Jennifer Higdon (left), photo by A. Bogard; Andrea Clearfield (right), photo by Ryan Collerd courtesy Pew Center
American Composers Forum, Philadelphia Chapter is pleased to present an online artist talk between two leading composers from Philadelphia: Jennifer Higdon and Andrea Clearfield. The two artists will discuss their creative process, reflect on their artistic influences, and share recent work.
FREE, REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. SPACE IS LIMITED. PLEASE RESERVE ONE SPOT PER HOUSEHOLD. A Zoom link will be sent to you the day of the event.
Jennifer Higdon, Pulitzer Prize and three-time Grammy winner, is one of the most performed living American composers working today. She is the recent recipient of Northwestern University’s Nemmers Prize and the UT Austin EM King Award. Previous honors include the Guggenheim, Koussevitzky, and Pew Fellowships, as well as two awards from the American Academy of Arts & Letters. Commissions have come from a wide range of performers: from the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony, to The President’s Own Marine Band; from the Tokyo String Quartet to Eighth Blackbird, as well as individual artists such as singer Thomas Hampson, violinist Hilary Hahn and pianist, Yuja Wang. Her first opera on Charles Frazier’s book, “Cold Mountain”, was commissioned by Santa Fe Opera, Opera Philadelphia, NC Opera, and Minnesota Opera; it has been a resounding success, selling out all of its runs and winning the International Opera Award. Her 2 nd opera, “Woman With Eyes Closed”, will be given its world premiere by Opera Philadelphia, at the Kimmel Center in September 2021. She makes her living from commissions and serves as composer-in-residence with various orchestras throughout the country. Her works are recorded on over 70 CDs. She holds the Rock Chair in Composition at The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.
Andrea Clearfield is an award-winning composer who has written more than 150 works for orchestra, opera, chorus, chamber ensemble, dance and multimedia collaborations. Clearfield creates deep, emotive musical languages that build cultural and artistic bridges. Recent works are inspired by Tibetan music fieldwork that she conducted in the Nepalese Himalaya. She was appointed the Steven R. Gerber Composer in Residence with the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia for their 2018-19 season. She is a 2020 recipient of the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage International Artist Residency, was named the 2020 The David Del Tredici Residency Fellow at Yaddo and was awarded a 2020 Helene Wurlitzer Foundation of New Mexico Fellowship. She is currently 2020-2022 Composer-in-residence with National Concerts at Carnegie Hall. Her first opera, MILA, Great Sorcerer, to libretto by Jean-Claude van Itallie and Lois Walden, was presented at the acclaimed NYC Prototype Festival in January, 2019. Dr. Clearfield was awarded a 2017 Independence Foundation Fellowship, a 2016 Pew Fellowship in the Arts and Fellowships at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center, American Academy in Rome, Yaddo, Copland House and the MacDowell Colony among others. As a performer, she played keyboards with the Relâche Ensemble for 25 years and had the great honor of performing with the Court of the Dalai Lama. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Recording Academy/Grammy’s Philadelphia Chapter. A strong advocate for building community around the arts, she is founder and host of the renowned Salon featuring contemporary, classical, jazz, electronic, dance and world music since 1986.