Amy Scurria (born September 24, 1973) is an American composer.

Biography

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Amy Scurria was born into a military family and showed an early interest in music, memorizing the piano assignments of her sister Jackie. At age 11 she took lessons under the Suzuki method and began composing.[1] Scurria graduated from Rice University in Houston, Texas, in 1995 with a bachelor's degree in composition. In 1998 she received a master's degree in composition from Johns Hopkins University. She completed her doctoral degree in 2015 from Duke University in Durham.[2] Dr. Scurria has also studied at La Schola Cantorum in Paris, France.

Teachers she studied with include: Chen Yi, Robert Sirota, Narcis Bonet, Anthony Kelley, and Stephen Jaffe. Her compositions have been performed in the United States, England, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, France, and Japan.[3] She was a composer-in-residence at Shepherd College in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, in 2001.[4]

Personal life

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In 2004, Amy Scurria married Zane Corriher. They have a daughter, Lily,[5] who is also a composer.

Honors and awards

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  • Duke University Evan Frankel Fellowship Recipient
  • Duke University Aleane Webb Dissertation Research Award
  • Duke University Summer Research Fellowship Recipient
  • 1991 Northern Virginia Composition Competition
  • 1998 Haddonfeld Young Composers' Competition
  • ASCAP Award Recipient, 1999–present
  • Winner of Haddonfield Young Composers Competition for Beyond All Walking, 1998
  • Music highlighted at National Convention for Women in the Arts, Rice University, 1996
  • Winner of N. VA Composition Competition, 1990
  • Superior rating in National and State Piano Guild, 1988–91[6]

Works

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Selected works include:

  • Beyond All Walking for Full Orchestra, (1998)
  • A Prayer for SATB Choir, (1999)
  • And He Shall Be Like a Tree for SATB Choir and Organ/Piano, (2000)
  • We Are Met at Gettysburg for full orchestra (2003) with Steve Heitzeg
  • Adaptations (2007)
  • La Loba (2008)
  • Tiamat (2008)
  • Something Borrowed, Something Blue (2008)
  • What the Soul Remembers (2009)
  • Esperanza Rising (2009)[7]
  • Pearl: An Opera in Two Acts (2015)[5]

References

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  1. ^ "Today in Music History". Retrieved November 9, 2010.
  2. ^ "Biography". Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  3. ^ "Biography". Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved November 9, 2010.
  4. ^ Dees, Pamela Youngdahl (2004). A Guide to Piano Music by Women Composers: Women born after 1900.
  5. ^ a b "Pearl: An Opera in Two Acts" (PDF). Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  6. ^ "Amy Scurria, Composer". Archived from the original on November 10, 2013. Retrieved November 9, 2010.
  7. ^ "Amy C. Scurria, Composition". Retrieved November 9, 2010.
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