Shulamit Ran facts for kids

Shulamit Ran, born on October 21, 1949, in Tel Aviv, Israel, is a famous Israeli-American composer. A composer writes music. When she was 14, she moved to New York City to study music at the Mannes College of Music. Her piece called Symphony (written in 1990) won her the Pulitzer Prize for Music. She was only the second woman ever to win this important award. Shulamit Ran also taught music at the University of Chicago from 1973 until 2015. She has played piano in many countries, and her music has been performed all over the world.

Biography

Early Life and Music Studies

Shulamit Ran was born in Israel in 1949. She started writing songs when she was just seven years old. By age nine, she was already learning from top composers in Israel. These included Alexander Boskovich and Paul Ben-Haim. Her father often played Jewish religious music on the radio. This music had a big impact on her. You can hear its influence in her opera Between Two Worlds – The Dybbuk.

She continued her music studies as she grew up. She received scholarships from the Mannes College of Music in New York. She also got help from the American Israel Cultural Foundation. Besides piano, she studied composing with Norman Dello Joio and Ralph Shapey. In the United States, she learned piano from Nadia Reisenberg and Dorothy Taubman. Ralph Shapey and composer Elliott Carter helped her find her unique musical style.

Teaching Music at University

After studying with Ralph Shapey, he asked Shulamit Ran to become a music teacher. In 1973, when she was 26, she joined the University of Chicago. There, she became a very respected professor in the music department. She also became the artistic director of Contempo, a music group.

Shulamit Ran taught many students who became successful composers. She retired from the University of Chicago in June 2015. She also became a member of important groups like the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

About Her Works

Music Written for Others

Many of Shulamit Ran's pieces were "commissioned." This means that orchestras or groups asked her to write music especially for them. For example, her piece Legends was asked for by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. It was also requested by the University of Chicago for their 100th birthdays.

Where Her Music Has Been Played

Shulamit Ran's music has been played by many of the world's best orchestras. These include the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Her music has also been performed by many smaller groups. Some of these are the Da Capo Chamber Players and the Lark Quartet.

Her music has been heard in famous places around the world. These include the Library of Congress and the Kennedy Center. It has also been played at big summer music festivals.

Works

Music for Small Groups

• A Prayer (1981) – for horn, clarinet, and other instruments
• Bach-Shards (2002) – for a string quartet (four string instruments)
• Chicago Skyline (1991) – for brass instruments and drums
• Double Vision (1976) – for two groups of instruments and piano
• Excursions (1980) – for violin, cello, and piano
• Moon Songs (2011) – for voice, flute, cello, and piano
• String Quartet No. 3 – Glitter, Shards, Doom, Memory (2013)

Music for Solo Instruments

• Birds of Paradise (2014) – for flute and piano
• East Wind (1987) – for solo flute
• Fantasy Variations (1979) – for solo cello
• Hyperbolae (1976) – for piano
• Inscriptions (1991) – for solo violin
• Spirit (2017) – for clarinet

Operas

• Between Two Worlds (The Dybbuk) (1997) – an opera with two acts
• Anne Frank [de] (2023)

Music for Orchestras

• Concerto for Orchestra (1986)
• Legends for orchestra (1992–93)
• Symphony (1989–90)
• Violin Concerto (2002–03)
• Voices (2000) – for a flautist with an orchestra

Music for Voices and Choirs

• Amichai Songs (1985)
• Credo/Ani Ma'amin (2006)
• Shirim L'Yom Tov (Four Festive Songs) (2003 and 2005) – for a choir without instruments

Achievements and Awards

Shulamit Ran has received many awards and special honors. She has gotten support from important groups like the Ford Foundation and the Guggenheim Foundation. She also received commissions from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

She was the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's second composer-in-residence from 1990 to 1997. Her Symphony, performed in 1990, won her the Pulitzer Prize in 1991. It also won the Kennedy Center Friedheim Award. This made her the second woman to win the Pulitzer Prize in music. The first was Ellen Taaffe Zwilich in 1983. Shulamit Ran has also received five special honorary doctorates. Her music is published by well-known companies and has been recorded on more than 12 record labels.