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CONCERTO FOR TROMBONE AND ORCHESTRA:

“...Ms. Wagnerʼs piece practically leapt off the stage, so vital and fresh did it sound...”

– Anne Midgette, New York Times

Biography

Celebrated as an “...eloquent, poetic voice in contemporary music...” [American Record Guide], Melinda Wagner’s esteemed catalog of works embodies music of exceptional beauty, power, and intelligence. Wagner received widespread attention when her colorful Concerto for Flute, Strings and Percussion earned her the Pulitzer Prize in 1999. Since then, major works have included Concerto for Trombone, for Joseph Alessi and the New York Philharmonic, a piano concerto, Extremity of Sky, commissioned by the Chicago Symphony for Emanuel Ax, and Little Moonhead, composed for the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, as part of its popular “New Brandenburgs” project.

Noted for its “...prismatic colors and...lithe sense of mystery...” [Washington Post], Extremity of Sky has been performed by Emanuel Ax with the National Symphony (on tour), the Toronto and Kansas City Symphonies, and the Staatskapelle Berlin.

Championed early on by Daniel Barenboim, Wagner has received three commissions from the Chicago Symphony; the most recent of these, Proceed, Moon, was premiered under the baton of Susanna Mälkki in 2017. Other recent performances have come from the Philadelphia Orchestra, the American Composers Orchestra, the United States Marine Band, BMOP, the American Brass Quintet, the Empyrean Ensemble, and the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society.

EXTREMITY OF SKY
(Piano Concerto):

“...a ferocious, kaleidoscopic, confounding, richly-hued concerto...”

-Jayson Greene,
League of
American Orchestras

Among honors Wagner has received is a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, and awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and ASCAP. Wagner was given an honorary doctorate from Hamilton College, and a Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Pennsylvania in 2003. Melinda Wagner was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2017.

A passionate and inspiring teacher, Melinda Wagner has given master classes at many fine institutions across the United States, including Harvard, Yale, Eastman, Juilliard, and UC Davis. She has held faculty positions at Brandeis University and Smith College, and has served as a mentor at the Atlantic Center for the Arts, the Atlantic Music Festival, and Yellow Barn. Ms. Wagner currently serves on the faculty of the Juilliard School of Music.

LITTLE MOONHEAD:

“...a tour de force... bracingly lucid...”

-Alex Ross, The New Yorker

Artist Statement

DIDO REIMAGINED

“...By Summer, the fifth movement, Dido has become one with nature, in Fleischmann's most gorgeous imagery and Wagner's lyrical, soaring vocal lines as Dido is transformed.”

-Opera News

In the composer’s own words:

 

Music offers composers an immeasurably rich and generous sonic landscape in which to explore the “life story” of each musical idea - its dramas, intrigues, joys and sorrows - a life.

 

I strive to find various and persuasive ways of moving through the resulting temporal narrative, and to traverse a wide spectrum of expression and color on the way.

 

Ultimately, I want listeners to know me; I want them to hear that while I enjoy the cerebral exercise, I am led principally by my ear, and by my heart.

Interviews

It's Just Who I am:

Interview with Newmusicbox. Video and transcription.

CONCERTO FOR TROMBONE AND ORCHESTRA

"...strewn with emotive power..."

- Steve Ritter, 

Classical CD Review

Two Conversations with Bruce Duffie

Interview with Bruce Duffie

works

Works

ORCHESTRAL AND LARGE ENSEMBLE

Proceed, Moon

(2016) for orchestra | commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Little Moonhead

(2009) in three movements for solo violin and chamber orchestra | commissioned by The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra

Scamp

(2008) for wind ensemble | comissioned by "The President's Own" United States Marine Band

Concerto for Trombone and Orchestra

(2006) in three movement | commissioned by the New York Philharmonic for Joseph Alessi

57/7 Dash

(2003) overture for percussion, timpani, and orchestra | commissioned by Skitch Henderson and the New York Pops

57/7 Dash

(2003) transcription for wind ensemble

Extremity of Sky

(2002) in four movements; concerto for piano and orchestra | commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for Emanuel Ax

Concerto for Flute, Strings and Percussion

(1998) in three movements | commissioned by Paul Dunkel and the Westchester Philharmonic

Falling Angels

(1993) for orchestra | commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra

*Please contact Melinda Wagner for more information

SOLO and CHAMBER

Witness Tree

(2021) for violin and piano

Hushing Song

(2022) for solo cello

*Dido Reimagined

(2020) for soprano and string quartet | commissioned by Dawn Upshaw and the Brentano String Quartet

*Elegy Flywheel

(2019) for clarinet, violin, cello, double bass, percussion, and piano | commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, Jaap van Zweden, Music Director

CONCERTO FOR TROMBONE AND ORCHESTRA

“With this excellent and challenging work, Melinda Wagner has given us a wonderful piece...”

