Reena Esmail (born 11 February 1983) is an

Indian-American Indian Americans or Indo-Americans are citizens of the United States with ancestry from India. The United States Census Bureau uses the term Asian Indian to avoid confusion with Native Americans, who have also historically been referred to ...

music composer of Indian and Western classical music. Esmail has been commissioned to compose pieces for ensembles including Amherst College Choir and Orchestra, Santa Fe Pro Musica, Conspirare, Los Angeles Master Chorale,

Kronos Quartet The Kronos Quartet is an American string quartet based in San Francisco. It has been in existence with a rotating membership of musicians for almost 50 years. The quartet covers a very broad range of musical genres, including contemporary classic ...

Imani Winds Imani Winds is an American wind quintet based in New York City, United States. The group was founded by flutist Valerie Coleman in 1997 and is known for its adventurous and diverse programming, which includes both established and newly composed wo ...

Richmond Symphony The Richmond Symphony is based in Richmond, Virginia and is the largest performing arts organization in Central Virginia and one of the nation's leading regional orchestras. The organization includes a full-time orchestra with more than 70 musicians ...

, Town Music Seattle, Albany Symphony,

Chicago Sinfonietta The Chicago Sinfonietta is an American orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. It is nationally and internationally acclaimed as a cultural leader and a powerful advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion and is renowned for its groundbreaking, d ...

, River Oaks Chamber Orchestra,

San Francisco Girls Chorus The San Francisco Girls Chorus, established in 1978 by Elizabeth Appling and celebrating its 40th anniversary during the 2018-2019 Season, is a leading regional center for music education and performance for young women, ages 4–18, based in San Fr ...

, Juilliard415, and Yale Institute of Sacred Music. Esmail attended

Los Angeles County High School for the Arts Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (LACHSA, ) is a visual and performing arts high school located on the campus of California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) in Los Angeles, California, United States. History The school was ...

and earned her Bachelor of Music degree in composition from

The Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

and her Master’s and Doctorate degrees from

Yale School of Music The Yale School of Music (often abbreviated to YSM) is one of the 12 professional schools at Yale University. It offers three graduate degrees: Master of Music (MM), Master of Musical Arts (MMA), and Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA), as well as a join ...

. Her doctoral thesis, entitled "Finding Common Ground: Uniting Practices in Hindustani and Western Art Musicians", explores the methods and challenges of the collaborative process between Hindustani musicians and Western composers. Esmail is the composer-in-residence at the

Los Angeles Master Chorale The Los Angeles Master Chorale is a professional chorus in Los Angeles, California, and one of the resident companies of both The Music Center and Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. It was founded in 1964 by Roger Wagner to be one of the t ...

and

Seattle Symphony The Seattle Symphony is an American orchestra based in Seattle, Washington. Since 1998, the orchestra is resident at Benaroya Hall. The orchestra also serves as the accompanying orchestra for the Seattle Opera. History Beginnings The orchestr ...

. She is an Artistic Director of Shastra, a non-profit organization that promotes cross-cultural music collaboration between the music tradition of India and the West. She lives in

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, California.

Honors and awards

*United States Artist Fellow in Music 2019 *S&R Foundation Washington Award Grand Prize 2019 *Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Citizen Artist Fellow 2017-2018 *Two ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Awards (2002, 2007) *Walter Hinrichsen Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters 2012 *INK Fellow 2011 *Winner in the MTAC-WLA Chamber Music Competition for piano performance * Fulbright-Nehru Student Research Scholar 2011-2012

Works

Esmail composes for orchestra, solo instrument, chamber ensemble, and voice. Works include ''Barso Re'' (2010) for Yale Sur et Veritaal, Yale's Hindi a cappella organization.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Esmail, Reena 1983 births Living people 20th-century classical composers American music educators American women music educators American women classical composers American classical composers Indian classical composers Musicians from Chicago American musicians of Indian descent American women musicians of Indian descent Juilliard School alumni Yale School of Music alumni 20th-century Indian musicians 21st-century classical composers 20th-century classical pianists 21st-century classical pianists American classical pianists American women classical pianists Pupils of Christopher Rouse (composer) Pupils of Samuel Adler (composer) 20th-century American pianists 21st-century American pianists 20th-century American women pianists 20th-century American composers 21st-century American women pianists Educators from Illinois Classical musicians from Illinois 20th-century women composers 21st-century women composers 20th-century Indian women