Patricia Van Ness (born 1951) is an American composer living in

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, U.S.A. She is also the Staff Composer for First Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Van Ness's work draws upon elements of medieval and Renaissance music. She primarily composes vocal music, and has received especial acclaim for her work for women's voices. Her works have been commissioned and performed around the world, including by

The King's Singers The King's Singers are a British a cappella vocal ensemble founded in 1968. They are named after King's College in Cambridge, England, where the group was formed by six choral scholars. In the United Kingdom, their popularity peaked in the ...

(UK), the Heidelberg New Music Festival Ensemble
Renaissance Men
Chanticleer, and the Mannerquartett Schnittpunktvokal (Austria), in the Celebrity Series in Boston, at the

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Festival Orchestra, and by Peter Sykes,

Coro Allegro Coro Allegro is a classical chorus based in Boston, Massachusetts, and draws its members from the LGBTQ+ and allied community. It was founded in 1991. Profile and performances Coro Allegro was founded specifically to be a chorus of both gay men ...

, and the Harvard University Choir. Van Ness has received numerous awards and grants, including the 2011 Daniel Pinkham Award from Coro Allegro. Her nine-movement work "Nine Orders of the Angels" was included by the ensemble Tapestry on their recording "Sapphire Night," which received Europe's prestigious 2005

Echo Klassik The Echo Klassik, often stylized as ECHO Klassik, was Germany's major classical music award in 22 categories. The award, presented by the , was held annually, usually in October or September, separate from its parent award, the Echo Music Prize ...

Prize.

Chamber Music America Chamber Music America (CMA) is an American non-profit organization that provides small ensemble professionals with access to a variety of professional development, networking, and funding resources. CMA's regular initiatives include grants, awards, ...

awarded "Album of the Year" to Tapestry's The Fourth River, which contained two of Van Ness's works. Her commissions include works for women's voices ("Nine Orders of the Angels," premiered by Tapestry, 1996; "May We Live In Peace," premiered by Boston Landmarks Orchestra, 2003), men's voices ("The Phoenix," commissioned by the

Boston Athenaeum Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and financial center of New England, a region of the Northeastern United States. It has an area of and a ...

, 2002), and mixed choir ("The Voice of the Tenth Muse," premiered by Coro Allegro, 1998). Her music has been included on recordings by Chanticleer, Coro Allegro, the Harvard University Choir, The King's Singers, Tapestry, The Choir of First Church Cambridge, Mannerquartet Schnittpunktvokal, and the

Radcliffe Choral Society The Radcliffe Choral Society (RCS) is a 60-voice treble choral ensemble at Harvard University. Founded in 1899, it is one of the country's oldest soprano-alto choruses and one of its most prominent collegiate choirs. With the tenor-bass Harvard ...

. Prior to her work in choral music, Patricia (then known as Patti), was a violinist and vocalist with the Boston-based rock ban
Private Lightning
which released one album on

A&M Records A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and functions as a branch of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscope-Geffen-A&M. Established in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, the label initially operated independent ...

in 1980.

References

External links

http://www.patriciavanness.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Ness, Patricia Living people 1951 births Musicians from Cambridge, Massachusetts 21st-century American composers