Melinda Wagner facts for kids

Melinda Jane Wagner (born in 1957 in Philadelphia) is a talented American composer. A composer is someone who writes music. She won the famous Pulitzer Prize in music in 1999 for one of her pieces.

Melinda Wagner studied music at Hamilton College, the University of Chicago, and the University of Pennsylvania. She also worked as a Composer-in-Residence, which means she was a special guest composer, at the University of Texas (Austin) and at the 'Bravo!' Vail Valley Music Festival. Some of her teachers were well-known composers like Richard Wernick, George Crumb, Shulamit Ran, and Jay Reise.

Career as a Composer

Melinda Wagner lives in Ridgewood, New Jersey. She won the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for her piece called Concerto for Flute, Strings and Percussion. This is a very important award for music.

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, a very famous orchestra, asked her to write three major pieces. These were Falling Angels (in 1992), a piano concerto called Extremity of Sky (in 2002), and Proceed, Moon (in 2016). A "concerto" is a piece of music written for a solo instrument, like a piano or flute, with an orchestra. The famous pianist Emanuel Ax played Extremity of Sky with the Chicago Symphony and other orchestras around the world.

Many other orchestras and music groups have performed her works. These include the New York New Music Ensemble, the Network for New Music, Orchestra 2001, and the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players.

Melinda Wagner has received many important awards and honors. She got a Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship and awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She also won three ASCAP Young Composer awards. Hamilton College also gave her an honorary degree. Some of her well-known pieces are the Trombone Concerto (2007), Falling Angels (1992), and Extremity of Sky (2002).

She has also been asked to write music by many other groups. These include the New York Philharmonic, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and various music foundations. Her music has been played by the Dallas Symphony, the American Composers Orchestra, and the US Marine Band.

Melinda Wagner has been a teacher at The Juilliard School since 2016. She is a very inspiring teacher. She has also taught at other universities like Brandeis University, Smith College, University of Pennsylvania, Swarthmore College, Syracuse University, and Hunter College. She has given talks at many schools, including Yale University and Cornell University. She lives in New Jersey with her husband, James Saporito, who is a percussionist, and their children.

Some of Her Musical Works

Here are some of the musical pieces Melinda Wagner has created:

• Falling Angels (1992)
• Concerto for Flute, Strings, and Percussion (This won the Pulitzer Prize in 1999!)
• Extremity of Sky (a piano concerto from 2002)
• Concerto for Trombone and Orchestra (2007)
• Arabesque for Solo Guitar
• Noggin: Four Pieces for Piano
• Tintinnabulum for Piano
• Brass Quintet No. 1
• Concertino for Harpsichord and String Quintet
• Four Settings for Soprano and Ensemble
• My Tioga for String Quartet
• Pan Journal for Harp and String Quartet
• Proceed, Moon for orchestra (2016)
• Romanze With Faux Variations Piano Trio No. 2
• Scritch for Oboe and String Quartet
• Sextet for Flute, Clarinet, Violin, Viola, Cello, Piano
• Seven Muses Contemporary Anthology for Flute and Piano
• Sleep Awake: Two Songs for Mezzo-soprano, Clarinet, and Piano
• Wick for Chamber Ensemble
• Wing and Prayer for Clarinet, violoncello, percussion, and piano
• Ancient Music SABTA Acapella
• From a Book of Early Prayers for SATB Acapella
• 57/7 Dash Overture for Timpani, Percussion, and orchestra
• Little Moonhead three tributaries to Bach
• Scamp for Wind Ensemble

Awards and Honors

Melinda Wagner has received many important awards for her music:

• 2003: Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Pennsylvania
• 2001: Honorary degree from Hamilton College
• 2000: Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters
• 1999: Pulitzer Prize in Music for her Concerto for Flute, Strings, and Percussion
• 1991: MacDowell Colony Resident Fellowship
• 1988: Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship
• 1988: MacDowell Colony Resident
• 1986: MacDowell Colony Resident
• 1986: Yaddo Resident Fellowship
• 1984, 1985, 1987: ASCAP Young Composer Awards

See also

In Spanish: Melinda Wagner para niños