Biography
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
Brief bio
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.
EXTREMITY OF SKY
(Piano Concerto):
“...a ferocious, kaleidoscopic, confounding, richly-hued concerto...”
-Jayson Greene,
League of
American Orchestras
Championed early on by Daniel Barenboim, Wagner has received three commissions from the Chicago Symphony; the most recent of these, Proceed, Moon, is to be premiered by the CSO under the baton of Susanna Mälkki in 2017. Other recent performances have come from the American Composers Orchestra, the United States Marine Band, BMOP, the American Brass Quintet, the Empyrean Ensemble, and the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society.
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 Wellesley Composers Conference, 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
LITTLE MOONHEAD:
“...a tour de force... bracingly lucid...”
-Alex Ross, The New Yorker
Artist Statement
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
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
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
*transcription for percussion, timpani, and wind ensemble
57/7 Dash
(2003) overture for percussion, timpani, and orchestra | commissioned by Skitch Henderson and the New York Pops
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
*Publication pending
LITTLE MOONHEAD
“...expertly constructed with vivid orchestration, and virtuoso solo writing...”
-Victor Carr, Jr., ClassicsToday.com
SOLO and CHAMBER
*Elegy Flywheel
(2020) for clarinet, violin, cello, double bass, piano, and percussion | commissioned by the New York Philharmonic as part of the Project 19 series
*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
(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
ca 14 minutes
Scritch
(2009) for oboe and string quartet | commissioned by the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble and the Empyrean Ensemble
08:42
Little Moonhead
(2008) in three movements | for solo violin and chamber orchestra | Commissioned by the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
13:18
Pan Journal
(2009) for harp and string quartet | commissioned by the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society for Elizabeth Hainen and the Juilliard String Quartet
13:08
Concertino
(2005) for harpsichord and string quintet | commissioned by the Vail Valley Music Festival
Four Settings
(2004) song-cycle for soprano and mixed ensemble | commissioned by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
ca 21 minutes
Romanze with Faux Variations
(2003) for piano trio | commissioned by the Network for New Music
12:39
Brass Quintet No. 1
(2000) in three movements | commissioned by the American Brass Quintet
ca 14 minutes
Wick
(2000) for flute, clarinet, violin, 'cello, piano, and percussion | commissioned by the New York New Music Ensemble
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
12:00
Sextet
(1989) in three movements for flute, clarinet, violin, viola, ‘cello, and piano | commissioned by the Society for New Music
13:00
*Publication pending
VOCAL and CHORAL
Tell It Slant
(2019) cantata for mixed choir, five soloists, and small ensemble | commissioned by the North Carolina New Music Initiative (East Carolina University)
Four Settings
(2004) song-cycle for soprano and mixed ensemble | commissioned by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
ca 21 minutes
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
Ancient Music
S.A.T.B. A Capella
4:00
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
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
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
VOCAL and CHORAL
FOUR SETTINGS
(2004) song-cycle for soprano and mixed ensemble
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