The View from my Window [2009]
- Three Canons for Seven Trumpets [2007]
- L'homme armé [2005]; for a brass quintet
- The Five Chairs [1990]; for a brass quintet
- Albion Moonlight [1987]; for a brass quintet
Woodwind Music
These works are for woodwind instruments like flutes, clarinets, and oboes.
- Quartet [2007]; for English horn and string trio
- Six Little Pieces for Woodwind Quintet [2004]
- Ophelia [2003]; for solo flute
- Thalia [1998]; for oboe d'amore
- Bluff [1997]; for saxophone quartet
- Fold [1996]; for oboe, clarinet, and bassoon
- And [1995]; for flute and piano
String Music
These compositions are for string instruments like violins, violas, and cellos.
- Chords of Inquiry [2006]; for cello quartet
- Temblor [2000]; for solo violin
- Vermilion [2000]; for violin and piano
- Barcarolle [1999]; for string trio
- The Porcelain Tower of Nanking [1998]; for violin and guitar
- Puella Turbata [1997]; for string quartet
- Lazy Susan [1997]; for cello and piano
- Swirl [1994]; for viola, cello, and piano
- Endgame II [1987]; for double bass
- Blue Lines [1987]; for string quartet
- Endgame [1985]; for solo violin
- Microscopes IV [1984]; for violin, cello, and piano
- Phosphenes [2017]; for string quartet
- Hidden Flowers [2012]; for string quartet
Mixed Ensemble Music
These pieces are for groups of different kinds of instruments playing together.
- Liquid, Fragile [2010]; for clarinet, violin, viola, and cello
- Hypnagogia [2009]; for oboe, clarinet, violin, cello, harp, piano, and cimbalom
- Unraveling [2009]; for flute, violin, viola, cello, and harp
- Quartet [2007]; for English horn, violin, viola, and cello
- Strange Little Moon [2007]; for 2 pianos and 2 harps
- Angel of Memory [2003]; for cello, piano, and percussion
- Cadence [2003]; for violin, piano, and marimba
- In Soft Repose Let his Sweet Eyelids Close [2002]; for flute, violin, and cello
- Lux [2002]; for flute, violin, viola, and euphonium
- See, Even Night [2001]; for clarinet, viola, and piano
- Concerto for Cello and Chamber Ensemble [1994]; for solo cello, other cellos, violins, pianos, and percussion
- Private Fantasy Booth [1993]; for flute, clarinet, piano, marimba, violin, and cello
- Parasol [1992]; for piccolo, English horn, and cello
- The Reason for Skylarks [1990]; for flute, clarinet, piano, and xylophone
- Grand Island [1986]; for piano, harp, and percussion
- April 1987 [2017]; for baritone saxophone and double bass
- Abraham Lincoln's Mystic Chords of Memory [2016]; for bass clarinet, bassoon, and piano
- Oil & Sugar [2016]; for flute, clarinet, violin, and piano
Piano Music
These are pieces written specifically for the piano.
- The Piano at the Palace Beautiful [2019]
- Haven [2006]
- American Etudes [1991-2005]; for solo piano
- Hothouse [2000]; for piano played by four hands
- She Fell into a Well of Sorrows [1999]; for piano with digital effects
- Chimera [1999]; for 2 pianos
- Aqua Marine [1995]; for piano
- Marie's Waltz [1994]; for piano
- Voices in Empty Rooms [1993]; for piano
- Queen of the Night [1992]; for piano
- Waterbowls [1989]; for piano
Vocal Music
These works feature singers, sometimes with instruments.
- Different Kinds of Light
- I Baci [2001]; for soprano, mezzo-soprano, and harpsichord
- Superstition [1999]; for soprano, clarinets, viola, and cello
- Lenz [1999]; for baritone voice and piano
- Trapeze [1999]; for mezzo-soprano, clarinet, viola, and piano
- Klänge (text by Wassily Kandinsky) [1993]; for soprano
- Bassoon (text by Wassily Kandinsky) [1991]; for soprano, double bass, and piano
- Birth (text by Faye Kicknosway) [1990]; for mezzo-soprano, bassoon, marimba, and violin
- Eleven Basho Haiku (text by Basho) [1989]; for soprano and piano
- December 14 [1983]; for mezzo-soprano, alto flute, cello, and piano
Guitar Music
These pieces are written for the guitar.
- Doloroso [2004]
- Petals [1998]
- The Parting Glass [1989]
- For Guitars and Cello [1988]; for 4 guitars and cello
Harp Music
These compositions are for the harp.
- Wonder of the Invisible World [2016]
- John Dunstable's Harp [1991]
Percussion Music
These works are for percussion instruments, like drums or gongs.
- Ring [2001]; for solo percussionist
- Gong [2000]; for percussion quartet
Dramatic Works
These are pieces created for plays, dance, or puppet shows.
- Rumpelstilzchen: a chamber opera in one act [2008]
- Permanent Absence [1995]; for dance, with violin, cello, piano, and percussion
- Hero und Leander [1991]; for puppet theater, with violin, viola, and cello
