Elizabeth Brown (born 1953) is an American contemporary composer and performer, known for music described as otherworldly, which employs

microtonal Microtonality is the use in music of microtones — intervals smaller than a semitone, also called "microintervals". It may also be extended to include any music using intervals not found in the customary Western tuning of twelve equal interv ...

expression, unique instrumentation and a morphing, freewheeling language.Gann, Kyle. "American Composer: Elizabeth Brown," ''Chamber Music'', April 2002, p. 18–9.Kozinn, Allan
"Zany New Music, But Quirkily Compelling,"
''The New York Times'', May 14, 2003. Retrieved November 5, 2020.Clements, Dominy

''MusicWeb International'', August 2013. Retrieved November 5, 2020. Her work is frequently commissioned for specific ensembles (e.g., Newband,

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra (founded in 1972) is a classical music chamber orchestra based in New York City. They have won several Grammy Awards, and are known for their collaborative leadership style in which the musicians, not a conductor, i ...

)Powers, Ann
"A Generous, Friendly Dose of Experimentalism,"
''The New York Times'', November 3, 2001, p. 16. Retrieved November 5, 2020.Keedle, Jayne. "A Musical Democracy: Orpheus Chamber Orchestra premieres the ''Lost Waltz''," ''The Hartford Advocate'', November 13, 1997. and has been performed internationally in solo, chamber and orchestral contexts at venues including

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

, Boston's Symphony Hall, the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

, and the Hanoi National Conservatory of Music.Holland, Bernard
"In a World of Civility, A Sudden Mozart Shift,"
''The New York Times'', November 26, 1997, p. E12. Retrieved November 3, 2020.Eisler, Edith. "Flute Force, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall," ''New York Concert Review'', Spring 2008, p. 24.Music From Japan
"Flutes from the East and the West / Song from the Spirit of Japan,"
Events. Retrieved November 9, 2020.Asian Cultural Council
Elizabeth Brown
Grantees. Retrieved November 9, 2020. She has written extensively for flute, unconventional instruments such as the Partch complement and

theremin The theremin (; originally known as the ætherphone, etherphone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox) is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer (who is known as a thereminist). It is named aft ...

, and the traditional Asian ''

shakuhachi A is a Japanese longitudinal, end-blown flute that is made of bamboo. The bamboo end-blown flute now known as the was developed in Japan in the 16th century and is called the .

'' and ''

đàn bầu The ''đàn bầu'' (; "gourd zither"; Chữ Nôm: ), also called ''độc huyền cầm'' (獨絃琴, "one-string zither"; the name is only used by the Jing ethnicity in China) is a Vietnamese stringed instrument, in the form of a monochord (o ...

''; she combines them in original ways that mix Western and Eastern, ancient and modern, and experimental and conventionally melodic sensibilities.Sullivan, Jack. "Elizabeth Brown, ''Mirage''," ''American Record Guide'', January/February 2014, p. 83.Gardner, Alexandra
"Sounds Heard: Blowing In The Wind (Flute Edition),"
''NewMusic USA'', September 17, 2013. Retrieved November 5, 2020.Hamilton, Andy. "Elizabeth Brown, ''Mirage''," ''Wire'', November 2013. Composer and critic

Robert Carl Robert Carl (born July 12, 1954 in Bethesda, Maryland) is an American composer who currently resides in Hartford, Connecticut. He was chair of the composition program at the Hartt School, University of Hartford. Music Carl studied with Jonathan ...

calls Brown a "gentle maverick" whose avant-gardism bends and subverts traditional tropes with an unironic, unpretentious manner "that is fresh and imaginative, but never afraid of beauty, nor of humane warmth."Carl, Robert. "2004 Want List," ''Fanfare'', November/December 2004, p. 104–5. As a multi-instrumentalist, Brown is best known for flute, shakuhachi and theremin. She has performed at

