Carol Sams (born 1945) is an American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

based in the Seattle area. She earned a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in Music from

Mills College Mills College at Northeastern University is a private college in Oakland, California and part of Northeastern University's global university system. Mills College was founded as the Young Ladies Seminary in 1852 in Benicia, California; it was ...

and a

Doctor of Musical Arts The Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) is a doctoral academic degree in music. The DMA combines advanced studies in an applied area of specialization (usually music performance, music composition, or conducting) with graduate-level academic study in ...

from the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

. One of her teachers was

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions ...

. In 1976 her

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

, ''Salome, Daughter of Herodias'', was premiered at the National Opera Association Convention in Seattle. In 1983 her children's opera ''Beauty and the Beast'' was premiered in Los Angeles with Henry Holt conducting. Her opera ''The Pied Piper of Hamelin'' was commissioned by the Tacoma Opera, and was premiered by the company in 1993 and repeated in 1994."Original 'Pied Piper' Gets a Rare Chance at Second Run", ''

The News Tribune ''The News Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Tacoma, Washington. It is the second-largest daily newspaper in the state of Washington with a weekday circulation of 30,945 in 2020. With origins dating back to 1883, the newspaper w ...

'', October 14, 1994 Her works have also been performed in concerts by the Seattle Chamber Singers, the Everett Chorale, the Northwest Boychoir, the Washington Composers Forum, and the University of Washington Contemporary Group among others. Soprano Janeanne Houston released a CD "So Much Beauty" which contained several songs by Carol Sams.

References

External links

Official Website of Carol Sams
1945 births 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers American classical composers American women classical composers American opera composers Living people Mills College alumni Pupils of Darius Milhaud University of Washington School of Music alumni 20th-century American women musicians 21st-century American women musicians 20th-century women composers 21st-century women composers {{US-composer-20thC-stub