{"id":5528,"date":"2010-04-21T08:51:09","date_gmt":"2010-04-21T12:51:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/news\/article.php?ArticleID=5528"},"modified":"2018-07-17T09:55:04","modified_gmt":"2018-07-17T13:55:04","slug":"5528_pulitzer-prize-winning-composer-jennifer-higdon-visits-montclair-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/john-j-cali-school-of-music\/2010\/04\/21\/5528_pulitzer-prize-winning-composer-jennifer-higdon-visits-montclair-state\/","title":{"rendered":"Pulitzer Prize-Winning Composer Jennifer Higdon Visits Montclair State"},"content":{"rendered":"

Renowned composer and recent recipient of the 2010 Pulitzer Prize in music, Jennifer Higdon, came to Montclair State University\u2019s John J. Cali School of Music on April 19 to work with composition students and to rehearse her work, blue cathedral<\/em> with the symphony orchestra. Higdon, who is the Milton L. Rock chair in composition studies at The Curtis Institute of Music, also met with faculty during her visit to the campus.<\/p>\n

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Already a 2010 GRAMMY winner for her composition, Percussion Concerto<\/em>, Higdon received the Pulitzer Prize in music for her Violin Concerto<\/em>, a work that had its premiere in February 2009 with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and soloist Hilary Hahn. Higdon\u2019s works are performed regularly by orchestras around the world, with blue cathedral<\/em> being one of the most performed contemporary orchestral works by an American composer in the United States.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving Jennifer Higdon on campus created tremendous excitement among our students,\u201d said Paul Hostetter, director of the John J. Cali School of Music and conductor of the Montclair State University Symphony Orchestra. \u201cShe truly devoted a generous amount of time to give them a sense of her voice, ideas on career development, and a sense of their place and importance as artists within the broader musical world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Higdon met with music faculty and administrators before heading over to the state-of-the-art computer lab in Chapin Hall to work with composition students. She played a recording of one of her compositions, Zaka<\/em>, as the students followed along in the score, then led a discussion about the work and talked about her own background and career. \u201cYou guys are ahead of me in school,\u201d she admitted to the students. \u201cI started late so I had to take all the remedial courses in college. But I never gave up and I never listened to the people who told me I couldn\u2019t do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The students also had the chance to share their compositions and have Higdon give comments and advice. \u201cVery nice\u2014very theatrical,\u201d she said of composition student, Alyssa Menes\u2019 piece. \u201cExpand it some more!\u201d She encouraged the students not to give up in following their passion. \u201cYou\u2019re building a career brick by brick,\u201d she told them. \u201cEvery experience is a brick and you add it to your brick pile. It takes a long time but if you stick to it, it will pay off for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thanks to Higdon\u2019s visit, the Montclair State University Symphony Orchestra had the rare opportunity to receive feedback on the piece they were rehearsing from the composer herself. Higdon came to the Kasser Theater and sat in on a rehearsal of her work, blue cathedral<\/em>, which the orchestra was refining for a concert later in the week.<\/p>\n

After hearing the work played, Higdon offered some comments and recommendations that Hostetter and the orchestra incorporated into their interpretation of the work. \u201cThis is a breathing piece,\u201d Higdon told the musicians. \u201cA lot of my pieces sound like freight trains going at your head, but not this one.\u201d By the end of the rehearsal, the orchestra had the piece to her liking. \u201cPretty impressive,\u201d she said of their final rendition. \u201cThe pacing is great\u2014it sounds good!\u201d<\/p>\n

Image Gallery<\/h2>\n

Click on an image below to enlarge photo.<\/p>

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