Libby Larsen

A native of Wilmington, Delaware, Libby Larsen studied with Dominick Argento at the University of Minnesota. As stated by Mary Ann Feldman in the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, “…Although she [Larsen] has written abundantly for orchestras and mixed ensembles, she is attracted in particular to the qualities of the voice – in this she betrays the influence of Argento.” Besides her excellent song cycles (including Sonnets to the Portugese with text by Elizabeth Barrett Browning), Larsen’s more adventurous compositions include a cantata about Eleanor Roosevelt, as well as a multi-movement cycle entitled Mary Cassatt (1844–1926), which is performed with projections of Cassatt’s paintings. She has also written over 12 operas and has a catalogue of over 400 works.

Larsen is also an advocate for women in the field of music, and was the first woman to hold a residency with a major orchestra (Minnesota Orchestra, 1983-1986). She is also a great advocate for music education. In her search to bring new music out of academia, she co-founded the Minnesota Composers Forum in 1973 (now called the American Composers Forum). Her prominence in the 1980s and 1990s earned her a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship as well as a Grammy Award (1994).

–Christie Finn