GABRIELA LENA FRANK has been named composer-in-residence at the Annapolis (Md.) Symphony Orchestra for the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons. In this post, made possible through a $65,000 grant from Music Alive—a partnership program of the League of American Orchestras and Meet The Composer—she will attend rehearsals of the orchestra and will work with fifth- and ninth-grade students at Key School in Annapolis, with music students elsewhere in Maryland’s Anne Arundel County, and with composition students at the University of Maryland. She will also complete a commissioned concerto for orchestra, scheduled for premiere May 4, 2012; a second commission is planned for 2012-13. Her catalogue to date includes a dozen orchestral works as well as numerous compositions for chamber ensemble, voice, and solo keyboard. Frank’s music has been performed by such orchestras as the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco symphonies. She has served as composer-in-residence at Aspen Music Festival and School and the Fort Worth, Indianapolis, Modesto, Nashville, and Seattle symphonies. Born in Berkeley, California, to a mother of mixed Peruvian-Chinese ancestry and a father of Lithuanian Jewish descent, Frank explores her multi-cultural heritage through her compositions. She is a graduate of Rice University and holds a D.M.A. in composition from the University of Michigan.
Posted September 23, 2011
