Sarah Kirkland Snider (born October 8, 1973) 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 ...
. She has received critical acclaim for her
chamber
Chamber or the chamber may refer to:
In government and organizations
* Chamber of commerce, an organization of business owners to promote commercial interests
*Legislative chamber, in politics
* Debate chamber, the space or room that houses delib ...
,
orchestral
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families.
There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ce ...
,
song cycle
A song cycle (german: Liederkreis or Liederzyklus) is a group, or cycle (music), cycle, of individually complete Art song, songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a unit.Susan Youens, ''Grove online''
The songs are either for solo voice ...
,
choral
A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...
, and
ballet
Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
works.
Biography
Snider was born and raised in
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...
. Despite a non-musical parentage, she had a self-professed musical itch from a young age, going as far as to knock on her neighbors’ doors to play their pianos by ear. Eventually, Snider began formal music study, beginning
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
at age 7 and
cello
The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...
at age 10. She also sang in
choirs
A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...
, attending five years of summer camp at the
American Boychoir School
The American Boychoir School was a boarding/day middle school located in Princeton, New Jersey, and the home of the American Boychoir. The school originated as the Columbus Boychoir in Columbus, Ohio. In 1950, the school relocated after receiving ...
where she studied under
Anton Armstrong
Anton Eugene Armstrong (born April 26, 1956) is the conductor of the St. Olaf Choir as well as the Harry R. and Thora H. Tosdal Professor of Music at St. Olaf College of Northfield, Minnesota, in the United States. Armstrong became the fourth di ...
.
She later attended Princeton High School, singing in a nationally celebrated high school choir under William Trego, and performing in the PHS Orchestra. She cites two female PHS Orchestra conductors as early female role models.
Snider also composed music at a young age, keeping it private until her junior year of high school when she showed her first works to her piano teacher, composer/pianist Laurie Altman, who encouraged her to study composition in college. Snider would later stylistically describe these early works as “somewhere between early
Debussy
(Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...
and
Joni Mitchell
Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...
.”
Snider received a BA in Psychology-Sociology from
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...
, where she decided not to pursue composition because she felt her music too conservative for its experimentally-oriented program. After graduating in 1995, she moved to New York and worked at a pro-choice law firm.
While considering pursuing
public interest law
Public interest law refers to legal practices undertaken to help poor, marginalized, or under-represented people, or to effect change in social policies in the public interest, on 'not for profit' terms ( ''pro bono publico''), often in the fields ...
, she began writing music for experimental theater and decided to pursue composition full-time. Snider enrolled in the composition master's program at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
to study with composer
Justin Dello Joio, whom she called “a brilliant,
Nadia Boulanger
Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher and conductor. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist.
From a ...
-style teacher,”
but left after three semesters. In 2005 and 2006, she received a Master of Music and an Artist Diploma in Composition from the
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 joi ...
,
where she studied with
Martin Bresnick
Martin Bresnick (born 1946) is a composer of contemporary classical music, film scores and experimental music.
Education and early career
Bresnick grew up in the Bronx, and is a graduate of New York City's specialized High School of Music and A ...
,
Aaron Jay Kernis
Aaron Jay Kernis (born January 15, 1960) is a Pulitzer Prize- and Grammy Award-winning American composer serving as a member of the Yale School of Music faculty. Kernis spent 15 years as the music advisor to the Minnesota Orchestra and as Direct ...
,
Ezra Laderman
Ezra Laderman (29 June 1924 – 28 February 2015) was an American composer of classical music. He was born in Brooklyn.
Biography
Laderman was of Jewish heritage. His parents, Isidor and Leah, both emigrated to the United States from Poland. Thou ...
, and
David Lang.
She is married to composer
Steven Mackey
Steven ("Steve") Mackey (born February 14, 1956) is an American composer, guitarist, and music educator.
Life
As a musician growing up listening to and performing vernacular American musics as well as classical music, Mackey's compositions are i ...
''.''
Music
Snider's musical compositions, particularly her
song cycles
A song cycle (german: Liederkreis or Liederzyklus) is a group, or cycle, of individually complete songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a unit.Susan Youens, ''Grove online''
The songs are either for solo voice or an ensemble, or rarel ...