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

, Carnegie Hall, Symphony Hall in Boston, and the World Shakuhachi Festival (London), among other venues.Schweitzer, Vivien
"American Symphony Orchestra,"
''The New York Times'', January 28, 2008. Retrieved November 9, 2020.Boston Symphony Orchestra
"Musicians Performing During the 2017-2018 BSO Season."
Retrieved November 9, 2020.World Shakuhachi Festival
Concerts
2018. Retrieved November 9, 2020. Her music was recognized with a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

in 2007;John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Elizabeth Brown
Fellows. Retrieved November 3, 2020. she has also received awards from the

New York Foundation for the Arts The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) is an independent 501(c)(3) charity, funded through government, foundation, corporate, and individual support, established in 1971. It is part of a network of national not-for-profit arts organizations ...

New Music USA New Music USA is a new music organization formed by the merging of the American Music Center with Meet The Composer on November 8, 2011. The new organization retains the granting programs of the two former organizations as well as two media progra ...

, and composition competitions in Tokyo for traditional Japanese instrumentation, a rarity for a Westerner.New York Foundation for the Arts
"Directory of Artists’ Fellows & Finalists,"
2018. Retrieved November 3, 2020.New Music Online Library
"Elizabeth Brown."
Retrieved November 3, 2020.Carl, Robert
''Elizabeth Brown – Mirage'', liner notes
Brooklyn, NY: New World Records, 2013. Retrieved November 3, 2020. Brown lives in

Red Hook, New York Red Hook is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 9,953 at the time of the 2020 census, down from 11,319 in 2010. The name is supposedly derived from the red foliage on trees on a small strip of land on the H ...

in the Hudson Valley and is married to visual artist and frequent collaborator Lothar Osterburg.Ross, Alex
"The Power of Four: String quartets multiply across New York,"
''The New Yorker'', January 28, 2013. Retrieved November 3, 2020.Sheridan, Molly
"New York: Bright Lights, Small Farm-Elizabeth Brown’s Rural Electrification,"
''NewMusic USA'', May 26, 2006. Retrieved November 5, 2020.

Early life and career

Elizabeth Cecile Brown was born in 1953 in the small town of

Camden, Alabama Camden is a city in and the county seat of Wilcox County, Alabama, United States. The population was 1,927 at the 2020 census, down from 2,020 in 2010. History What is now Camden was established on property donated by Thomas Dunn from his p ...

and grew up on an agricultural research station and working farm there.Van Cleve, Libby
Elizabeth Brown
''Yale Oral History of American Music'', 2010. Retrieved November 3, 2020. Despite the area's cultural limitations, she studied piano, performed in church choirs and school bands, and took up the flute at age 16.Sheridan, Molly
"Slipping Through Memory: The Music of Elizabeth Brown,"
''NewMusic USA'', February 19, 2008. Retrieved November 5, 2020.West, Paul R
"Brown, Elizabeth,"
''Oxford Music Online''. Retrieved November 3, 2020. After a year at

University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bac ...

, she transferred to College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati (BM, 1975), studying with Robert Cavally. She subsequently moved to New York, finding work as a union usher at

—a three-year experience she considers foundational to her education—and was accepted into The

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

a year later. After studying under Samuel Baron and earning a degree in flute performance at Juilliard (MM, 1977), Brown established herself in New York's freelance performance community. She subbed at the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...

and

New Jersey Symphony Orchestra The New Jersey Symphony, formerly the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (NJSO), is an American symphony orchestra based in the state of New Jersey. The New Jersey Symphony is the state orchestra of New Jersey, performing classical subscription concer ...

