Susan Hurley (composer)

Susan Hurley (born 1946) is an American composer living and working in Los Angeles, California.

Hurley's compositional style is an "unusual, unique voice [and] highly individualistic." [Buffalo News , Buffalo, New York, September 1988] Her work "defines [the] two opposing characteristics of the post-minimalist style – lyricism and rhythmic drive . . .” [Ibid] The 1992 piece "Gallery Music for Harp" examples this by engaging the listener with "a strong introductory flourish" developing into "gentle, otherworldly sounds.” [Lawrence Vittes, LA Reader, January 31, 1992, p. 37] This alternation between opposites is observed again in a review of "Vermont Poems" and its harmonic reliance on "shifts between unisons and dissonants" [Review of Vermont Poems, Susan Hurley, Chorus! Magazine]

The range of the instruments used by Hurley is broad, including ancient and subtle instruments such as the clavichord and older compositional vehicles such as the chamber opera. Hurley wrote one such opera based on the lives of Anaïs Nin and Rupert Pole. This was commissioned by Joan Palevsky of Los Angeles. Palevsky had been "instrumental" in securing a transfer of the papers of Anaïs Nin to UCLA. [The UCLA Senate obituary for Page Ackerman University Librarian, Emerita, makes reference to Palevsky's effort in paragraph seven of that document. [http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/senate/inmemoriam/pageackerman.html University of California Senate reference] ] The commission was part of this effort.

Hurley was born in Massachusetts and raised in Vermont.

Education

American Conservatory, Fontainebleau, France, studied under Nadia Boulanger, and others.

Eastman School of Music, MM, composition, 1982

Indiana University’s School of Music, DM, composition, 1988

Professional Positions & Residencies

Composer-in-residence, seven years Interlochen Center for the Arts, Interlochen, Michigan

Composer-in-residence, Atlantic Center for the Arts, Lawrence University

Visiting faculty, “Associate Instructor,” teaching fellowship, Indiana University

Composer-in-residence, New York, Meet the Composer

Commissions

Sage City Symphony, Bennington, VT [http://www.bennington.edu/curric_SageCitySymph.asp SCS reference]

The New Calliope Singers, New York, NY, details pending

"Anaïs," a one-act chamber opera for soprano & tenor about the life of Anaïs Nin. [Anaïs was privately commissioned by Joan Palevsky, and was performed twice at The American Renegade Theater, Magnolia Blvd, North Hollywood, February 2002. [http://www.composersforum.org/member_profile.cfm?oid=2544 Composers Forum reference] [http://www.allaboutopera.com/opera_resources.php?opera_ndx=5494 All About Opera reference (sparce)] ]

There are various film scores. The details of these are best obtained through ASCAP. [Hurely, Susan, ASCAP Catalog Listings CAE/IPI No. 127.06.16.99 [http://www.ascap.com/ace/search.cfm?requesttimeout=300&mode=results&searchstr=1510145&search_in=c&search_type=exact&search_det=t,s,w,p,b,v&results_pp=20&start=1 ASCAP Publication Listing, Hurley] ]

Discography, partial

"Soft Sounds," CD, Omstream, Zehn Improvisitationen, Clavichord, [vor 2004] Aufnahme 2004, P 2005, Deutsche Clavichord Societät, [http://www.clavichord.info/index.htm German Clavichord Society reference,] [http://www.omstream.com/pages/artist.php?artist_id=169 Omstream publishers note]

"Wind River Songs," Capstone Records, Nicole Philibosian, soprano, Crispin Campbell, cello, Michael Coonrod, piano [http://www.capstonerecords.org/CPS-8618.html publishers note] , [http://www.societyofcomposers.org/data/journals/cdseries.html Society of Composers Listing, Wind River Songs]

"Vermont Poems," Finnadar, New Calliope Singers, directed Peter Schubert “10th Anniversary Anthology of New Choral Chamber Music” Finnadar Catalog 908501, [http://anglicanmusic.freeservers.com/Recrd-25.htm publishers note]

"The Audio Book of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," KCRW Studios ["The Audio Book of Alices Adventures in Wonderland," original music by Susan Hurley, narrated by Harry Shearer with Vinessa Shaw, Michael York, Malcolm McDowell, Elliott Gould, et al. [http://legacy.kcrw.com/alice/ KCRW Production Notes] ]

Publications

*"Grassroots Commissioning," Symphony Magazine, April/May 1984, p.8
*"Vermont Poems," choral work published by Ludwig Music, Inc. (ASCAP)
*"Visions," choral work published by Ludwig Music, Inc. (ASCAP)

Audio samples

* [http://play.rbn.com/?url=livecon/kcrw/g2demand/alice/Alice_Track_03.rm&proto=rtsp Sample of The Audio Book of Alices Adventures in Wonderland, with original music by Hurley, KCRW Studios]

Work in progress includes

At the time of this writing, April 2008, Hurley is working on an opera of larger scale entitled The Sibyl of Cumae.Fact|date=April 2008

Notes

Biographical References

"International Encyclopedia of Women Composers," Publisher: Books & Music USA; 2nd edition (June 1987) ISBN 978-0961748524

[http://www.composersforum.org/member_profile.cfm?oid=2544 Composers Forum Biography]

[http://www.omstream.com/pages/artist.php?artist_id=169 Artist Biography Omstream Publishing]