, frequently borrow from
indie rock
Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...
and popular musical idioms as well as classical chamber music forms and instrumentation. These stylistic choices have led critics to label her music as part of the burgeoning indie-classical movement, where she has been called "perhaps the most sophisticated" of voices within this genre.
Snider has received particular recognition for her album releases of her classical song cycles and her Mass: ''Penelope'' (2010), ''Unremembered'' (2015), and ''Mass for the Endangered'' (2020).
''Penelope'' (2010)
Written for female voice and chamber orchestra, ''Penelope'' is an orchestral song cycle based on
Homer
Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
's ''
Odyssey
The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major Ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek Epic poetry, epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by moder ...
,'' imagining the ancient Greek epic as told from the perspective of
Odysseus
Odysseus ( ; grc-gre, Ὀδυσσεύς, Ὀδυσεύς, OdysseúsOdyseús, ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; lat, UlyssesUlixes), is a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the ''Odyssey''. Odysse ...
's wife,
Penelope
Penelope ( ; Ancient Greek: Πηνελόπεια, ''Pēnelópeia'', or el, Πηνελόπη, ''Pēnelópē'') is a character in Homer's ''Odyssey.'' She was the queen of Ithaca and was the daughter of Spartan king Icarius and naiad Periboea. Pe ...
''.'' ''Penelope'' was originally conceived as a music-theater
monodrama
A monodrama is a theatrical or operatic piece played by a single actor or singer, usually portraying one character.
In opera
In opera, a monodrama was originally a melodrama with one role such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau's ''Pygmalion'', which wa ...
in 2007–2008, commissioned by the
J. Paul Getty Center and scored for alto/actor and string quartet. Snider later expanded it to a song cycle, expanding and tailoring it to the unique talents of vocalist
Shara Worden
Shara Nova (previously Worden) is the lead singer and songwriter for My Brightest Diamond. As a composer she is most recognized for her choral compositions and the baroque chamber opera "You Us We All". New music composers Sarah Kirkland Snide ...
and the chamber orchestra
Ensemble Signal
Ensemble Signal is a contemporary classical music ensemble founded in 2008 and based in New York City. It is led by Brad Lubman and performs a variety of chamber, electro-acoustic, and large scale ensemble works.
Work
Ensemble Signal specializ ...
, both of whom feature prominently in the reimagined work. Its lyrics were written by
Ellen McLaughlin
Ellen McLaughlin is an American playwright and actress.
Early years
McLaughlin attended Potomac School (McLean, Virginia), The Potomac School in McLean, Virginia for elementary school (through 9th grade). She subsequently attended Sidwell Fr ...
.
New Amsterdam Records
New Amsterdam Records is a record label in New York City that was formed in 2008 by Judd Greenstein, Sarah Kirkland Snider, and William Brittelle to promote classically trained musicians who fall between traditional genre boundaries. Often abbrev ...
, who published the album on October 26, 2010, describes the work as follows:
Inspired by Homer’s epic poem, the ''Odyssey'', ''Penelope'' is a meditation on memory, identity, and what it means to come home. Suspended somewhere between art song, indie rock, and chamber folk, the music of ''Penelope'' moves organically from moments of elegiac strings-and-harp reflection to dusky post-rock textures with drums, guitars and electronics, all directed by a strong sense of melody and a craftsman’s approach to songwriting.
The album received widespread critical acclaim and commercial success—as of 2020, the song cycle has been performed over fifty times in North America and Europe. ''
Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...
''
's Jayson Greene described ''Penelope'' as “a gorgeous piece of music and hauntingly vivid psychological portrait.”
''
Time Out New York
''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 328 cities in 58 countries worldwide.
In 2012, the London edition becam ...
'' named ''Penelope'' its “No. 1 Classical Album of 2010”,
while
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
deemed the song cycle among its “Top Five Genre-Defying Albums of 2010.”
"The Lotus Eaters", the fourth song on the album, received particular attention. ''
HuffPost
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'' named it one of the Top Ten Alternative Art Songs of 2001–2010,
while NPR listed the track as among the "200 Greatest Songs Written by 21st Century Women" in 2018, eight years after its release.