, and toured with groups such as Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and Philharmonia Virtuosi, gaining notice in the ''New York Times'' and other publications for her technique and musicianship.de Marcellus, Juliette. "Hits of the 1700s Still Charming," ''Palm Beach Daily News'', July 26, 1979.White, Marion. "Concert of concertos 'refreshes,'" ''Greenwich News'', December 22, 1983.Kraglund, John. "Chamber series start triumphant," ''The Globe and Mail'' (Canada), November 26, 1984.Kozinn, Allan
"Lessons in Concert,"
''The New York Times'', November 28, 1998, p. C22. Retrieved November 3, 2020.Oestreich, James R

''The New York Times'', February 18, 1991, p. 18. Retrieved November 3, 2020. In the 1980s, as a member of a dance company, Gathering Wood, she began her composing career while in her late 20s, despite the lack of formal training in composition.Dunning, Jennifer

''The New York Times'', June 23, 1986, p. C12. Retrieved November 5, 2020.Teck, Katherine
''Music for the Dance: Reflections on a Collaborative Art''
Los Angeles: Greenwood Press/University of California, 1989. Retrieved November 5, 2020.Dunning, Jennifer

''The New York Times'', April 17, 1986. Retrieved November 5, 2020. While on an orchestra tour of Japan during this period, Brown discovered the shakuhachi, an ancient Japanese bamboo flute whose varied, subtle tones she has likened to the private music in her head. The instrument evokes nature and was traditionally played by mendicant

Zen Zen (; from Chinese: ''Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka phil ...

monks as a mode of meditation.Hoover, Joanne Sheehy. "Composer-in-residence premieres two works," ''Taos Journal'', May 30, 2001.Williams, Ryan. "Evoking the sounds of nature through music," ''Williams-Grand Canyon News'', April 20, 2011, p. 2B. After studying in the Kinko School tradition with Ralph Samuelson, and Mizuno Komei and Yamato Shudo in Japan, the instrument became a major influence on her musical language. In subsequent years, Brown learned the theremin—after seeing a documentary on the life of

Leon Theremin Lev Sergeyevich Termen ( 18963 November 1993), better known as Leon Theremin, was a Russian inventor, most famous for his invention of the theremin, one of the first electronic musical instruments and the first to be mass-produced. He also worke ...

in the mid-1990s—and the đàn bầu (Vietnamese monochord), traveling to Vietnam to study in 2000.Ernest, Dagney C
"A singular voice, in honor of one,"
''Courier-Gazette'' (Camden, ME), May 20, 2015. Retrieved November 9, 2020. She has incorporated all three instruments into her composing.

Composing

Brown's experience as a performer has shaped the way she composes. She gravitates toward instruments with distinctive, weightless timbres and the capacity for subtle inflections and wavering pitches, which glide in and out to blur or dissolve seemingly "normal" melodies and harmonies.Fischer, Tobias
"15 Questions to Elizabeth Brown,"
''Tokafi'', October 21, 2008. Retrieved November 3, 2020. As a result, her sound is often characterized as otherworldly, dreamlike and hallucinatory, whimsical, and sometimes, melancholy. Some writers compare her musical language to memory, with glimmers of thought emerging through microtonal expression, subtle textures, and unexpected recognizable sounds and musical references. Composer and critic

Kyle Gann Kyle Eugene Gann (born November 21, 1955, in Dallas, Texas) is an American composer, professor of music, critic, analyst, and musicologist who has worked primarily in the New York City area. As a music critic for ''The Village Voice'' (from 1986 ...

calls her approach a "smooth, introverted

surrealism Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

," blending stream-of-conscious non-sequiturs, strange conceits and quotations (of Classical, standards and folk music) into elegant wholes that draw listeners into complicity rather than provoking them. The ''American Record Guide'' writes that Brown combines "avant-garde gestures with open-hearted songfulness."

Flute and chamber music

Brown's flute compositions often employ an extended microtonal technique influenced by shakuhachi music and birdsong. The ''Los Angeles Times'' described her early piece "Augury" (1987, for flute and guitar) as a "mystical, quirky" work using simple tonal language, inventive guitar effects and dissonance; it won the

National Flute Association The National Flute Association (NFA) is an organization of flute players with roughly 5,000 members from more than 50 countries. It is an association in the United States with headquarters in Chicago, Illinois. The organization was founded in 1972 ...

