American composer and pianist Betty Rose Wishart was born on September 22, 1947, in Lumberton, North Carolina. She earned music degrees from Queens College (Charlotte, North Carolina) and the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

at Chapel Hill, then pursued further studies in New York City. Her major teachers were Roger Hannay,

Richard Bunger Evans Richard Bunger Evans, also known as Richard Bunger, (born 1942) is an American composer and pianist who worked with John Cage and subsequently wrote "the classic book on John Cage,"American Composers Forum. Member Bio''William C. Harrington'' ...

, Donald Waxman, Michael Zenge, and Wolfgang Rose. Wishart taught piano, theory, and composition at Kohinoor Music Company from 1972 to 1973, and joined the staff of Argo Classical Records in 1973. She started composing in 1974, initially under the name B. R. Wishart to disguise her gender. She served as president of the Southeastern Composers' League in 2008. Wishart has received awards from: *American College of Musicians *American Pen Women *

American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

(ASCAP) *Broward County Music Teachers Association *Composers Guild *

Delta Omicron Delta Omicron () is a co-ed international professional music honors fraternity whose mission is to promote and support excellence in music and musicianship. History Delta Omicron International Music Fraternity was founded on September 6, 1909 at ...

*Fayetteville/Cumberland County Arts Council *

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Her compositions include:

Chamber

*Ch'ien (four violins, temple blocks) *Dreams (clarinet and piano; 1983) *Experience (string quintet; 1971) *Memories of Things Unseen (violin, flute, clarinet, cello; 1973) *Memories II (violin, flute, clarinet, cello; 1983) *Oracles (flute and piano)

Organ

*Meditations for Trinity (1976) *Prelude (1975) *Sounds (1972)

Piano

*Apprehensions (1971) *Illusion Suite(1968) *Kohinoor Sonata (1971) *Leukoplakia (1968) *Night Visions Suite *Reflections (1983) *Remembrance *Reverie (1983) *Salute (1982) *Sonata *Sonata No. 2 *Toccata II *Toccata III *Variations on a Folk Melody

Vocal

*Go Now in Peace (soprano and alto; 1982) *Hymn for the Children (1979) *Lullabies for Peace *Melancholy (1968) *Shanti *Requiem for Dreams

Discography

*Piano Sonorities – Ravello Records 2016 *Concertante No. 1 Journey into the Unknown –Navona Records 2017

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wishart, Betty Rose American women classical composers American classical composers American composers 1947 births Living people 21st-century American women University of North Carolina alumni ASCAP