Three composers to receive Women Composers Commissions from the League of American Orchestras

Composers Niloufar Iravani, Leanna Primiani, and Hilary Purrington will each receive orchestral commissions of $15,000 as part of the Women Composers Readings and Commissions program, an initiative of the League of American Orchestras, in partnership with American Composers Orchestra and supported by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation. Hilary Purrington’s Words for Departure will be premiered by the Philadelphia Orchestra, conductor Stéphane Denève, the Westminster Symphonic Choir, and director Joe Miller on February 12, 13, and 14, 2021. Niloufar Iravani’s work will be premiered by the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Delta David Gier, and Leanna Primiani’s score will be premiered by ROCO (River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, TX). Dates for the Iravani and Primiani premieres will be announced. Since the program’s inception in 2014, forty women composers have participated in career development via EarShot Readings, sixteen composers have received commissions, and eight works have been premiered. The Women Composers Readings and Commissions program is embedded in EarShot, an initiative of American Composers Orchestra in collaboration with American Composers Forum, the League of American Orchestras, and New Music USA. The current recipients were selected from all female/female-identifying/nonbinary composers who have participated in EarShot residencies. The program has been renewed for an additional cycle. Learn more at https://americanorchestras.org/conducting-artistic-programs/women-composer-readings-and-commissions.html.