Thea Musgrave CBE (born 27 May 1928) is a Scottish

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

and

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" al ...

. She has lived in the United States since 1972.

Biography

Born in Barnton, Edinburgh, Musgrave was educated at Moreton Hall School, a boarding

independent school An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British En ...

for girls near the

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

Oswestry Oswestry ( ; ) is a market town, civil parish and historic railway town in Shropshire, England, close to the Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5, A483 and A495 roads. The town was the administrative headquarters of the Borough ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

, followed by the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1 ...

, and in Paris as a pupil of

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher and conductor. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist. From a ...

from 1950 to 1954. In 1958 she attended the

Tanglewood Tanglewood is a music venue in the towns of Lenox and Stockbridge in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. It has been the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1937. Tanglewood is also home to three music schools: the ...

Festival and studied with

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Com ...

. In 1970 she became Guest Professor at the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the U ...

, a position which confirmed her increasing involvement with the musical life of the United States. She married American violist and opera conductor Peter Mark in 1971. From 1987 to 2002 she was Distinguished Professor at Queens College,

City University of New York The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) is the public university system of New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven senior colleges, seven community colleges and seven pro ...

. Among Musgrave's earlier orchestral works, the Concerto for Orchestra of 1967 and the Concerto for Horn of 1971 display the composer's ongoing fascination with ‘dramatic-abstract’ musical ideas. More recent works continue the idea though sometimes in a more programmatic way: such as the oboe concerto ''Helios'' of 1994, in which the soloist represents the Sun God. Another frequent source of inspiration is the visual arts – ''The Seasons'' took its initial inspiration from a visit to New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, while ''Turbulent Landscapes'' (commissioned by the

Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the " Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 18 ...

and premiered by them in 2003) depicts a series of paintings by

J. M. W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbul ...

. She has written more than a dozen operas and other music theatre works, many taking a historical figure as their central character, among them

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of S ...

(1977),

Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Ross, March 10, 1913) was an American abolitionist and social activist. Born into slavery, Tubman escaped and subsequently made some 13 missions to rescue approximately 70 slaves, including family and friends, u ...

(''Harriet, the Woman called Moses'', 1984),

Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24 July 1783 – 17 December 1830) was a Venezuelan military and political leader who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and B ...

(1993; premiere 1995 at the Virginia Opera) and '' Pontalba'' (2003). In 2008, her 80th birthday was marked by premieres of ''Points of View'', ''Green'', ''Cantilena'', ''Taking Turns'' and other performances. In 2018, coinciding with Musgrave's 90th birthday, her compositions were performed at the

Edinburgh International Festival The Edinburgh International Festival is an annual arts festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, spread over the final three weeks in August. Notable figures from the international world of music (especially european classical music, classical music) and ...

and the

BBC Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...

Reflections on a musical career

In response to a question presented by

Tom Service Tom Service (born 8 March 1976) is a British writer, music journalist and television and radio presenter, who has written regularly for ''The Guardian'' since 1999 and presented on BBC Radio 3 since 2001. He is a regular presenter of The Proms f ...

for the BBC about Musgrave's view of being a ‘woman composer’ she replied, "Yes I am a woman, and I am a composer. But rarely at the same time". She admits that pursuing music can be a difficult career. When asked by the BBC to offer advice to young composers, she replied, "Don’t do it, unless you have to. And if you do, enjoy every minute of it."

Honours and awards

* Musgrave has received the Koussevitzky Award (1974) as well as two

Guggenheim Fellowships Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative abi ...

(1974/5 and 1982/3). * She holds honorary degrees from

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (Old Dominion or ODU) is a public research university in Norfolk, Virginia. It was established in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary and is now one of the largest universities in Virginia w ...

(Virginia),

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

Smith College Smith College is a private liberal arts women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith and opened in 1875. It is the largest member of the historic Seven Sisters colleges, a group of elite women's coll ...

, the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, and the

Royal Conservatoire of Scotland The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland ( gd, Conservatoire Rìoghail na h-Alba), formerly the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama ( gd, Acadamaidh Rìoghail Ciùil is Dràma na h-Alba) is a conservatoire of dance, drama, music, production, and ...

. * In 2002 she was appointed a Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE) in the Queen's New Year Honours List. * She was awarded the

Queen's Medal for Music The King's Medal for Music (or the Queen's Medal for Music during the reign of a queen) is an annual award, instituted in 2005, for contribution to the musical life of Great Britain. The Medal may be awarded to people of any nationality. The expe ...