’s (NFA) Newly Published Music Award in 1988.Wager, Gregg
"Music Reviews : Flute, Koto and Guitar Concert in Pasadena,"
''Los Angeles Times'', October 2, 1989. Retrieved November 5, 2020. The NFA later commissioned Brown to write a solo flute piece for its 2000 high school contest: "

Trillium ''Trillium'' (trillium, wakerobin, toadshade, tri flower, birthroot, birthwort, and sometimes "wood lily") is a genus of about fifty flowering plant species in the family Melanthiaceae. ''Trillium'' species are native to temperate regions of No ...

" (1999), a delicate, three-part work.Ford, Ronda Benson. "High School Soloist Competition: Elizabeth Brown's ''Trillium''," ''The Flutist Quarterly'', Winter 2008, p. 28. Several of Brown's flute compositions use pre-recorded sound to explore themes involving memory, sensation and place. The cinematic "Travelogue" (1995, performed and recorded by the quartet Flute Force) blends fluctuating melodies, Asian microtonalism, and modernist bent pitch and

multiphonic A multiphonic is an extended technique on a monophonic musical instrument (one that generally produces only one note at a time) in which several notes are produced at once. This includes wind, reed, and brass instruments, as well as the human ...

technique to evoke family car trips; its sonic suggestions of arguments, passing cars and a surreal carnival calliope mix humor, nostalgia, delicacy and occasional raucous energy.Bendheim, Anne. "Flute Force charms a sold-out house," ''Mobile Press Register'', February 14, 1996, p. 3-D.Williams, David. "Flute Force plays with inspiration," ''The Charleston Gazette'', February 15, 1999, p. 4D.Smith, Ken. "Flute Force, ''Eyewitness''," ''Gramophone'', August 2002.Buckley, Daniel. "Flute Force, ''Eyewitness''," ''Stereophile'', August 2002. In 2006, Brown joined Flute Force and together they premiered her "The

Baths of Caracalla The Baths of Caracalla () in Rome, Italy, were the city's second largest Ancient Rome, Roman public baths, or ''thermae'', after the Baths of Diocletian. The baths were likely built between AD 212 (or 211) and 216/217, during the reigns of empero ...

" (2007) at Carnegie's Weill Hall; the piece surrounds four alto flutes with pre-recorded theremin, flute and

psalter A psalter is a volume containing the Book of Psalms, often with other devotional material bound in as well, such as a liturgical calendar and litany of the Saints. Until the emergence of the book of hours in the Late Middle Ages, psalters were ...

whose dissonances, shrieks and slides represent the sights and sounds of the ancient Roman public baths. "Arcana" (2004, commissioned by Toby and

Itzhak Perlman Itzhak Perlman (; born August 31, 1945) is an Israeli-American violinist. He has performed worldwide and throughout the United States, in venues that have included a state dinner for Elizabeth II at the White House in 2007, and at the First ina ...

) features an Eastern-flavored flute accompanied by recorded theremin and "homemade" drones, creaks, and scratches that evoke tender (a toy shop or dollhouse) and slightly spooky themes (secrets, mysteries, elixirs, intrigue). Brown's first orchestral piece, "Lost Waltz" (1997), was commissioned by Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.Simon, Mark G. "Greater Goode," ''Ithaca Times'', November 24, 1997. Critics such as ''The New York Timess

Bernard Holland Bernard Peabody Holland, III (born 1933) is an American music critic. He served on the staff of ''The New York Times'' from 1981 until 2008 and held the post of chief music critic from 1995, contributing 4,575 articles to the newspaper. He then b ...

compare its approach to

Charles Ives Charles Edward Ives (; October 20, 1874May 19, 1954) was an American modernist composer, actuary and businessman. Ives was among the earliest renowned American composers to achieve recognition on a global scale. His music was largely ignored d ...

and the repetitive phrases of Janacek, while noting Brown's characteristic "clouds of unreconciled fragments" (e.g., a stray, poignant passage of "

Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" is a song composed by Allie Wrubel with lyrics by Ray Gilbert for the Disney 1946 live action and animated movie ''Song of the South'', sung by James Baskett. For "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah", the film won the Academy Award for Best ...

