Joanne Metcalf (she/her)
The music of Joanne Metcalf, acclaimed as 鈥渕usic of great beauty鈥 (Klassik-Heute) and 鈥渆xtraordinarily beautiful鈥 (International Record Review), is known for its evocative lyricism, rhythmic extravagance, 鈥渂eguiling yet subtly dissonant language鈥 (MusicWeb International) and 鈥渂eautiful use of vocal colours and texture鈥 (Glasgow Herald). Drawing inspiration from Renaissance and medieval polyphony, ancient Georgian music, and contemporary extended vocal techniques, Ms. Metcalf has forged a musical voice that 鈥渆voke[s] earlier musical forms鈥 (The Globe and Mail, Montreal) yet is 鈥渦nmistakably contemporary鈥 (Glasgow Herald).
Ms. Metcalf鈥檚 compositions have been performed and recorded by musicians across the world. Advocates of her vocal music include The Gothic Voices; The Crossing; Variant 6; German vocal quintet amarcord; Canty, Scotland鈥檚 premiere female vocal quartet; Cappella Nova; the Dresdner Kammerchor; John Potter; and her longtime artistic collaborators, Singer Pur and The Hilliard Ensemble. Her music has been performed at the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Schwetzinger Festspiele, Hannover Bienniale, Beethovenfest Bonn, Washington National Cathedral, Glasgow Cathedral, and the Cheltenham International Festival of Music.
The legendary Gothic Voices recently released聽Music for the Star of the Sea,听Il nome del bel fior, Maria I,听and Maria III聽on the group鈥檚 resplendent recording of early and contemporary music,听Mary Star of the Sea. The聽Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung聽praised Ms. Metcalf鈥檚 music for its 鈥淚talianate, flowing singability鈥 while聽Choir and Organ聽praised the 鈥済lorious, delicately nuanced new works by the brilliant American Joanne Metcalf, including the magical聽Music for the Star of the Sea.鈥
Joanne Metcalf has received awards and fellowships from the North Carolina Arts Council, Copland House, the McDowell Colony, the Netherland-America Foundation, and the International Association of Women in Music. Her compositions are recorded on the Linn Records, Oehms Classics, ECM New Series, and National Sawdust Tracks labels.
Royal Conservatory of Music, The Hague, The Netherlands, 1994
M.A. Music Composition, Duke University, 1993
B.A. Music Composition, University of California, Santa Barbara, 1982
Composition studies with Louis Andriessen, Scott Lindroth, Stephen Jaffe