Amy Scurria (born September 24, 1973) is an American composer.

Biography

Amy Scurria was born into a military family and showed an early interest in music, memorizing the piano assignments of her sister Jackie. At age 11 she took lessons under the

Suzuki method The Suzuki method is a music curriculum and teaching philosophy dating from the mid-20th century, created by Japanese violinist and pedagogue Shinichi Suzuki (1898–1998). The method aims to create an environment for learning music which para ...

and began composing. Scurria graduated from

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, in 1995 with a bachelor's degree in composition. In 1998 she received a master's degree in composition from

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

. She completed her doctoral degree in 2015 from

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county *Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...

. Dr. Scurria has also studied at La Schola Cantorum in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Teachers she studied with include:

Chen Yi Chen Yi may refer to: * Xuanzang (602–664), born as Chen Yi, Chinese Buddhist monk in Tang Dynasty * Chen Yi (Kuomintang) (1883–1950), Chief Executive of Taiwan Province * Chen Yi (marshal) (1901–1972), Chinese Communist Party military comman ...

, Robert Sirota, Narcis Bonet, Anthony Kelley, and

Stephen Jaffe Stephen Jaffe (born December 30, 1954, in Washington, D.C.newsobserver.com
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. Her compositions have been performed in the United States, England, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, France, and Japan. She was a composer-in-residence at Shepherd College in Shepherdstown,

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

, in 2001.

Personal life

In 2004, Amy Scurria married Zane Corriher. They have a daughter, Lily, who is also a composer.

Honors and awards

* Duke University Evan Frankel Fellowship Recipient * Duke University Aleane Webb Dissertation Research Award * Duke University Summer Research Fellowship Recipient * 1991 Northern Virginia Composition Competition * 1998 Haddonfeld Young Composers' Competition * ASCAP Award Recipient, 1999–present * Winner of Haddonfield Young Composers Competition for ''Beyond All Walking'', 1998 * Music highlighted at National Convention for Women in the Arts, Rice University, 1996 * Winner of N. VA Composition Competition, 1990 * Superior rating in National and State Piano Guild, 1988–91

Works

Selected works include: * ''Beyond All Walking'' for Full Orchestra, (1998) * ''A Prayer'' for SATB Choir, (1999) * ''And He Shall Be Like a Tree'' for SATB Choir and Organ/Piano, (2000) * ''We Are Met at Gettysburg'' for full orchestra (2003) with Steve Heitzeg * ''Adaptations'' (2007) * ''La Loba'' (2008) * ''Tiamat'' (2008) * ''Something Borrowed, Something Blue'' (2008) * ''What the Soul Remembers'' (2009) * ''Esperanza Rising'' (2009) * ''Pearl: An Opera in Two Acts'' (2015)

References

External links

Amy Scurria's page at Theodore Presser CompanyAmy Scurria's ''Wilson's Aria 2'' from YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scurria, Amy 1973 births Living people 20th-century classical composers American women classical composers American classical composers American music educators American women music educators Rice University alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni Duke University alumni 20th-century American women musicians 20th-century American composers 21st-century American women musicians 20th-century women composers 21st-century American composers 21st-century classical composers 21st-century women composers Shepherd University faculty