''Unremembered'' (2015)
Snider’s sophomore album, ''
Unremembered'', is scored for seven voices, chamber orchestra, and electronics, an expanded scope from ''Penelope''. Released September 4, 2015 on New Amsterdam Records, critics deemed the song cycle an overwhelming success—it appeared in over 20 year-end lists for Best Album, including “Top 5 Classical Albums of 2015” in ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
.''
''Unremembered'' sets poetry by New York-based poet/writer Nathaniel Bellows, described as recalling "strange and beautiful happenings experienced during a childhood in rural Massachusetts."
Shara Nova
Shara Nova (previously Worden) is the lead singer and songwriter for My Brightest Diamond. As a composer she is most recognized for her choral compositions and the baroque chamber opera "You Us We All". New music composers Sarah Kirkland Snide ...
returns on vocals alongside singers Padma Newsome and
DM Stith
David Michael Stith is a singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who released his first album ''Heavy Ghost'' in 2009 on the Asthmatic Kitty label. He currently resides in Brooklyn, New York.
David Stith comes from a musical family: his fa ...
. Additionally, the album features the Unremembered Orchestra, a group of performers within New York City contemporary ensembles
Alarm Will Sound
Alarm Will Sound is a 20-member chamber orchestra that focuses on recordings and performances of contemporary classical music. Its performances have been described as "equal parts exuberance, nonchalance, and virtuosity" by the ''Financial Times' ...
,
International Contemporary Ensemble
The International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) is a contemporary classical music ensemble, based in New York City and Chicago. ICE performs a diverse and extensive array of chamber, electro-acoustic, improvisatory, and multimedia works.
History
...
, The Knights, and
So Percussion
Sō Percussion is an American percussion quartet formed in 1999 and based in New York City.
Composed of Josh Quillen, Adam Sliwinski, Jason Treuting, and Eric Cha-Beach, the group is well known for recording and touring internationally and for th ...
), conducted by
Edwin Outwater
Edwin Maurice Outwater (born 12 April 1971) is an American conductor from Santa Monica, California.
About
From September 2007 until 2017, he served as the music director of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony in Ontario, Canada.
From 2001 to 200 ...
. The recording was co-produced by Snider with
Lawson White
Lawson White is an American audio engineer, record producer, and percussionist based in Brooklyn, New York, United States. He is also the founder and president of Good Child Music. Lawson White is a former member of So Percussion and Alarm Will So ...
and mixed by Grammy-winning producer
Andrew Scheps
Andrew Scheps is an American mix engineer, recording engineer, record producer, and record label owner, based in Los Angeles and the United Kingdom. He received Grammy Awards for Best Rock Album for his work on Red Hot Chili Peppers' ''Stadium Ar ...
, and made greater use of the multitracking and processing tools of the studio than did ''Penelope''.
In 2017, vocalists Padma Newsome, Shara Nova, and DM Stith toured ''Unremembered'' in the U.S. and Europe with various orchestras and ensembles at venues including Knoxville’s
Big Ears Festival
The Big Ears Festival is an annual music festival in Knoxville, Tennessee, created and produced by AC Entertainment.
History
The festival was founded in 2009 by Ashley Capps, founder of AC Entertainment. The festival was originally organized b ...
(with The Knights), Liquid Music (with the
St. Paul Chamber Orchestra
The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO) is a full-time professional chamber orchestra based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. In collaboration with five Artistic Partners, the orchestra's musicians present more than 130 concerts and educational programs ea ...
), the SHIFT Festival (with
North Carolina Symphony
The North Carolina Symphony (NCS) is an American orchestra based in Raleigh, North Carolina, with sixty-six full-time musicians. The orchestra performs in Meymandi Concert Hall and performs occasionally with the Carolina Ballet and the Opera Com ...
), and Holland’s Cross-linx Festival (with the Doelen Ensemble and Codarts Rotterdam).
''Mass for the Endangered'' (2020)
Snider’s first
Mass
Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...
and third album was commissioned by
Trinity Church Wall Street, the renowned New York City sacred choral institution, and released on
Nonesuch Records
Nonesuch Records is an American record company and label owned by Warner Music Group, distributed by Warner Records (formerly called Warner Bros. Records), and based in New York City. Founded by Jac Holzman in 1964 as a budget classical label, Non ...
