Composer in residence Ellen Reid
Female composers are gradually taking over the concert stage, and Ellen Reid is one of them. During the 2023-24 season, she will be the composer in residence for both The Concertgebouw concert hall and the Concertgebouw Orchestra: a unique collaboration. Reid, an American, is well-known as one of her generation’s most versatile, original, and innovative composers. She composes chamber music and orchestral works, often combined with electronic sounds. She also makes sound installations and film and television scores. In 2019, Reid won the Pulitzer Prize for music with her opera, p r i s m.
Ellen Reid in Amsterdam
In the coming season, her music will be part of The Concertgebouw’s own programming, and she will live and work in Amsterdam for a few months in the spring. She will collaborate with orchestra musicians in chamber music concerts, including one in the Bijlmer Klassiek series at the Bijlmer Parktheater. Another component of her residency will be a soundwalk (see ellenreidsoundwalk.com).
Ellen Reid has also been commissioned to write a new work for the orchestra, which will be premiered in the 2024-25 season. In March 2024, the world premiere of her new opera The Shell Trial at the Opera Forward Festival, will feature members of both the Academy and the Concertgebouw Orchestra.
Female composers
Ellen Reid’s residency illustrates a crucial development: in recent years, symphony orchestras are finally turning their attention to female composers. In the 2023-24 season, eleven female composers will be giving the Concertgebouw Orchestra’s programming a boost. Klaus Mäkelä will be at the helm for a new work by Betsy Jolas. And Jaap van Zweden will conduct Sofia Gubaidulina’s Viola Concerto with Antoine Tamestit as the soloist. The children’s concert RAZZMATAZZ! will feature works by Florence Price and Joan Tower. In addition, listeners can look forward to pieces by Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, Louise Farrenc, Lili Boulanger, Unsuk Chin, Jessie Montgomery and Kelly-Marie Murphy.