Nancy Laird Chance facts for kids

Nancy Laird Chance, born on March 19, 1931, is an American musician. She is known as both a talented pianist and a composer. A composer is someone who writes music.

Nancy studied music at two famous universities. She attended Bryn Mawr College from 1949 to 1950. Later, she studied at Columbia University from 1959 to 1967. While there, she learned from important teachers like Vladimir Ussachevsky, Otto Luening, and Chou Wen-chung.

After finishing her studies, Nancy Laird Chance began her career. She worked as a piano teacher, helping others learn to play music. She also continued to write her own music as a composer. In addition, she worked as an arts administrator, which means she helped manage and organize artistic events and groups.

Nancy has received several special awards for her music. In 1981, she won the ASCAP/Nissim prize for her orchestral piece called Liturgy. An orchestral piece is music written for a large group of instruments. She won this same prize again in 1984 for another orchestral work, Odysseus. She also received two awards from the NEA, which stands for the National Endowment for the Arts. These awards help support artists in the United States. In 1988, she received special fellowships from the MacDowell Colony and Sundance Film for her compositions.

Nancy Chance's Music

Nancy Laird Chance has written many different kinds of musical pieces. Her music has been performed by orchestras and smaller groups of musicians.

Works for Orchestra

• Liturgy, 1979
• Odysseus, suite, 1983
• Planasthai, 1991

Works for Chamber Ensemble

These pieces are for smaller groups of instruments.

• Darksong, 1972
• Edensong, 1973
• Daysongs, 1974
• Ritual Sounds, 1975
• Ceremonial, 1976
• Declamation and Song, 1977
• Duos II, for oboe and English horn, 1978
• Duos III, for violin and violincello, 1980
• Exultation and Lament, for saxophone and timpani, 1980
• Solemnities, 1981
• Woodwind Quintet, 1983
• Rhapsodia, 1984
• String Quartet, no.1, 1984–5
• Elegy, for string orchestra, 1986
• Heat and Silence, 1989

Choral and Vocal Works

These pieces are written for choirs (groups of singers) or solo singers.

• Domine, Dominus, for double chorus without instruments, 1964
• Odysseus, for chorus and orchestra, 1981–3
• In Paradisium, for chorus and chamber ensemble, 1987
• Pie Jesu, Libera me, Hosanna and Benedictus, for chorus and chamber ensemble, 1990
• 3 Rilke Songs, for soprano, flute, English horn, and violincello, 1966
• Duos I, for soprano and flute, 1975
• Say the Good Words, for violin and synthesizer, 1989

Film Music

• Last Images, film, 1988

Nancy Laird Chance's music has been recorded. You can find her compositions on CDs released by Opus One.

More Information

• Interview with Nancy Laird Chance, August 25, 1990