Elizabeth Bell (composer)

Elizabeth Bell (December 1, 1928 – December 19, 2016) was an American composer.

Elizabeth Bell
BornDecember 1, 1928
Cincinnati, Ohio
DiedDecember 19, 2016 (aged 88)
Tarrytown, New York
EraClassical

Life and education

Elizabeth Bell was born in Cincinnati in 1928.[1] She gained her Bachelor of Arts in music from Wellesley College in 1950, and a BS in composition from Juilliard in 1953. She studied under Peter Mennin and Vittorio Giannini. Later she also studied with Paul Alan Levi. From 1969 to 1975 Bell worked as the music critic of the Ithaca Journal. Her music has been performed throughout the world. She was a founding member of New York Women Composers, Inc. and served on the Board of Governors of American Composers Alliance. She was also strongly involved with the International Alliance of Women in Music.[2][3] Bell died on December 19, 2016 in Tarrytown, New York.[1]

Family

She married astronomer Frank Drake in 1953 and they had three sons. In 1983 she married Robert E. Friou.[3]

Awards and commissions
  • 1986 First prize for Perne in a Gyre
  • 1996 Grand prize for Spectra, Utah composers competition
  • 1994 Delius prize for Duovarios, Jacksonville, Florida

Bell has had numerous commissions including

Of an Eleanor Elkins' recital Bell said:[4]

"My piece, Night music, was something of a revelation. Max Lifchitz (who commissioned it) has played it numerous times, and recorded it on the Vienna Modern Masters label. His interpretation is brilliant and satisfying. Eleanor's was entirely different: also brilliant, but more sombre and angry, more suggestive of 'night music.' I like them both, and am delighted to have Ms. Elkins' interpretation on tape."

Works
  • Andromeda (1993)
  • Arecibo Sonata (1968)
  • Concertino For Chamber Orchestra (2015)
  • Concerto For Orchestra (1976)
  • Duovarios (1987)
  • Fantasy-Sonata (1971)
  • Kaleidoscope – (1969)
  • Les Neiges D'antan – Sonata For Violin And Piano (1998)
  • Loss Songs (1983)
  • Millennium (1988)
  • Night Music (1990)
  • Perne In A Gyre (1984)
  • Rituals For Orchestra (1988)
  • River Fantasy (1991)
  • Second Sonata (1972)
  • Six Loss-Songs (1983)
  • Soliloquy For Solo Cello (1980)
  • Soliloquy For Solo Violin (1980)
  • Songs Of Here And Forever (1970)
  • Spectra (1989)
  • String Quartet #1 (1957)
  • Summer Suite (1982)
  • Symphony No. 1 (1971)
  • Variations & Interludes (1952)

References
  1. "Elizabeth Bell". American Composers Alliance. 19 February 2009. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  2. "Online list of composers". Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  3. David M. Cummings (2000). International Who's who in Music and Musicians' Directory: (in the Classical and Light Classical Fields). Psychology Press. p. 863.
  4. "Pianist Eleanor Elkins' Concert". IAWM Journal – International Alliance for Women in Music (February): 17. 1995.


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