" on clarinet). ''Newsday'' likened its sound to "a ballroom in

Atlantis Atlantis () is a fictional island mentioned in Plato's works '' Timaeus'' and ''Critias'' as part of an allegory on the hubris of nations. In the story, Atlantis is described as a naval empire that ruled all Western parts of the known world ...

rquickly flowing water: attractive, allusive, even poetic."Davidson, Justin. "The Sound of Success," ''Newsday'', November 28, 1997. The recording ''Blue Minor: Chamber Music by Elizabeth Brown'' (2003) contains five of Brown's flute compositions in chamber music contexts, including "Acadia" (1999), "Blue Minor" (2001), "The Memory Palace" (1990) and "Liguria" (1999), the latter commissioned for the New York New Music Ensemble.Kozinn, Allan
"Works From Different Eras, but All Rife With Conflicts,"
''The New York Times'', May 10, 1993, p. C14. Retrieved November 3, 2020.Pasles, Chris. "N.Y. New Music Ensemble in Local Premieres of Works," ''Los Angeles Times'', May 13, 1993, p. F12. Retrieved November 3, 2020. The fifth piece, "Figures in a Landscape" (1995) opens with harmonies recalling

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

, before creating what Kyle Gann calls "an inescapably eerie scene" by juxtaposing a straight-pitched piano with a wavering violin line like "a warped 78 rpm record."

Compositions for traditional Japanese instruments

Brown has composed many pieces that build on Japanese traditions while diverging in arrangement, orchestration, melodic twists or harmonic progressions.Elizabeth Brown website
Pieces with Shakuhachi or Traditional Japanese Instruments
Retrieved November 9, 2020.Elizabeth Brown website
Concerto for Dan Bau and Chamber Orchestra
Retrieved November 9, 2020. Several works—some created during national park residencies—exploit the shakuhachi's ability to evoke specific natural settings; these include "Acadia" (shakuhachi and flute), "Shakuhachi Duos from

Isle Royale Isle Royale (, ) is an Islands of the Great Lakes, island of the Great Lakes located in the northwest of Lake Superior and part of the U.S. state of Michigan. The island and the 450 surrounding smaller islands and waters make up Isle Royale Na ...

" (2005, evoking sound moving across Lake Superior), and "Afterimage" (2011, inspired by the

Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a mile (). The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon Nati ...

). The earlier "Hermit Thrush" (1991, shakuhachi) and "The Secret Life of Birds" (1992, flute and koto) use birdsong as inspiration.Ulrich, Allan. "David Tanenbaum—unplugged," ''San Francisco Examiner'', 1992. Brown's first shakuhachi composition, "Migration" (1990), combines the instrument with a string trio in a dreamlike, spare sonic landscape that recalls traditional Japanese music and theater while retaining a sense of European melody and harmony; reviews suggest the work, a memorial to a friend, evokes both familiar and alien, tragedy and transcendence.Greenberg, Mike. "Concert Review: Camerata's 'Migration' deeply moving," ''San Antonio Express-News'', April 13, 2006.Kosman, Joshua. "Getting Down to New-Music Basics," ''San Francisco Chronicle'', June 14, 1992. Two pieces on Brown's recording ''Mirage'' (2013) won Japanese composition competition prizes. "Mirage" (2008; Senzoku Gakuen shakuhachi competition prize) integrates Brown's western training and eastern practice with an iconic shakuhachi riff answered by a string quartet and gentle waltz.Bayley, Lynn René. "Elizabeth Brown, ''Mirage''," ''Fanfare'', November/December 2013. "Shinshoufuukei (An Imagined Landscape)" (2010; Makino Yutaka Grand Prize for traditional Japanese instruments, 2011) is a four-movement work using a traditional Japanese orchestra in a nontraditional way; it is a somewhat austere and atypical work for Brown, exploring themes of contemplation, focused attention and longing with meditative, but insistent action driven by percussion rhythms.