-Philip Brink,

International Trombone Association Journal

*Willowspeak

(2019) miniature; for violin, cello, and piano | commissioned by the Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra

*In a Country Once Forested

(2018) for baritone, flute, clarinet, violin, viola, cello, and piano | commissioned by Electric Earth as part of the larger, collaborative work, A Forest Unfolding

Unsung Chordata

Winner of the 2019 NFA Award for Newly Published Works | (2017) in three movements | for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, percussion and piano | commissioned by Boston Musica Viva

My Tioga

(2014) in four movements | for string quartet | commissioned by the Ciompi String Quartet

15:00

Noggin

(2012) in four movements | for solo piano | cCommissioned through the Anthony Checchia Composers Project by the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society

Scritch

(2009) for oboe and string quartet | commissioned by the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble and the Empyrean Ensemble

ca 14 minutes
8:42
13:18
13:08

Little Moonhead

(2008) in three movements | for solo violin and chamber orchestra | Commissioned by the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra

Pan Journal

(2009) for harp and string quartet | commissioned by the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society for Elizabeth Hainen and the Juilliard String Quartet

Concertino

(2005) for harpsichord and string quintet | commissioned by the Vail Valley Music Festival

Pan Journal

(2009) for harp and string quartet | commissioned by the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society for Elizabeth Hainen and the Juilliard String Quartet

Four Settings

(2004) song-cycle for soprano and mixed ensemble | commissioned by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

Romanze with Faux Variations

(2003) for piano trio | commissioned by the Network for New Music

ca 21 minutes
12:39

Brass Quintet No. 1

(2000) in three movements | commissioned by the American Brass Quintet

Wick

(2000) for flute, clarinet, violin, 'cello, piano, and percussion | commissioned by the New York New Music Ensemble

ca 14 minutes
15:52

Tintinnabulum

(2000) for solo piano | commissioned by Orchestra 2001

Arabesque

2000 for solo guitar | commissioned by David Starobin

Wing and Prayer

(1996) for clarinet, ‘cello, piano, and percussion | commissioned by the New York Music Teachers Association

Sextet

(1989) in three movements for flute, clarinet, violin, viola, ‘cello, and piano | commissioned by the Society for New Music

12:00
13:00
*Please contact Melinda Wagner for more information

VOCAL and CHORAL

*Dido Reimagined

(2020) for soprano and string quartet | commissioned by Dawn Upshaw and the Brentano String Quartet

Four Settings

(2004) song-cycle for soprano and mixed ensemble | commissioned by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

ca 21 minutes

Tell It Slant

(2019) cantata for mixed choir, five soloists, and small ensemble | commissioned by the North Carolina New Music Initiative (East Carolina University)

From a Book of Early Prayers

(2003) for SATB choir | commissioned by the Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research at St. John’s Abbey

6:55
4:00

Ancient Music

S.A.T.B. A Capella

works-vocal

Selected Recordings

ORCHESTRAL and LARGE ENSEMBLE

LITTLE MOONHEAD

(2008) in three movements

SCAMP

(2008) for wind ensemble

CONCERTO for TROMBONE and ORCHESTRA

(2006) in three movements

EXTREMITY of SKY

(2002) in four movements

CONCERTO for FLUTE, STRINGS and PERCUSSION 

(1998) in three movements

EXTREMITY OF SKY
(Piano Concerto):

“Far and away the best music of the night came with Melinda Wagnerʼs ʻExtremity of Sky,ʼ a concerto... that melds high modernism with prismatic color and romantic fancy...”

-Tim Page, Washington Post

SOLO and CHAMBER

UNSUNG CHORDATA

(2017) in three movements 

NOGGIN

(2012) in four movements | for solo piano

SCRITCH

(2009) for oboe and string quartet

LITTLE MOONHEAD

(2008) in three movements

TELL IT SLANT

(2019) cantata for mixed choir, five soloists, and small ensemble 

FOUR SETTINGS

(2004)  song-cycle for soprano and mixed ensemble

ARABESQUE

(2000)  for solo guitar

VOCAL and CHORAL

FOUR SETTINGS

(2004)  song-cycle for soprano and mixed ensemble

listen-solo
listen-vocal

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CONTACT US

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