“Among the brightest lights to emerge in recent seasons” (Time Out New York), composer Sarah Kirkland Snider writes music of direct expression and vivid narrative. Her works, which strive for an indifference to boundaries of style or genre, have been commissioned and performed internationally by a range of artists including ACME, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Colin Currie, Dinosaur Annex, Firebird Ensemble, Hebrides Ensemble, the Knights, NOW Ensemble, Psappha, Signal, Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond), and yMusic, and also commissioned by the Getty Center, the American Composers Forum/Jerome Foundation, and Merkin Hall at the Kaufman Center. Heard in a diverse array of venues ranging from classical (Carnegie Hall) to experimental (The Kitchen) to rock (The Bell House), her music has also been featured in festivals such as the Aspen Music Festival, the Ecstatic Music Festival, the Colorado Music Festival, the Bang On a Can Summer Festival, the MATA Festival, the Carlsbad Music Festival, the Look & Listen Festival, and the Keys to the Future Contemporary Piano Music Festival.
Much of her recent music explores her interest in writing for voice. These works include Unremembered (2011), a cycle of songs commissioned by poly-stylistic vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth for a residency at Mass MoCA, set to poetry by Nathaniel Bellows; Taking Turns in My Skin (2011), a set of songs for vocalist Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond and yMusic commissioned by the Ecstatic Music Festival; and Penelope (2009), a 60-minute song cycle with lyrics by playwright Ellen McLaughlin, written for Shara Worden and the chamber orchestra Signal, originally commissioned by the J. Paul Getty Center. Like Penelope, which is scored for chamber orchestra, electric guitar/electric bass/drums, and electronics, much of her music features mixed ensembles and untraditional instrumentation. Upcoming projects include commissions for the Brooklyn Youth Chorus for the Brooklyn Philharmonic‘s “Reboot” Season; Third Coast Percussion; violist Nadia Sirota; and a new collaboration with Shara Worden.
On October 26, 2010, Sarah released her first album, Penelope, a song cycle with lyrics by Ellen McLaughlin, featuring Shara Worden and Signal, conducted by Brad Lubman, on New Amsterdam Records. Hailed as “rapturous” (The New York Times), ”the year’s most affecting creation” (Time Out New York), and “culturally electric new music” (The Los Angeles Times), Penelope was named to dozens of year-end best-of lists internationally, including NPR, Time Out New York, eMusic, textura, The Huffington Post, and All About Jazz (“newcomer musician of the year”), and also received critical acclaim from Pitchfork, New York Magazine, Death and Taxes,The Utne Reader, The Chicago Reader, Venus, New Music Box, The New Haven Advocate, and many others. Of the album, the influential webzine Pitchfork writes: “Snider’s music lives in…an increasingly populous inter-genre space that, as of yet, has produced only a few clear, confident voices. Snider is perhaps the most sophisticated of them all: No matter what perspective you bring to this album, it bears profound rewards.” To stream, download, or purchase Penelope, go here.
In addition to her work as a composer, Sarah is a passionate advocate for new music in New York and beyond. From 2001-2007 she co-curated the Look & Listen Festival, a new music series set in modern art galleries. Since 2007 she has served as Co-Director, along with William Brittelle and Judd Greenstein, of New Amsterdam Records, an independent record label and artists’ service organization recently called “the focal point of the post-classical scene,” (Time Out New York) and “emblematic of an emerging generation” (The New York Times), and praised for “releasing one quality disc after another” (Newsweek).
Born and raised in Princeton, New Jersey, Sarah has an M.M. and Artist Diploma from the Yale School of Music and a B.A. from Wesleyan University. In 2006 she was a Schumann Fellow at the Aspen Music Festival. The recipient of numerous honors and distinctions for her music, she has studied with Martin Bresnick, Marc-Andre Dalbavie, Justin Dello Joio, Aaron Jay Kernis, Ezra Laderman, David Lang, and Christopher Rouse. She lives in Princeton with her husband, Steven, and their two young children. Her music is published by Good Child Music Publishing.
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