/New Amsterdam Records on September 25, 2020. Part of Trinity’s Mass Re-Imaginings project, the work is described as "a rumination on the concept of the traditional Catholic Mass, its fidelity enhanced by Snider’s interpolation of traditional Latin text for the ''Gloria'', ''Sanctus/Benedictus'', and parts of the ''Kyrie'', ''Credo'', and ''Agnus Dei''." The six-movement work is written for
SATB choir and twelve instruments.
Thematically,
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
critic Tom Huizenga wrote that though ''Mass for the Endangered'' uses a religious framework, it instead "focuses not on our relationship to God, but instead to the flora and fauna on our planet." Snider herself describes the Mass as embodying "a prayer for endangered animals and the imperiled environments in which they live."
Snider received similarly lofty acclaim to her previous albums. ''Mass for the Endangered'' was among
''The'' ''Boston Globe''’s "10 Reasons to Keep Falling for Classical Music" and appeared on numerous year-end lists including NPR and ''
The Nation
''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...
''. ''Mass'' cemented Snider’s prominence among contemporary composers, with ''
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' citing the composer’s "technical command and unerring knack for breathtaking beauty" and NPR proclaiming that "Snider must be recognized as one of today's most compelling composers for the human voice."
Recognition
In part for the success of her three albums of large-scale works for voices and instruments, as well as her co-leadership of the label
New Amsterdam Records
New Amsterdam Records is a record label in New York City that was formed in 2008 by Judd Greenstein, Sarah Kirkland Snider, and William Brittelle to promote classically trained musicians who fall between traditional genre boundaries. Often abbrev ...
, ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' named Snider one of the Top 35 Female Composers in Classical Music in 2019.
Elsewhere, she has been cited by critics as "a significant figure on the American music landscape", "an important representative of 21st century trends in composition," and "one of the decade’s more gifted, up-and-coming modern classical composers."
Her music has been performed by the
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...
,
San Francisco Symphony
The San Francisco Symphony (SFS), founded in 1911, is an American orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980 the orchestra has been resident at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in the city's Hayes Valley neighborhood. The San Fr ...
,
National Symphony Orchestra
The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1930, its principal performing venue is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It also performs for the annual National Mem ...
,
Detroit Symphony Orchestra
The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Detroit, Michigan. Its primary performance venue is Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown neighborhood. Jader Bignamini is the current music d ...
, among others in venues including
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...
,
Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...
,
Kennedy Center
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...
, the
Elbphilharmonie
The Elbphilharmonie (; "Elbe Philharmonic Hall"), popularly nicknamed Elphi, is a concert hall in the HafenCity quarter of Hamburg, Germany, on the Grasbrook peninsula of the Elbe River. It is among the largest in the world.
The new glassy con ...
, the
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...
, and
Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadin ...
.
Snider was Composer-in-Residence at
UC-Boulder in 2018–19; she has also been Composer-in-Residence at Winnipeg New Music Festival, Soundstreams, the Bowling Green State University New Music Festival, the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, Nief-Norf Festival, Decoda Ensemble's Skidmore Chamber Music Institute, and the
So Percussion
Sō Percussion is an American percussion quartet formed in 1999 and based in New York City.
Composed of Josh Quillen, Adam Sliwinski, Jason Treuting, and Eric Cha-Beach, the group is well known for recording and touring internationally and for th ...
Summer Institute.
In 2014, Snider received the Elaine Lebenbom Award from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the only orchestra-sponsored award granted annually to a living female composer of any age or nationality.
