Libby Larsen - Female composer and co-founder of the American Composers Forum
Libby Larsen - Female composer and co-founder of the American Composers Forum
I first heard about Libby Larsen’s music when I was in college. I didn’t perform any of it though until quite recently. “Bucking Bronco” is from a set of three songs by Larsen entitled “Cowboy Songs.” I’ve had the opportunity to perform them as a set in recital. I wanted to include a distinctly American song by a contemporary American composer on the album, and this one seemed a perfect fit for the lighter repertoire towards the end of “Voices of Women”, my debut album.
Who was Libby Larsen?
Libby Larsen is still living today, and has been quite active on the composition scene. She partnered with Stephen Paulus to co-found the American Composers Forum in 1973. Larsen has published over 600 works. Libby Larsen has held numerous residences with major performing institutions and received many commissions for her music. Larsen has a special way of setting the English language which has been compared with Benjamin Britten.
Q&A: Get to know Libby Larsen
Q: What vocal compositions has Libby Larsen composed?
A: She has composed several operas, choral pieces and solo vocal works.
Q: Who were Libby Larsen contemporaries?
A: Libby Larsen is still actively composing today and has undertaken collaborations with several notable singers such as mezzo-soprano Susanne Mentzer.
Q: Is there a connection between Libby Larsen and politics?
A: Not one that is apparent from my studies.
Q: How does Libby Larsen relate to women’s equality?
A: Libby Larsen has emerged as a highly recognizable, and much celebrated composer of serious classical music in the 20th and 21st centuries, and has in many ways broken through the glass ceiling in a decisive way that women in previous generations did not.
Q: How does she relate to other women’s issues?
A: While Libby Larsen was in graduate school, Larsen recalls an instance in which she was told by a fellow student that she could never write contemporary music for large audiences because she was a woman. Larsen also said that she resisted working in environments that were not as friendly towards women until she broke through the male-dominated field of classical music composition.
Q: Is there a link between Libby Larsen and women’s entrepreneurship?
A: Libby Larsen’s story has been recorded in a new autobiography by Denise Von Glahn, entitled Libby Larsen: Composing An American Life. I hope to read it and learn more about her work with the American Composers Forum, a strategic partnership with the highly influential and recently deceased composer Stephen Paulus.
Libby Larsen resources & recommended recordings
Learn more about this fascinating American female composer at LibbyLarsen.com or this article published by Penn State University.