Stephanie Ann Boyd
"Writing for violinist Megan Healy and discovering the work of Maud Powell through the process has been a joy to my violinist heart - the pain of knowing that I lived most of my life without knowing Maud’s work is tempered, however, but the pleasure of having been able to spend a great deal of time with her biography and recordings while writing a piece that traces her interaction with and inspiration from the places in which she lived throughout her brief life. My deep thanks to Megan for bringing me in on this project and to everyone who has contributed efforts towards keeping Maud’s light alive and her work present all these years after she graced the earth with her wisdom, tenacity, and unimaginable musicianship."
Minnie for Solo Violin, Op. 65
This work, dedicated to the memory of Maud Powell, is a three movement meditation on her life.
The first movement, AURORA, is a fantasia that seeks to convey the magic of a childhood spent on the plains of the Midwest and of her growing skill and prowess as a young violinist. The second movement, BERLIN, is an elegia/lullaby that takes into account her lonely years in Europe with her mother and their shared Hungarian heritage. The third movement, ANTHEM, is a perpetuum moto that uses Americana and fiddling references to bring forth echoes of her triumph and confidence throughout her life as she broke barriers and created an entirely new paradigm for violin soloists.
Duration 10.5 minutes
Michigan-born American composer Stephanie Ann Boyd (b. 1990) writes melodic music about feminine subject matter and the natural world for symphonic and chamber ensembles. Her work has been performed in nearly all 50 states and has been commissioned by musicians and organizations in 37 countries. Boyd’s work has been choreographed by New York City Ballet Principal Dancers Ashley Bouder and Lauren Lovette.
Boyd’s music has been commissioned and performed by concertmasters of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Singapore Symphony, the New York City Ballet Orchestra, the Des Moines Symphony, the Faroe Islands Symphony, the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra, the Fort Smith Symphony, the Arkansas Philharmonic Orchestra, and principal players in the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. Her music has been played by the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the New England Conservatory Philharmonic, the Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra, the New York Jazzharmonic, the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, the Roosevelt University Orchestra, the Eureka Ensemble, the JVL Festival Orchestra, the Texas State University Symphony, the Cremona International Academy Orchestra, the UW La Crosse Symphony, and the El Paso Youth Symphony. Her work has been presented by the Thalia and her Sisters concert series, the Moirae Ensemble, and Sandcastle New Music in New York City, Aepex Contemporary Music in Michigan, Cincinnati Soundbox, Collage New Music and the New Gallery Concert Series in Boston, and others. Stephanie has worked with conductors such as Andrew Litton, Cliff Colnot, Gill Rose, Earl Lee, Nathan Aspinall, Julian Benichou, Kristo Kondakci, Lina Gonzales, and Kevin Fitzgerald.
Recent commissions include a new violin concerto for Kurt Nikkanen and the Chesapeake Youth Symphony Orchestra, a ballet for the Ashley Bouder Project, a Mass for women’s choir, soprano solo and orchestra for The Eureka Ensemble, and a piece for the Chicago College of Performing Arts Wind Ensemble.
Boyd was the 2016-18 Composer in Residence for the Eureka Ensemble in Boston, the 2013/14 Collage New Music Fellow, and has had composition residencies at summer festivals in Italy, Canada, and the US. Boyd has taught composition privately for eight years and her students have been accepted into the music schools at University of Toronto, University of Michigan, Indiana University, UC Boulder, Michigan State University, and others. She is a recipient of the Donald Martino Award for Excellence in Composition and is a two-time recipient of the CCPA Vector Award, and has won numerous grants from the Women’s Philharmonic Advocacy. She holds degrees from Roosevelt University and New England Conservatory (with honors). Boyd was one of the last violin students of renowned pedagogue John Kendall.
Stephanie’s music has been praised as “[with] ethereal dissonances” (Boston Globe), “[music that] didn’t let itself be eclipsed” (Texas Classical Review), “arrestingly poetic” (BMOP), and “wide ranging, imaginative” (Portland Press Herald). Boyd belongs to the Iceberg New Music Composers Collective. Her catalog is published by TRN Music and FEMOIRE. A critic for American Record Guide and I Care If You Listen, Boyd lives in Manhattan. She is dressed by MILLY for this season’s concerts and events.
Learn more about Stephanie here