Wendy Mae Chambers (born January 24, 1953) is an American composer, currently living in Harvey Cedars, New Jersey. Chambers studied at Barnard College from 1971 to 1975, where she received her B.A. in music, and where she studied with Kenneth Cooper, Nicholas Roussakis,

Jack Beeson Jack Hamilton Beeson (July 15, 1921 – June 6, 2010) was an American composer. He was known particularly for his operas, the best known of which are ''Lizzie Borden'', ''Hello Out There!'', and ''The Sweet Bye and Bye''. Early life Born in Muncie ...

and

Charles Wuorinen Charles Peter Wuorinen (; June 9, 1938 – March 11, 2020) was an American composer of contemporary classical music based in New York City. He performed his works and other 20th-century music as pianist and conductor. He composed more than ...

. She earned her M.A. in composition at

Stony Brook University Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public research university in Stony Brook, New York. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is one of the State University of New York system's ...

in New York, where she studied between 1975 and 1977. Her large-scale music events were inspired by the work of Christo and Andy Warhol, and the desire to reach an audience beyond traditional new music audiences. In addition, she knew

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading fi ...

well and her work ''12 squared for twelve percussionists'' (1994) is a voodoo tone poem written in his memory. By staging works outside the concert halls and into the public sphere, she has succeeded in bringing her music outside the domain of specialists and academics. Chambers is also well known for her work writing for and performing with the toy piano. In 1994, '' The New York Times'' commented, "Ms. Chambers is not only a composer, but also possibly the world's foremost virtuoso on the toy piano."

Works

Large-scale works and events

''(instrumentation, place, and year of premier)'' *REAL MUSIC – for 9 cars (1978) *STREET MUSIC – for 30 musicians and coordinated radio broadcast based on the theme from “Cose *Encounters” (1978) *THE KITCHEN – for 9 performers on pots and pans and 3 performers preparing food (1978) *MUSIC FOR CHOREOGRAPHED ROWBOATS for 24 musicians in rowboats Central Park, NYC (1979) *BUSY BOX QUARTET – for 4 crib toys (1980) *CLEAN SWEEP – for 9 vacuum cleaners (1980) *PRIME TIME – for 9 televisions (1980) *THE VILLAGE GREEN – for 3 marching bands, town siren, and guns (1980) *ONE WORLD OF PERCUSSION – for 50 percussionists and solo Tibetan horn (1981) *TEN GRAND – for 10 grand pianos Lincoln Center Fountain Plaza, NYC (1983) *THE GRAND HARP EVENT – PLUCK for 30 harps

Cathedral of St. John the Divine The Cathedral of St. John the Divine (sometimes referred to as St. John's and also nicknamed St. John the Unfinished) is the cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. It is at 1047 Amsterdam Avenue in the Morningside Heights neighborhood ...

(1984) *SOLAR DIPTYCH – for 30 trumpets (1985) *MARIMBA – for 26 marimbas (1985) *LIBERTY OVERTURE

New York Harbor New York Harbor is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York Bay near the East River tidal estuary, and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of the United States. It is one of the largest natural harbors in t ...

, NYC (1986) *QUILL – for 6 harpsichords and surround sound tapes of bird calls (1987) *SYMPHONY OF THE UNIVERSE –

, NYC (1989) *A MASS FOR TROMBONES – requiem for 77 trombones

, NYC (1993) *TWELVE SQUARED – for 12 percussionists (1994) *NIGHT OF THE SHOOTING STARS – for 16 percussionists (2005) *ORBIT – for 16 percussionists, click track and 2 conductors (2008) *KUN – for 64 toy pianos Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, Miami, Fl(2009)

Chamber works, small ensemble pieces, and solo instrument works

*POPCORN – for percussion quartet (1977) *MINIATURES – for piano 4 hands (1983) *SUITE FOR TOY PIANO (1983) *SET FOR PERCUSSION QUARTET (1985) *z-1 MOMENTS – for solo harp (1985) *MEDITATION AND AIR – for flute and harp (1992) *SERENADE – for trumpet and vibraphone (1992) *OCEANIC VARIATIONS – for piano solo (1992) *ECLIPSE – for solo violin (1994) *SOLARSONICS – for solo viola (1994) *BLUES for solo violoncello (1996) *RAZZMATAZZ – for solo contrabass with time portals (1996) *PSALMS OF THE BUTTERFLY – for violin and viola (1996) *MANDALA – for toy piano (1997) *MANDALA – for solo clarinet (1997) *MANDALA IN FUNK – for percussion quartet (1997) *ENDANGERED SPECIES SONG CYCLE – for mezzo-soprano, harp & percussion (1997) *ANTARCTICA SUITE – for solo piano (1999) *SONGS FOR ENDANGERED SPECIES for percussion, harp and baritone – parts 2 – (1999, 2000) *SONGS FOR VOODOO ON THE BAYOU (2006)

Commissions

*MARIMBA! (26 marimbas) – Kennedy Center, Washington DC (1986); Percussive Arts Society *SOLAR DIPTYCH (30 trumpets) – Central Park, NYC (1985); New Wilderness Foundation *MANDALA IN FUNK (percussion quartet) – American Composers Forum and J.B. Smith and the Arizona State University Percussion Department

References

* Watson, Bruce. 1999. "Concerto for Pencilina and Sewer Flute." '' Smithsonian''. 30(1): 105–114.

External links

Wendy Mae Chambers' website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chambers, Wendy Mae 1953 births Barnard College alumni 20th-century classical composers Living people American women classical composers American classical composers Stony Brook University alumni People from Harvey Cedars, New Jersey 20th-century American composers 20th-century American women musicians 20th-century American musicians 20th-century women composers Centaur Records artists 21st-century American women