Partch instrument works

Brown composed several works for the original microtonal instruments of American composer and inventor Harry Partch, performed internationally by Dean Drummond and Newband.Kerner, Leighton. "New Band," ''Village Voice'', June 18, 1996, p. 7.Brown, Elizabeth
"Incredible Time (to live and die): Remembering Dean Drummond,"
'' NewMusic USA'', April 23, 2013. Retrieved November 9, 2020. "Archipelago" (1990) imposes a lyrical cello line over a hazy, multi-instrumental microtonal texture, balancing poetry, detail and the uncommon.Ross, Alex

''The New York Times'', April 3, 1993, p. 16. Retrieved November 5, 2020.Silverton, Mike. "Newband," ''Fanfare'', May/June 1997, p. 336. "Delirium" (1997) challenges listeners with quietly playful, segueing quotations from "

Oh! Susanna "Oh! Susanna" is a folk song by Stephen Foster (1826–1864), first published in 1848. It is among the most popular American songs ever written. Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time. ...

" and

Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''. , group=n ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...

's ''

Peter and the Wolf ''Peter and the Wolf'' ( rus, Петя и волк, Pétya i volk, p=ˈpʲetʲə i volk) Op. 67, a "symphonic tale for children", is a Program music , programmatic musical composition written by Sergei Prokofiev in 1936. The narrator tells a ...

''. The hallucinatory "Seahorse" (2008, also on ''Mirage'') contrasts the propulsive physicality of Partch instruments with Brown's ethereal, floating theremin, evoking the title creature's marine odysseys with throbbing and wheezing, underwater-like sounds.Van Waes, Gerald. "Elizabeth Brown, ''Mirage''," ''Psychefolk'', 2013.

Compositions for theremin

Brown purchased a Moog Etherwave theremin in 1999; like the shakuhachi and đàn bầu, the instrument's flexible pitch and bending tones create an unearthly vocal quality. Critics distinguish Brown's flute-influenced theremin playing for its subtlety, lyricism and serious artistic intent, in contrast to its frequent use as a novelty instrument. Individual theremin works include "Beatitudes" (2003), "Arcana," "Seahorse," and "Atlantis" (2007, also on ''Mirage''),Elizabeth Brown website
Pieces with Theremin
Retrieved November 9, 2020. whose expressively deformed, liquid-like sound (blended theremin and acoustic slide guitar) reviews have likened to "submerged"

Segovia Segovia ( , , ) is a city in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Segovia. Segovia is located in the Meseta central, Inner Pl ...

or Albéniz. In 2006, Brown premiered the staged chamber opera ''Rural Electrification'' (for voice, theremin and recorded sound) at Brooklyn's Old American Can Factory.Curtis, Lisa J
It's electric,"
''The Brooklyn Paper'', May 19, 2006. Retrieved August 10, 2020.Tudor, Silke
"Electric Dreams,"
''The Village Voice'', July 18, 2006. Retrieved November 5, 2020. A meditation on progress and labor exploring the effects of the advent of electricity on a young rural woman, it was inspired by Brown's Mississippi farming predecessors and historic pamphlets distributed by the Alabama Power Company. The opera featured a duet between soprano vocals (by performance artist Stephanie Skaff) and Brown's cello-like theremin (which mixes in riffs from "

Old MacDonald Had a Farm "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" (sometimes shortened to Old MacDonald) is a traditional children's song and nursery rhyme about a farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The ter ...

" and "

You Are My Sunshine "You Are My Sunshine" is an American standard of old-time and country music and the state song of Louisiana. Its original writer is disputed. According to the performance rights organization BMI, by the year 2000 the song had been recorded by ...

