Ellen Taaffe Zwilich is a 20th-century composer. She was born on April 30, 1939, in Miami Florida. She started out as a violinist, pianist, and a hornist, and earned a bachelor of music degree from Florida State University in 1960. And she also received a master's degree in music in 1962. She then taught in a small South Carolina town, but they moved to New York City. In 1975 Zwilich enrolled in Juilliard. She played in the New York City American symphony orchestra, under the composer Leopold Stokowski for about seven years. She then married Joseph Zwilich. Joseph was a violinist and played in the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, but later died in 1979. She was the first woman to earn the doctorate degree in musical arts in composition from …show more content…
She has composed small pieces of compositions for instruments that are uncommon. Some instruments include the trombone, oboe, bassoon, horn, and more wind and horn instruments. She has also composed group concertos for two pianos but has also composed solo concertos for violins, pianos, and horns. The composer has many larger formatted compositions too.
She has five symphonies, many symphonic works, concerto works, and chamber music. Her first orchestra, “Three Movements for Orchestra”, was performed in 1982 by the American Composers Orchestra. As said before this won her the Pulitzer Prize. She was the first woman to accomplish this award. The Peanuts® Gallery included six pieces for the piano and chamber orchestra in 1996. This composition has six pieces for six characters in the comic this piece as a whole was for. Some characters are well-known in America including Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Lucy and more characters.This Peanuts composition was performed at Carnegie Hall. She composed a group concerto for the New York City Ballet, Tanzspiel in 1987.
In conclusion, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich is a well-known twentieth-century female composer. She has won awards for her musical compositions, and pieces. She was recognized throughout her career as a great composer and won many awards herself. Throughout her career, she has received six honorary doctorate