Gilda Lyons joins the Composition Department at The Hartt School
Composer, vocalist, and visual artist Gilda Lyons has been appointed assistant professor of composition at The Hartt School. She will begin her appointment on August 16, 2019.
Dean Larry Alan Smith said that The Hartt School was very forward looking with this search. “We wanted a teacher who would be innovative, someone who could address the educational needs of the 21st century emerging composer. Gilda was successful because of her talents, accomplishments, and pedagogical ideas,” Smith said.
In addition to her role at Hartt, Lyons serves as composer-in-residence for Chautauqua Opera Company, and co-chair of the composition program at Wintergreen Summer Music Academy in Virginia. She is artistic and executive director of The Phoenix Concerts, New York's "intrepid Upper West Side new-music series" (The New Yorker). She also serves on the Board of Advisors of Composers Now and the Steven R. Gerber Trust.
An active vocalist and fierce advocate of contemporary music, Lyons has commissioned, premiered, and workshopped new vocal works by dozens of composers. Of her performance in Daron Hagen's Shining Brow (Buffalo Philharmonic/Falletta) (Naxos), David Shengold of Opera, UK writes, "Gilda Lyons's clear soprano compels admiration."
Her music is published by Schott, E.C. Schirmer, and Burning Sled. Lyons received her PhD in music composition from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and Bard College. She made her professional debut as a composer and vocalist with the American Symphony Chamber Orchestra in 1997, performing the world premiere of her orchestral song cycle Feis.
“The full range of creative expression is celebrated by Hartt’s Composition Department, and I look forward to helping to shape this continuing celebration of individual strength and collective, expansive creativity,” Lyons said of her appointment.
Robert Carl, Chair, Composition Department; Professor of CompositionGilda is an outstanding composer and vocalist, a multi-threat musician. She meets a critical need at a time when new music is becoming ever more varied in its media, styles, and personae.