Biography
Composer Sarah Kirkland Snider writes music of direct expression and vivid narrative that has been noted for its evocative, layered atmospheres; attention to detail; and unique soundworld identifiably her own. Recently named one of the Top 35 Female Composers in Classical Music by The Washington Post, Snider’s works have been commissioned and / or performed by the New York Philharmonic; San Francisco Symphony; National Symphony Orchestra; Detroit Symphony Orchestra; St. Paul Chamber Orchestra; soprano Renée Fleming and baritone Will Liverman; Deutsche Grammophon for mezzo Emily D'Angelo; vocalist Shara Nova; percussionist Colin Currie; eighth blackbird; A Far Cry; and Roomful of Teeth, among others. Recent works include Mass for the Endangered, a 45-minute Trinity Wall Street–commissioned work for choir and ensemble on a libretto by Nathaniel Bellows, recorded by Gallicantus, and released on Nonesuch / New Amsterdam Records to critical acclaim in Fall 2020; You Must Feel With Certainty for VOX Ensemble, commissioned by The Guggenheim Museum for its Hilma af Klint retrospective; The Blue Hour, a collaborative song cycle for Shara Nova and A Far Cry based on poetry by Carolyn Forché; and Embrace, a 45-minute orchestral ballet with choreographer George Williamson commissioned by the Royal Birmingham Ballet, which premiered at Sadler's Wells in 2018. Upcoming projects include an opera on 12th-century polymath St. Hildegard von Bingen commissioned by Beth Morrison Projects. Penelope and Unremembered, her first two LP song cycles, earned critical acclaim from The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, Gramophone magazine, NPR, and Pitchfork, among many others. The winner of the 2014 Detroit Symphony Orchestra Lebenbom Award, Snider has a bachelor of arts degree from Wesleyan University and a master of arts degree and Artist’s Diploma from the Yale School of Music. She is a founding co-artistic director of Brooklyn-based non-profit New Amsterdam Records. Her music is published by G. Schirmer.