Nancy Galbraith facts for kids
Nancy Galbraith is an American composer born in 1951 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A composer is someone who writes music. She creates modern music that often has a clear, simple style. Nancy Galbraith teaches music composition at Carnegie Mellon University. This is a university where students learn how to write their own music.
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About Nancy Galbraith
Nancy Galbraith started playing the piano when she was just four years old. She loved music so much that she decided to study it in college. She attended Ohio University, West Virginia University, and Carnegie Mellon University.
Today, she teaches students how to compose music and understand music theory at Carnegie Mellon. Her music has been performed by many famous groups. The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra has played six of her pieces for the very first time. She also works closely with the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh. This choir performed her special pieces for voices, Missa Mysteriorum and Requiem, for the first time.
Nancy Galbraith has also been asked to write music for groups in Latin America. Her music is shared with the world by two publishing companies: Subito Music in the United States and Boosey & Hawkes internationally. She holds a special teaching position at Carnegie Mellon University called the Vira I. Heinz Professor of Composition.
Nancy Galbraith's Music
Nancy Galbraith has written many different kinds of music. She writes for large orchestras, choirs, wind ensembles, and smaller groups of instruments. She also composes pieces for solo piano and organ.
Music for Orchestras
Orchestral works are pieces written for a large group of instruments. These include strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion.
- Morning Litany (1988)
- Danza de los Duendes (1992)
- Piano Concerto No. 1 (1995)
- A Festive Violet Pulse (1998)
- Tormenta del Sur (2001)
- De Profundis ad Lucem (2002)
- Fantasy for Orchestra (2003)
Music for Voices and Choirs
Vocal and choral works are pieces written for singers. These can be for a single singer or a large choir.
- In Unity and Love (1997)
- Christ By Whose Death (1999)
- Missa Mysteriorum (1999)
- Magnificat (2002)
- Four River Songs (2002)
- God of Justice (2004)
- Requiem (2004)
- Sacred Songs and Interludes (2006)
- Two Emily Dickinson Songs (2007)
- Novena (2007)
Music for Wind Ensembles
Wind ensembles are groups of instruments that are played by blowing air into them. These include flutes, clarinets, trumpets, and trombones.
- with brightness round about it (1993)
- Danza de los Duendes (1996)
- Wind Symphony No. 1 (1996)
- Elfin Thunderbolt (1998)
- Dream Catchers (1998)
- Concerto for Piano and Wind Ensemble (2000)
- Internal Combustion (2001)
- Washington's Landing (2006)
- Febris Ver
Chamber Music
Chamber music is written for a small group of instruments. Each instrument often plays its own important part.
- Time Cycle (1984)
- Fantasia (1986)
- Into Light (1989)
- Aeolian Muses (1993)
- Incantation and Allegro (1995)
- Rhythms and Rituals (1995)
- String Quartet No. 1 (1996)
- Inquiet Spirits (String Quartet No. 2) (2000)
- Island Echoes (2000)
- Atacama Sonata (2001)
- Dos Danzas Latinas (2002)
- Of Nature (2003)
- Sonata for Bassoon and Piano (2004)
- String Quartet No. 3 (2005)
- Traverso Mistico (2006)
- Effervescent Aire (2012)
- Strange Travels (2013)
- Midnight Stirring (2014)
- Festive Overture for Cellos (2018)
- Blue Capriccio (2024)
Music for Solo Piano
These pieces are written to be played by one person on a piano.
- Haunted Fantasy (1979)
- Prelude for Piano (1986)
- Piano Sonata No. 1 (1997)
- Three Preludes for Piano (2011)
Music for Organ
These pieces are written for the organ, a large musical instrument with many pipes.
- Cortege
- Litany
- Agnus Dei (adapted from her Mass)
- Christ By Whose Death
- Gloria Te Deum
- Prelude and Fugue (2007)
