Lori Laitman

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Lori Laitman is an American composer who has composed multiple operas, choral works, and over 300 songs.

Life

Laitman was born in Long Beach, New York, in 1955.Liederabend / Poems of Emily Dickinson
csulb.edu 2018 Laitman has set texts by classical and contemporary poets (including those who were murdered in the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

) in her compositions. She graduated ''magna cum laude'' from Yale College and received her MM from the

Yale School of Music The Yale School of Music (often abbreviated to YSM) is one of the 12 professional schools at Yale University. It offers three graduate degrees: Master of Music (MM), Master of Musical Arts (MMA), and Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA), as well as a join ...

. Laitman has received commissions from the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

, The Royal Philharmonic Society, The Grant Park Music Festival, Opera America, Opera Colorado, Lyric Fest of Philadelphia, Washington Master Chorale, Wolfgang Holzmair and

Music of Remembrance Music of Remembrance is a non-profit classical chamber music organization based in Seattle whose purpose is to find and perform music composed by victims of the Holocaust, irrespective of their background, as well as to perform related newly commi ...

. Laitman was featured on

Thomas Hampson Thomas Walter Hampson (born June 28, 1955) is an American lyric baritone, a classical singer who has appeared world-wide in major opera houses and concert halls and made over 170 musical recordings. Hampson's operatic repertoire spans a range ...

’s ''Song of America'' radio series and website and interviewed by him on the Idagio platform. The Yale School of Music presented her with the Ian Mininberg Distinguished Service Award at Yale Commencement on May 21, 2018. She is one of four composers on baritone Stephen Powell's 2021 Grammy-nominated CD ''American Composers at Play.'' Laitman has an extensive discography.

Works

''Living in the Body''

This six-song cycle was commissioned and premiered through a Special Projects Grant from the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences at Georgia Southern University, for Saxophonist Carolyn Bryan and soprano Sandra McClain.Drake, Kathryn Mary, "A performance guide to Lori Laitman's Living in the Body" (2010). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 3265. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/3265 Set to poetry by Joyce Sutphen, ''Living in the Body'' explores themes such as grief, loss, the past, and their emotional toll on the body of someone looking towards the second half of their life. The cycle was composed between September 14t and December 3, 2001, and was premiered on March 7, 2002 at the North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial Conference at the University of North Texas. This cycle is one of few existing for soprano and saxophone; a normatively unorthodox pairing in Western classical repertoire inspired by Laitman's real life friendships.

''The Scarlet Letter''

Laitman created the opera ''The Scarlet Letter'' based on the novel ''

The Scarlet Letter ''The Scarlet Letter: A Romance'' is a work of historical fiction by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1850. Set in the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony during the years 1642 to 1649, the novel tells the story of Hester Prynne, ...

'' by

Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associated with that t ...

. It was commissioned by The University of Central Arkansas through Robert Holden and the UCA Opera program, premiered there in November 2008 and received its professional premiere in May 2016 by Colorado Opera. The libretto is by David Mason. Huffington Post ran an interview with Laitman, and the May 2016 issue of Opera News had a feature about Laitman and ''The Scarlet Letter''. Naxos released the CD in Aug. 2017. Performances took place at The University of Oklahoma in February 2022 and at Wichita State University in April 2022.

''Vedem''

Laitman and Mason also collaborated on ''Vedem'', a Holocaust

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is ...

commissioned by Music of Remembrance
Indianapolis Opera's
double bill of ''Vedem'' and ''Brundibar'' was produced March 18–20, 2022 (after several Coronavirus delays). It was the first time an opera by a woman was presented by the company.

''Ludlow''

Laitman and Mason continued to develop the opera ''Ludlow'', based on Mason's

verse novel A verse novel is a type of narrative poetry in which a novel-length narrative is told through the medium of poetry rather than prose. Either simple or complex stanzaic verse-forms may be used, but there will usually be a large cast, multiple voi ...

about the 1914 mining disaster in

Ludlow, Colorado Ludlow is a ghost town in Las Animas County, Colorado, United States. It was the site of the Ludlow Massacre–part of the Colorado Coalfield War–in 1914. The town site is located at the entrance to a canyon in the foothills of the Sangre d ...

.

''The Three Feathers''

Laitman created ''The Three Feathers'' children's opera with librettist

Dana Gioia Michael Dana Gioia (; born December 24, 1950) is an American poet, literary critic, literary translator, and essayist. Since the early 1980s, Gioia has been considered part of the literary movements within American poetry known as New Forma ...

, based on a Grimm's fairy tale. It was commissioned by the Center for the Arts at

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six re ...

. The work premiered in conjunction with VA Tech, Opera Roanoke and the Blacksburg Children's Chorale in Oct. 2015 in a production directed by Beth Greenberg and conducted by Scott Williamson. Huffington Post ran a feature on the opera. The children's outreach version, which is condensed to under an hour, was premiered by Florida State University in February 2016.

Seattle Opera Seattle Opera is an opera company based in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1963 by Glynn Ross, who served as its first general director until 1983. The company's season runs from August through late May, comprising five or six operas of ...

commissioned a 5 voice/piano abridged version which toured Seattle schools from January through June 2018
Hartt College of Music
premiered the abridged orchestral version, an
L'arietta Productions
in Singapore presented the international premiere, marking the first time an opera by a woman was performed in Singapore
Opera Steamboat
presented the full production on August 12–13, 2022. Solo Opera is presenting the full opera in September 2023 at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek, CA.

