Nancy Galbraith — Brief Biography

NANCY GALBRAITH (b. 1951) has been actively composing music since the late 1970's, creating instrumental and vocal sound known for its rich harmonic texture, rhythmic vitality, emotional and spiritual depth, and wide range of expression. Her catalog includes over 100 works for symphony orchestras, wind orchestras, concert choirs, chamber ensembles, keyboards, and an extensive collection of sacred music. Her works are published exclusively by Subito Music (Verona, New Jersey, USA).

Led by a list of eminent conductors that includes Gennady Rozhdetsvensky and Mariss Jansens, her orchestral works are frequently performed by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra—most recently, the world premiere of the De profundis ad lucem (2002). In 1996 Keith Lockhart and the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra presented Piano Concerto No. 1 on Ocean Records' New Energy from the Americas (OR101). Galbraith has enjoyed performances by many other orchestras in the United States and Latin America, including two premieres by Argentina's Orquesta Sinfónica de Tucumán,.

In 2005 Robert Page and the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh premiered the composer's Requiem, which was declared "a masterpiece" by the Pittsburgh Tribune Review. Galbraith attained distinction as a choral composer in 1999 when Page and the Mendelssohn unveiled her epic and magnificent Missa Mysteriorum. The success of her Mass quickly led to a cycle of commissions for new major choral works: Magnificat (2002), Four River Songs (2002), God of Justice (2004), Requiem (2004), Sacred Songs and Interludes (2006), and Two Emily Dickinson Songs, which will be premiered by CONCORA at the 2007 NEA American Masterpieces Choral Festival in Providence.

Chamber Music Magazine declared Galbraith's Rhythm and Rituals (1997) to be "the kind of piece that should be the sound of 'classical music' on today’s radio stations." Her chamber works have been performed and recorded by three distinguished ensembles from Mexico City—Cuarteto Latinoamericano, Sinfonietta Ventus, and Trío Neos—and by principal players of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Recent chamber ensemble premieres include Atacama Sonata (2002) at The Juilliard School, Of Nature (2003) at the 32nd International Double Reed Society Convention, String Quartet No. 3 (2005), and Traverso Mistico (2006), featuring electroacoustic baroque flute. Many of these works are represented on two recent disks: Nancy Galbraith | Four Chamber Works (ÉLAN; CD82414) and Nancy Galbraith | Atacama (Albany; TROY556).

Additionally, Galbraith has achieved international success as a composer of music for wind orchestras. Her most popular works for this genre—with brightness round about it (1993), Danza de los Duendes (1996), Wind Symphony No. 1 (1996), and Elfin Thunderbolt (1998)—have together enjoyed over 100 performances in the past decade, including concerts in Japan, the Netherlands, and Scandinavia. The composer’s uniquely inventive Concerto for Piano and Wind Ensemble (2000) was performed in Chicago, Pittsburgh, and West Virginia, and appears, along with her Mass, on her latest disk, Nancy Galbraith (Clarion, CMRL 03-0006). This year, Pittsburgh's River City Brass Band will premiere the brass version of Galbraith's newest wind orchestra piece, Washington's Landing.

Nancy Galbraith resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, where she is Professor of Composition and Theory at Carnegie Mellon University and Organist/Music Director at Christ Lutheran Church.

Source: nancygalbraith.com