List of works
Orchestra
*''Disquiet'' (2005, rev. 2012)
* ''Until I Become Human'' (2006) for mezzo-soprano, solo viola, and orchestra
* ''Hiraeth'' (2015)
* ''Something for the Dark'' (2015)
* ''Blue Hour'' (2017) for mezzo-soprano and string orchestra
* ''Embrace'' (2018)
* ''Forward Into Light'' (2020)
Chamber ensemble
* ''Just Once'' (1997) for soprano and piano
* ''Mad Song'' (1998) for tenor and piano
* ''The Heart of the Woman'' (1998) for soprano and piano
* ''The Ecotone'' (1999) for two pianos
* ''Ave'' (2002) for string quartet
* ''Stanzas in Meditation'' (2004) for two sopranos and harp
* ''In Two Worlds'' (2005) for flute, oboe, bass clarinet, French horn, offstage trumpet, trumpet, vibraphone, violin, and cello
* ''Thread and Fray'' (2006) for bass clarinet, viola, and marimba
* ''Chrysalis'' (2006) for soprano and two violas
* ''Shiner'' (2006) for trombone, harp, viola, and marimba
* ''Passenger Seat'' (2006) for high voice (soprano, mezzo, or countertenor) and piano
* ''How Graceful Some Things Are, Falling Apart'' (2006) for mezzo-soprano and piano
* ''Daughter of the Waves'' (2011) for flute, clarinet, French horn, trumpet, electric guitar, violin, viola, and cello
* ''Pale as Centuries'' (2011) for flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, electric guitar, piano, and double bass
* ''Taking Turns in My Skin'' (2011) flute/piccolo, clarinet/bass clarinet, French horn, trumpet, electric guitar, violin, viola, cello, and soprano (optional finger cymbals, guiro, vibraslap)
* ''Penelope'' (2012) for fl/alto fl/picc, cl/bass cl — French horn, tmpt — drums/perc (glock, egg shaker, BD, gro, tri, 2 crot., fing cymb) — e. gtr./acoustic gtr. — mezzo-soprano — violin, viola, cello — laptop
* ''You Are Free'' (2015) for flute, clarinet, marimba, piano, violin, and cello
* ''Chrysalis'' (arr. 2015) for soprano, violin and cello
* ''
Unremembered'' (2013, arr. 2016) for chamber orchestra, three voices, and electronics
* ''Five Songs from Unremembered'' (arr. 2017) for oboe, English horns, percussion, acoustic/electric guitar, harp, piano, violin, cello — Wide-Ranged Soprano (E3 to B5) — laptop (electronics)
* ''Parallel Play'' (2019) for flute and piano
* ''If you bring forth what is within you: Suite from Blue Hour'' (2019) for flute, clarinet, bassoon, French horn, piano, two violins, viola, cello, and double bass
* ''Penelope'' (arr. 2019) for mezzo-soprano — one drums/perc (vibr., glock., egg shaker, BD, gro, tri, 2 crot.) — two violins, viola, cello, double bass — laptop
* ''O Virtus Sapientiae'' (2020) for soprano, and string quartet
* ''Caritas'' (2021) for soprano, harp, and string quartet
* ''Eighteen Million Six'' (2021) for soprano, tenor, and piano
Choir
* ''Here'' (2011) for SSAA chorus
* ''Psalm of the Soil'' (2013) for five tenors, two baritones, and two basses (optional piano accompaniment)
* ''Ouroboros'' (2015) for SSA chorus, string quartet, and two percussion
* ''Mass for the Endangered'' (2018) for SATB chorus, piano, string quintet, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, harp and percussion
* ''You Must Feel with Certainty'' (2018) for SATB chorus and percussion
Solo instrument
* ''Finisterre'' (1997) for solo piano
* ''Only Five'' (1997) for solo piano
* ''Uninvited Reason'' (1998) for solo piano
* ''Prelude'' (1999) for solo piano
* ''A Single Breath'' (1999) for solo viola
* ''Ballade'' (2001) for solo piano
* ''The Reserved, The Reticent'' (2004) for solo cello
* ''The Currents'' (2012) for solo piano
* ''the plum tree I planted still there'' (2021) for solo piano
Musical theater
* ''The Burning Out of ’82'' (1997) for SATB quartet, piano, and cello
References
External links
Sarah Kirkland Snider Official SitePenelope Official SiteNew Amsterdam Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Snider, Sarah Kirkland
Living people
People from Princeton, New Jersey
American women composers
Wesleyan University alumni
Classical musicians from New Jersey
Yale School of Music alumni
Pupils of Martin Bresnick
Pupils of Christopher Rouse (composer)
21st-century American composers
21st-century American women musicians
21st-century women composers
1973 births