," addressed to a light bulb); they are augmented by field recordings of birds, wind, crickets, creaking wood and clanking metal, and video projections of rustic, rural scenes created by artist Lothar Osterburg. Brown has created theremin works for several multimedia/performance collaborations with Osterburg, including " Piranesi" (2007), "A Bookmobile for Dreamers" (2011), and "Babel" (2019).Hoge, John
"A Bookmobile for Dreamers – chamber theremin opera,"
''Theremin World'', April 11, 2012. Retrieved November 5, 2020. "Piranesi" (theremin and string quartet) blends expressive, microtonal vibrato and the high octave and rare lowest register of the theremin to create airy, eerie patterns; Robert Carl compares its color and texture to

Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

. ''A Bookmobile for Dreamers'' (theremin and recorded sound) is a video/opera exploring reading, libraries, culture and imagination through a dialogue between Brown's dreamlike playing and the rambling title vehicle, rendered in Osterburg's whimsical style.NewMusic USA
"A Bookmobile for Dreamers,"
April 2013. Retrieved November 5, 2020. Other theremin works include "Arboretum" (2013) and "To Walk Humbly" (2014), a memorial to Vietnam War veteran and peace advocate Colonel

Robert Rheault Robert Bradley Rheault (October 31, 1925 – October 16, 2013) was an American soldier in the U.S. Army Special Forces who served as commander of the First Special Forces Group in Okinawa, and the Fifth Special Forces Group in Vietnam from Ma ...

Performance and collaborations

Brown has performed on flute with the

American Composers Orchestra The American Composers Orchestra (ACO) is an American orchestra administratively based in New York City, specialising in contemporary American music. The ACO gives concerts at various concert venues in New York City, including: * Zankel Hall at ...

, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonia Virtuosi, and Momenta Quartet, among others. She has played theremin with Newband, the

American Symphony Orchestra The American Symphony Orchestra is a New York–based American orchestra founded in 1962 by Leopold Stokowski whose mission is to demystify orchestral music and make it accessible and affordable for all audiences. Leon Botstein is the orchestra ...

at Lincoln Center, the

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

at Symphony Hall, and at Carnegie Hall. She has also played shakuhachi with the

New York City Opera The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through its 2013 bankruptcy, and again since 2016 when it was revived. The opera company, dubbed "the peopl ...

, Kohei Nishikawa, Ralph Samuelson, Issui Minegishi, and Momenta Quartet.Schweitzer, Vivien
"Music in Review,"
''The New York Times'', February 16, 2011, p. C3. Retrieved November 5, 2020.The International Shakuhachi Society
Ralph Samuelson
People. Retrieved November 9, 2020. In addition to her work with Lothar Osterburg, Brown has collaborated with artist

Lorie Novak Lorie Novak (born 1954) is an American artist and educator. Biography Novak is professor of Photography and Imaging at NYU Tisch School of the Arts and Associate Faculty at the Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics. She is known ...

on the multimedia installations ''Collected Visions'' (1992, 2000), which explore female identity, memory and intergenerationality through projected photographs and music.Bowles, K. Johnson. "An Engaging, Evocative Ethereal Journey," ''Spot'', Fall 1993, p. 12.Chadwick, Susan. "Exhibit makes strong statement on womanhood," ''The Houston Post'', May 12, 1993, p. D-3.Willis, Deborah and Jane Lusaka. ''Imagining Families: images and voices'', Washington, DC: National African American Museum, Smithsonian Institution Project, 1994.Novak, Lorie
Collected Visions
Retrieved November 9, 2020. For the ''AIDS Quilt Songbook'', she set

Marie Howe Marie Howe (born 1950) is an American poet. Howe served as Poets Laureate of New York, New York Poet Laureate from 2012–2016. She is currently a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets and Poet-in-Residence at Cathedral of St. John the Di ...

's poem ''A Certain Light'' to music (for baritone and piano) in 1992.Gelbert, Bruce-Michael. "Songs for an Epidemic," ''New York Native'', 1992.Holland, Bernard
"The Whole Surpassing Its Parts,"
''The New York Times'', June 6, 1992, p. 13. Retrieved November 3, 2020.

