Ann Loomis Silsbee (21 July 1930 - 28 August 2003) was an American composer and poet who composed two operas, published three books of poetry, and received several awards, commissions, and fellowships. Silsbee was born in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, Massachusetts. She earned a bachelor's degree from

Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and functioned as the female coordinate institution for the all-male Harvard College. Considered founded in 1879, it was one of the Seven Sisters colleges and he ...

, a master's in music from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

, and a doctor of musical arts in composition from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

. She studied with

Irving Fine Irving Gifford Fine (December 3, 1914 – August 23, 1962) was an American composer. Fine's work assimilated neoclassical, romantic, and serial elements. Composer Virgil Thomson described Fine's "unusual melodic grace" while Aaron Copland noted ...

, Earl George, and

Karel Husa Karel Husa (August 7, 1921 – December 14, 2016) was a Czech-born classical composer and conductor, winner of the 1969 Pulitzer Prize for Music and 1993 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition. In 1954, he emigrated to t ...

, and in Paris with unspecified teachers. Her dissertation was on a composition by

Peter Maxwell Davies Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (8 September 1934 – 14 March 2016) was an English composer and conductor, who in 2004 was made Master of the Queen's Music. As a student at both the University of Manchester and the Royal Manchester College of Music ...

called ''Stone Litany''. While at Cornell, she attended a poetry seminar led by Archibald Randolph (A.R.) Ammons, whose poetry she would later set to music. She married Robert Silsbee, a physicist who taught at Cornell, and they had three sons, Doug, David, and Peter. In 1964, Silsbee's work ''River'' was performed at the Ferienkurs fuer Neue Musik in Darmstadt, Germany. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, she taught at the State University of Cortland (New York) and at Cornell University. In the early 2000s, she hosted several poetry groups and retreats. Her awards, commissions, and fellowships included:

Awards

*Burge Eastman Prize *

Society for New Music The Society for New Music (SNM) is a contemporary classical music organization based in Syracuse, New York. SNM presents concerts devoted entirely to contemporary music, funds commissions, produces recordings and presents awards to young composers. ...

Commissions

*First Street Playhouse, New York *TROIKA Association, Ithaca, New York

Fellowships

*Composers Conference, Vermont *Composer Fellowship Grant,

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

Yaddo Yaddo is an artists' community located on a estate in Saratoga Springs, New York. Its mission is "to nurture the creative process by providing an opportunity for artists to work without interruption in a supportive environment.". On March ...

Residency 1979 Silsbee served on the boards of the

American Composers Alliance The American Composers Alliance (ACA) is an American nonprofit composer service organization dedicated to the publishing and promoting of American contemporary classical music. Founded in 1937 by Aaron Copland, Milton Adolphus, Marion Bauer and oth ...

(ACA) and the International League of Women Composers. Her papers are archived at Cornell University. Her works were recorded commercially on the LPs TURNA TV 34704 and NORTH NR 221, and published by the ACA. They include:

Books

*''Book of Ga'' *''Fullest Tide'' (published posthumously) *''Orioling''

Chamber

*''Another River'' (cello quartet and percussion) *''Expressions'' (clarinet) *''Glyphs'' (guitar and harpsichord) *''Go Gentle'' (three woodwinds or three strings) *''Journey'' (flute and percussion) *''Pathway'' (percussion and strings) *''Phantasy'' (oboe and harpsichord) *''Pharos'' (cello, piano and percussion) *''Quartet'' (clarinet, violin, cello and piano) *''Quest'' (string quartet) *''Runemusic'' (cello) *''Spirals'' (string quartet; also arranged for piano and for orchestra) *''Three Chants'' (unspecified number of flutes) *''Trialogue'' (violin, clarinet and piano)

Dance

*''River'' (two groups of musicians and optional dancers)

Electronic

*''Prometheus'' (bass, chorus, chamber ensemble and tape)

Opera

*''Nightingale’s Apprentice'' (for children; libretto by Margaret Weaver) *''People Tree''

Orchestra

*Seven Rituals *Spirals (also arranged for string quartet and for piano) *Trois Historiettes

Piano

*''Bagatelle'' *''Corrai'' (prepared piano) *''Doors'' (Burge Eastman prize) *Expressions *I''n and Out the Window'' *''Letter from a Field Biologist'' (two pianos) *''Spirals'' (also arranged for string quartet and for orchestra)

Vocal

*''An Acre for a Bird'' (motet) *''Bourn'' (text by A. R. Ammons; soprano, tenor, cello and harpsichord) *''Canticle'' (text after the Song of Solomon; soprano, oboe and harpsichord) *''De Amore et Morte'' (woman's voice and chamber ensemble) *Diffraction (text by

e. e. cummings Edward Estlin Cummings, who was also known as E. E. Cummings, e. e. cummings and e e cummings (October 14, 1894 - September 3, 1962), was an American poet, painter, essayist, author and playwright. He wrote approximately 2,900 poems, two autobi ...

; soprano, flute, piano and percussion) * ''Dona Nobis Pacem'' (chorus) *“Huit Chants en Brun” (text by

Federico Garcia Lorca Federico (; ) is a given name and surname. It is a form of Frederick, most commonly found in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian. People with the given name Federico Artists * Federico Ágreda, Venezuelan composer and DJ. * Federico Aguilar Alcuaz, ...

; translated into French by Andre Belamich) *''Hymn'' (text by A. R. Ammons; soprano, oboe and piano) *''Icarus'' (eight voices, recorder, and bongo drums) *''Leavings'' (soprano, percussion and prepared piano) *''Mirages'' (text by e. e. cummings; bass, cello and quarter tone harpsichord) *“Now” (text by e. e. cummings) *''Only the Cold, Bare Moon'' (song cycle based on eight Chinese poems; soprano, flute and piano) *''Pictures from Brueghel'' (soprano and chorus) *''Raft'' (text by A. R. Ammons; narrator and percussion) *''Scroll'' (soprano and chamber ensemble)

References

External links

*
Hear music by Ann Loomis Silsbee
{{DEFAULTSORT:Silsbee, Ann Loomis 1930 births 2003 deaths American classical composers American opera composers American women classical composers American women poets Cornell University alumni People from Cambridge, Massachusetts Radcliffe College alumni String quartet composers Syracuse University alumni Women opera composers