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PAN PIPES • SUMMER 2018 • sai-national.org 12 FOR MORE INFORMATION visit www.jenniferhigdon.com MUSIC NOTES S AI Honorary Member Jennifer Higdon, one of America's most frequently performed living composers, has been awarded the $100,000 Michael Ludwig Nemmers Prize in Music Composition from the Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University. Established in 2003, the Nemmers Prize in Music Composition honors classical music composers of outstanding achievement who have significantly influenced the field of composition. In addition to a cash award, the prize includes a performance by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Previous winners of the biennial award include John Adams (2004), Oliver Knussen (2006), Kaija Saariaho (2008), John Luther Adams (2010), Aaron Jay Kernis (2012) Esa-Pekka Salonen (2014), and Steve Reich (2016). "I am extremely honored to be the recipient of Northwestern University's 2018 Michael Ludwig Nemmers Prize and, to be included in this list of previous winners, is truly humbling," Higdon said. "It will be a pleasure to spend time with the students and faculty sharing experiences and making music. I am deeply appreciative of this opportunity in such a prestigious school of music." Higdon's first on-campus residency, scheduled for October 15-20, 2018, will feature multiple performances of her music by Bienen School students. She will also lead coaching sessions with Bienen ensembles and chamber groups, conduct lessons and seminars with composition students, and participate in an interdisciplinary panel discussion on LGBTQI in the arts, among other activities. Higdon's second Bienen School residency is scheduled for February 2020. "e Bienen School of Music is honored to name Jennifer Higdon winner of the 2018 Michael Ludwig Nemmers Prize," said Toni- Marie Montgomery, dean of the Bienen School. "Ms. Higdon is a prolific and widely performed American composer who has written in a wide range of musical styles for both instruments and voice. She will bring a multi-faceted perspective to her work with our performance and composition students. e Bienen School faculty and students look forward to many exciting and enriching activities during Jennifer Higdon's residencies over the next two years." Pulitzer Prize and two-time Grammy-winner Jennifer Higdon taught herself to play flute at the age of 15 and began formal musical studies at 18, with an even later start in composition at the age of 21. Despite this, Jennifer has become a major figure in contemporary classical music and makes her living from commissions. Her works represent a wide range of genres, from orchestral to chamber, to wind ensemble, as well as vocal, choral and opera. Her music has been hailed by Fanfare Magazine as having "the distinction of being at once complex, sophisticated but readily accessible emotionally," with the Times of London citing it as "…traditionally rooted, yet imbued with integrity and freshness." e League of American Orchestras reports that she is one of America's most frequently performed composers. Higdon's list of commissioners is extensive and includes e Philadelphia Orchestra, e Chicago Symphony, e Atlanta Symphony, e Cleveland Orchestra, e Minnesota Orchestra, e Pittsburgh Symphony, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, as well as such groups as the Tokyo String Quartet, the Lark Quartet, Eighth Blackbird, and the President's Own Marine Band. Her first opera, Cold Mountain, won the prestigious International Opera Award for Best World Premiere in 2016; the first American opera to do so in the award's history. It sold out its premiere run in Santa Fe, as well as in North Carolina and Philadelphia, becoming the third highest selling opera in Opera Philadelphia's history. She was initiated as an Honorary Member of SAI by the Philadelphia Alumnae Chapter in 2014. e 2017-18 concert season has included the successful premiere of her Low Brass Concerto with the Chicago Symphony and Philadelphia Orchestra, her Tuba Concerto with the Pittsburgh Symphony and Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and Harp Concerto for Yolanda Kondonassis with the Rochester Philharmonic and Harrisburg Symphony. Higdon received a Bachelor's Degree in Music from Bowling Green State University, an Artist Diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music, and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. She currently holds the Rock Chair in Composition at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Her music is published exclusively by Lawdon Press. Honorary Member Higdon Awarded Composition Prize J.D. Scott

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