Thea Musgrave facts for kids

Thea Musgrave in 2017

Thea Musgrave is a famous Scottish composer who writes operas and classical music. She was born on May 27, 1928, and has lived in the United States since 1972. She is known for her unique way of telling stories through music.

The Early Life of Thea Musgrave

Thea Musgrave grew up in Edinburgh, Scotland. She went to a boarding school called Moreton Hall School and then studied at the University of Edinburgh. After that, she moved to Paris to learn from a very famous music teacher named Nadia Boulanger from 1950 to 1954. Later, in 1958, she went to the Tanglewood Festival and studied with another important composer, Aaron Copland.

Moving to the United States

In 1970, Thea Musgrave became a guest professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. This showed how much she was getting involved in the music scene in the United States. In 1971, she married an American violist and opera conductor named Peter Mark. From 1987 to 2002, she was a special professor at Queens College, City University of New York.

Thea Musgrave's Music Style

Thea Musgrave's music often explores "dramatic-abstract" ideas. This means her music tells a story or creates a feeling without using words, like a play or a movie. For example, her Concerto for Horn from 1971 shows this style.

Inspiration for Her Music

Sometimes, her music tells a story in a more direct way. For instance, in her oboe concerto Helios (1994), the person playing the oboe represents the Sun God. She also gets ideas from art. Her piece The Seasons was inspired by a visit to a museum in New York. Another work, Turbulent Landscapes (2003), paints a picture with music of paintings by the artist J. M. W. Turner.

Operas and Music Theatre

Thea Musgrave has written more than ten operas and other musical plays. Many of these works feature important historical figures as the main characters. Some of her famous operas include:

• Mary, Queen of Scots (1977)
• Harriet, the Woman Called Moses (1984), about Harriet Tubman
• Simón Bolívar (1993), about the South American leader
• Pontalba (2003)

In 2008, when she turned 80, new pieces like Points of View and Green were performed. Her 90th birthday in 2018 was also celebrated with performances at the Edinburgh International Festival and the BBC Proms.

Advice from a Composer

When asked about being a "woman composer," Thea Musgrave once said, "Yes I am a woman, and I am a composer. But rarely at the same time." This means she sees herself as a composer first, and her gender is separate from her musical identity. She also shared advice for young composers: "Don't do it, unless you have to. And if you do, enjoy every minute of it." This shows that being a composer can be challenging, but it's very rewarding if you truly love it.

Awards and Special Recognitions

Thea Musgrave has received many important awards for her music:

• She won the Koussevitzky Award in 1974.
• She also received two Guggenheim Fellowships, which are special awards that help artists and scholars with their work.
• Many universities have given her honorary degrees, including Glasgow University and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
• In 2002, she was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by the Queen.
• In 2017, she was given the prestigious Queen's Medal for Music.

Thea Musgrave's Musical Works

Thea Musgrave has written a wide range of music for different groups of instruments and voices.

Orchestral Music

These are pieces written for a full orchestra:

• Chamber Concerto No. 2 (1966)
• Concerto for Orchestra (1967)
• Clarinet Concerto (1969)
• Concerto for Horn (1971)
• Viola Concerto (1973)
• The Seasons (1988)
• Song of the Enchanter (1990)
• Helios (1994), for oboe and orchestra
• Phoenix Rising (1997)
• Aurora (1999), for string orchestra
• Turbulent Landscapes (2003)
• Wood, Metal and Skin (2004), for percussion and orchestra
• Points of View (2007)
• Green (2008)
• Towards the Blue (2010), for clarinet and orchestra
• Loch Ness – A postcard from Scotland (2012)
• From Darkness into the Light (2017), for cello and orchestra
• Trumpet Concerto (2019)

Choral Music

These pieces are written for choirs, sometimes with instruments:

• The Five Ages of Man (1963)
• Rorate Coeli (1973)
• The Last Twilight (1980)
• Wild Winter 1: Lamentations (1993)
• Going North (2004), for children's choir
• Voices of Power and Protest (2006)
• Ithaca (2010)
• The Voices of Our Ancestors (2014)
• Missa Brevis (2017)
• By the River (2019)

Chamber Music

These are pieces for smaller groups of instruments:

• Trio for flute, oboe and piano (1960)
• Orfeo (1975), for solo flute
• Pierrot (1985), for clarinet
• Journey through a Japanese landscape (1994)
• Ring Out Wild Bells (2000)
• Night Windows (2007)
• Cantilena (2008), for oboe quartet
• Poets in Love (2009)
• Sunrise (2010), for flute, viola and harp

Operas

• The Abbot of Drimock (1955)
• Marko the Miser (1962)
• The Decision (1965)
• The Voice of Ariadne (1973)
• Mary, Queen of Scots (1977)
• A Christmas Carol (1979)
• An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge (1981)
• Harriet, the Woman Called Moses (1985)
• Simón Bolívar (1995)
• Pontalba (2003)

See also

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  A robot for kids

In Spanish: Thea Musgrave para niños