, 2017.

Works

Major works

*''Chamber Concerto No 2'' (1966; chamber ensemble) *''Night Music'' (1968; for chamber orchestra – J.W. Chester/Edition Wilhelm Hansen London Ltd.) * ''Concerto for Orchestra'' (1967; orchestra) * ''Clarinet Concerto'' (1969; clarinet, orchestra) * ''Concerto for Horn'' (1971; horn, orchestra) * ''Viola Concerto'' (1973; viola, orchestra) *''

Rorate Coeli "Rorate caeli" or "Rorate coeli" ('Drop down, ye heavens') are the opening words of in the Vulgate. The text appears at several points in the Christian liturgy during Advent. Use in the western Mass and Offices The text is frequently sung to pl ...

'' (1973; choir) * ''Orfeo'' (1975; solo flute & tape or strings) * ''Pierrot'' (1985; clarinet, violin and piano) * ''Song of the Enchanter'' (1990; orchestra) ( commissioned to honour the 125th anniversary of the birth of

Jean Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...

) Song of the Enchanter – Thea Musgrave, composer
* ''Helios'' (1994; oboe, orchestra) * ''Journey through a Japanese landscape'' (1994; marimba,

winds Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few ...

, harp, piano, percussion) *''Songs for a Winter’s Evening'' (1995; soprano, orchestra) *''Phoenix Rising'' (1997, orchestra) * ''Aurora'' (1999; string orchestra) * ''Ring Out Wild Bells'' (2000; clarinet, violin, cello, piano) * ''The Mocking-Bird'' (2000; baritone, orchestra) * ''Turbulent Landscapes'' (2003; orchestra) * ''Wood, Metal and Skin'' (2004; percussion, orchestra) * ''Two's Company'' (2005; oboe, percussion, orchestra) * ''Voices of Power and Protest'' (2006; choir) * ''Night Windows'' (2007; oboe, piano - 2016; oboe, strings) * ''Points of View'' (2007; orchestra) * ''Cantilena'' (2008; oboe quartet) * ''Green'' (2008; string chamber orchestra - 2014; string orchestra) * ''Poets in Love'' (2009; tenor, baritone,

piano four hands Piano four hands (french: À quatre mains, german: Zu vier Händen, Vierhändig, it, a quattro mani) is a type of piano duet involving two players playing the same piano simultaneously. A duet with the players playing separate instruments is ...

) * ''Ithaca'' (2010; choir) * ''Towards the Blue'' (2010; clarinet, orchestra) * ''Five Songs for Spring'' (2011; baritone & piano or baritone & orchestra) * ''Loch Ness - A postcard from Scotland'' (2012; orchestra) * ''The Voices of Our Ancestors'' (2014; choir,

brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other wi ...

, organ) * ''La vida es Sueño'' (2016; baritone , piano) * ''From Darkness into the Light'' (2017; cello, orchestra) * ''Missa Brevis'' (2017; choir, organ)

Operas

*''The Abbot of Drimock'' (1955) *''Marko the Miser'' (1962) *''The Decision'' (1965) *''The Voice of Ariadne'' (1973) *''

'' (1977) - also

chamber Chamber or the chamber may refer to: In government and organizations *Chamber of commerce, an organization of business owners to promote commercial interests *Legislative chamber, in politics *Debate chamber, the space or room that houses deliber ...

version (2016) *''A Christmas Carol'' (1979) *''An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge'' (1981) *'' Harriet, the Woman Called Moses'' (1985) - also version for small orchestra re-titled ''The Story of Harriet Tubman (1990)'' *''

'' (1995) - also chamber version (2013) *'' Pontalba'' (2003)

References

External links

Official webpage
accessed 5 February 2017
Thea Musgrave profile
chesternovello.com; accessed 5 February 2017

March 21, 1988; accessed 5 February 2017 {{DEFAULTSORT:Musgrave, Thea 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers Scottish classical composers Scottish opera composers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Honorary Members of the Royal Academy of Music British expatriates in the United States Alumni of the University of Edinburgh People educated at Moreton Hall School Musicians from Edinburgh 1928 births Living people Pupils of Aaron Copland British women in electronic music 20th-century American women musicians 20th-century British composers 21st-century British composers 21st-century American women musicians British women classical composers 20th-century women composers 21st-century women composers Women opera composers