Gloria Wilson Swisher (born March 12, 1935) 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 ...

, music educator and pianist.

Biography

Gloria Wilson Swisher was born in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

. She graduated 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 ...

in Seattle where she received a Bachelor of Music, summa cum laude,

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 ...

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

, where she earned a Master of Music in composition and the

Eastman School of Music The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York. It was established in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman. It offers Bachelor of Music (B.M ...

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

, where she earned a Ph.D. in 1960. She studied composition under

John Verrall John Weedon Verrall (June 17, 1908April 15, 2001) was an American composer of contemporary classical music. Life Prior to his University studies, Verrall studied composition with Donald Ferguson, followed by studies with R. O. Morris in London ...

, Darius Milhaud,

Bernard Rogers Bernard Rogers (4 February 1893 – 24 May 1968) was an American composer. His best known work is ''The Passion'', an oratorio written in 1942. Life and career Rogers was born in New York City. He studied with Arthur Farwell, Ernest Bloc ...

, and Howard Hanson. She is a member of The International Association of Women in Music, the Darius Milhaud Society and the

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 ...

. She was awarded the Sigma Alpha Iota Inter-American prize for her composition ''Salutations'' for oboe and piano. Swisher was the subject of a 2009 University of Washington dissertation, ''The choral music of Gloria Wilson Swisher'', by Robert Bigley. Swisher has taught at

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant unive ...

in Pullman, Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma,

Shoreline Community College Shoreline Community College is a public community college in Shoreline, Washington. It is located in a residential area east of Shoreview Park. The college contains over 80 acres and continuously serves 12,000 full- and part-time students. It o ...

(1969–1998) in Seattle, and the University of Washington in Seattle. She is a Professor Emerita of Music at Shoreline Community College, and often performs as a duo pianist with Nancy Matesky. She is a founding member of Ars Nova Press, Inc., a non-profit corporation that promotes and reprints the work of quality composers.

Works

Selected works include: Orchestral Works: *1957 Canción, for orchestra *1960 Concerto for clarinet and orchestra *1986 Niigata No. Sumie Black Ink Impressions of Niigata, concerto for piano and orchestra *2004 Concerto for flute and orchestra *Serafina, portrait for orchestra Works for large ensemble: *1955 3 Pieces for Piano & Band *1958 Suite for Piano & Wind Sinfonietta *1963 Dances for Tomorrow *1977 Thanksgiving I *1978 Procession *1984 Words to a Grand Child, for mixed choir and orchestra *The Mountain and The Island Masses and liturgical music: *Psalm 150 for mixed choir, 2 trumpets, timpani and piano *God is Gone Up With A Merry Noise, for mixed choir and organ Stage works: Opera: *1983 The Artist and The Other - libretto: Willy Clark *1999 The Prestigious Music Award - premiered on February 18–20, 1999 at the Shoreline Community College Little Theater - libretto: Willy Clark *2008 The Legend of Poker Alice - libretto: Willy Clark Theatre: *2004 Gallagher And The Moonbeam *Incidental music to "For Such A Time as This - text: Ann Chamberlin Works for choir: *1973 Two Faces of Love, for mixed choir and piano *Beat! Beat! Drums, for mixed choir, 2 trumpets, timpani and piano *Let Us Celebrate, for mixed choir, 2 trumpets and piano Vocal music: *1977 Sisters, for soprano and piano *I Sit and Sew *Tenebris *The Cabal at Nickel Nackeys *1983 Sonnets for Donald, for soprano and piano *1990 Three for T, for tenor and piano *1995 A Velvet Madonna, for soprano and piano *Montana, song cycle of six songs for mezzo soprano or baritone and piano Chamber music *1990 Salutations, for oboe and piano *In 1991 Caprichos for guitar and piano *Pas de trois, for flute, violin and piano *Sado, for flute and piano *Theatre Trio for trumpet, alto saxophone and piano Works for Organ: *2001 Chorale Prelude on "Slane" and "In Dulce Jubilo" Works for Piano: *1983 "Joel" Variations *Siciliana *Transcending

References

External links

The Music of Gloria Wilson Swisher
1935 births 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers American women classical composers American classical composers American classical pianists American women classical pianists Living people American opera composers Pupils of Darius Milhaud Pupils of Bernard Rogers Pupils of Howard Hanson University of Washington School of Music alumni Mills College alumni Eastman School of Music alumni Washington State University faculty Pacific Lutheran University faculty University of Washington faculty Musicians from Seattle 21st-century American composers Sigma Alpha Iota 20th-century American women pianists 20th-century American composers 20th-century American pianists 21st-century American women musicians 20th-century women composers 21st-century women composers {{US-composer-20thC-stub