Recognition and awards

Brown has received a Guggenheim Fellowship (2007), New York Foundation for the Arts fellowships (1992, 2000), and Composers Assistance Program Grants from

(1994, 2008, 2011). In addition to composition prizes in Japan, she won an Ether Music prize for an original work for theremin in 2005.''Mix''
"Moog’s Ether Music Festival Contest Winner Announced,"
September 7. 2005. Retrieved November 9, 2020. In 2004, she was awarded recording grants by the Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust and Aaron Copland Fund. Brown has received composer residencies from

Montclair State University Montclair State University (MSU) is a public research university in Montclair, New Jersey, with parts of the campus extending into Clifton and into Little Falls. As of fall 2018, Montclair State was, by enrollment, the second largest public un ...

Bravo! Vail Bravo! Vail is an annual classical music festival held in Vail, Colorado. Its current artistic director is Anne-Marie McDermott. Overview The six-week-long festival begins in late June and ends in early August. Programming consists of chamber mus ...

Valley Music Festival, and Cape and Islands Chamber Music Festival, among others,Montclair State University
"Composer-performer Elizabeth Brown joins faculty as composer-in-residence."
Retrieved November 9, 2020.Freud, Chris. "Premiere night at Bravo!," ''Vail Daily'', July 17, 2001, p. B1. and artist residencies at the Hanoi National Conservatory of Music, Bellagio Center (

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...

), Bogliasco Foundation,

MacDowell Colony MacDowell is an artist's residency program in Peterborough, New Hampshire. The program was founded in 1907 by composer Edward MacDowell and his wife, pianist and philanthropist Marian MacDowell. Prior to July 2020, it was known as the MacDo ...

, and several national parks.Bogliasco Foundation
Fellows
Retrieved November 9, 2020.Lublin, Joann S
"Nurturing Innovation,"
''The Wall Street Journal'', March 20, 2006, p. B1, B5. Retrieved November 5, 2020. She has received commissions from New Music USA,

Electronic Music Foundation Electronic Music Foundation (EMF) is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization that produces events, publishes and disseminates media and information, and provides access to materials relevant to the history and creative potential of electronic music ...

, Music from Japan,

Fromm Music Foundation Paul Fromm (September 28, 1906 – July 4, 1987) was a Jewish Chicago wine merchant and performing arts patron through the Fromm Music Foundation. The ''Organum for Paul Fromm'' was composed by John Harbison in his honor. Early life Born in Kitz ...

, Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra, and many musical ensembles, among others.NewMusic USA
"Sound & Appliqué Commissions,"
Projects, 2020. Retrieved November 9, 2020.Fromm Music Foundation
Elizabeth C. Brown
People. Retrieved November 9, 2020.New Music Online Library
Harmonia
Composition. Retrieved November 9, 2020.

Discography

*''Elizabeth Brown: Mirage'', New World Records (2013)Brown, Elizabeth
''Mirage''
New York: DRAM, 2013. Retrieved November 9, 2020. *''Blue Minor: Chamber Music by Elizabeth Brown'', Albany Records (2003)Brown, Elizabeth
''Blue Minor: Chamber Music by Elizabeth Brown''
Albany, NY: Albany Records, 2003. Retrieved November 9, 2020. *''The Universal Flute'', Ralph Samuelson, Innova (2016) – "Afterimage"Samuelson, Ralph
''The Universal Flute''
St. Paul: Innova, 2016. Retrieved November 9, 2020. *''Emergency Music'' (Bang on a Can Live Vol. II ), Various artists, Composers Recordings, Inc. (1993) – "Migration"Bang on a Can
''Emergency Music'' (Bang on a Can Live Vol. II )
New York: Composers Recordings, Inc., 1993. Retrieved November 9, 2020. *''The Aids Quilt Songbook'', Harmonia Mundi (1994) – "A Certain Light"Harmonia Mundi
''The AIDS quilt songbook''
France: Harmonia Mundi, 1994. Retrieved November 9, 2020. *''Dance of the Seven Veils'', Newband (1996) – "Archipelago"Newband
''Dance of the Seven Veils''
Hong Kong: Music and Arts, 1996. Retrieved November 9, 2020. *''eyewitness'', Flute Force, Innova (2002) – "Travelogue"Flute Force
''eyewitness''
St. Paul: Innova, 2002. Retrieved November 9, 2020.