''Uncovered''

''Uncovered'' is Laitman's opera with Leah Lax, based on Lax's memoir. It was a 2018 finalist for the Domenic J. Pelliccioti Opera Composition Prize. It has been co-commissioned by Utah State University, City Lyric Opera and The New York Opera Society. Utah State premiered the work at The Caine Lyric Theatre in Logan, UT on March 31, 2022 in a production directed by Beth Greenberg. City Lyric Opera presented the NYC premiere November 16–19, 2022 at the HERE Arts Center in NY.

''Unsung''

Laitman received a 2015 Centennial Commission from the

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore SO has its principal residence at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, where it performs more than 130 concerts a year. In 2005, it bega ...

with Music Directo
Marin Alsop
for an orchestral piece to celebrate the BSO's 100th anniversary. ''Unsung'' premiered in September 2016.

''Are Women People?''

Laitman's commission from the Howard Hansen Institute for American Music at the

Eastman School of Music The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York. It was established in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman. It offers Bachelor of Music ...

and the Susan B. Anthony Center for Women's Leadership produced "Are Women People?" . The piece was created for SATB vocal quartet and piano 4 hands, This piece uses texts by

Alice Duer Miller Alice Duer Miller (July 28, 1874 – August 22, 1942) was an American writer whose poetry actively influenced political opinion. Her feminist verses influenced political opinion during the American suffrage movement, and her verse novel ''The W ...

,

Susan B. Anthony Susan B. Anthony (born Susan Anthony; February 15, 1820 – March 13, 1906) was an American social reformer and women's rights activist who played a pivotal role in the women's suffrage movement. Born into a Quaker family committed to s ...

and also the 19th Amendment of the Constitution. The work premiered at Eastman School of Music in March 2017. The premiere recording of the work is featured on the May 2021 CD release on Acis: ''Are Women People? — The Songs of Lori Laitman.''

''The Imaginary Photo Album''

Her BBC/Royal Philharmonic Society commission for soprano

Katharina Konradi Katharina Konradi (born 13 June 1988) is a Kyrgyzstani operatic soprano based in Germany, at the Hamburg State Opera from 2018. She has performed at major opera houses, especially as Mozart's Susanna and Zdenka in ''Arabella'', and at the Bayreu ...

was first broadcast on October 25, 2020 at the

Wigmore Hall Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadi ...

, London
live
but with a reduced audience due to lockdown.

Critical reviews

''Fanfare Magazine'' described Laitman as "one of the most talented and intriguing of living composers." ''Gramophone'' wrote about ''The Scarlet Letter:'' "The first thing that leaps into one's ears is the sheer beauty of the music. Laitman has devoted much of her career to the art song, and her ability to meld words with lyrical, often soaring lines is on abundant display in her opera." '' The Journal of Singing'' wrote "It is difficult to think of anyone before the public today who equals her exceptional gifts for embracing a poetic text and giving it new and deeper life through music." "Lori Laitman's central greatness comes not from wielding numerous and complicated elements in complex ways, but rather from her almost uncanny skill for breathing new life into a text through music. When it comes to crafting art songs, nothing else counts at all if this central matter isn’t right. Laitman’s skill in this regard is unsurpassed among current art song composers." Her latest CD, ''The Ocean of Eternity'', released on Acis, was named an ''Opera News'' Critic's Choice — "unmistakable...masterful" and garnered additional praise from ''Gramophone'' - "delicacy and ingenuity combine"; ''Textura'' — "artistry of the highest order"; ''Medium.com'' — "sumptuously beautiful, and witty...utterly fabulous"; ''American Record Guide'' — "gripping and thought-provoking" and ''The Journal of Singing'' — "There seems to be no limit to the wellspring of Lori Latiman’s com- positional inspiration...Every facet of Laitman’s genius is on vivid display here, but the disk especially celebrates her bountiful, wide-ranging imagination. Whatever the task, challenge or opportunity may be, Laitman engages with it in a way that scrupulously serves the text while shedding new and illuminating light on the world and the human condition. Her music always sounds completely fresh and new..." In 2022 Laitman started making films of her art songs in conjunction with Positive Note in the UK. The first, ''Sarong Song'', is a hybrid presentation of classical song, poetry, and original art and can be found on YouTube. It was selected by The Swedish International Film Festival and The Montreal Independent Film Festival, Yale in Hollywood Film Festival, American Golden Picture International Film Festival, won for best composer at the Mindfield Film Festival in Albuquerque, and was a finalist in the 4theatre.com Film Festival.

References

* Dormady Eisenberg, Susan, "Lines Written At The Falls" (November 2005), Classical Singer. * Dormady Eisenberg, Susan, "From Art Song To Opera" (October 2009), Classical Singer.

External links

Official website- Lori Laitman

website for The Scarlet Letter opera — Lori Laitman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laitman, Lori 1955 births 20th-century classical composers 21st-century American composers 21st-century classical composers American women classical composers American classical composers American opera composers Living people People from Long Beach, New York Yale School of Music alumni Women opera composers 20th-century American women musicians 20th-century American composers 21st-century American women musicians 20th-century women composers 21st-century women composers Albany Records artists