In this episode, I have the pleasure of speaking with the remarkable composer Libby Larsen about her journey into the world of music. We discuss the importance of viewing music education as a language-based approach, where understanding the “language” of music is just as critical as performance. Libby and I also explore the relationship between composition and performance, emphasizing the role of performers in bringing a composer’s work to life and the contemporary challenges that composers face in today’s music industry.

Our conversation extends to the impact of social media on artistic promotion and the pressure on composers to establish a personal brand based on identity categories at the expense of the focus on the music itself. Libby shares valuable insights from her own career, including her notable works for Oxford and some other publishers. We delve into the creation of meaningful art, the challenges of getting noticed in the industry, and the significance of staying true to one’s passion in the face of external pressures.

Tune in, and have your thinking stimulated and challenged. Then, weigh in yourself with your related ideas and experiences on Facebook in the Choralosophers group or over on choralosophy.substack.com

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She has created a catalogue of over 500 works spanning virtually every genre from intimate vocal and chamber music to massive orchestral works and over 15 operas. Grammy award-winning and widely recorded, including over 50 CDs of her work, she is constantly sought after for commissions and premieres by major artists, ensembles, and orchestras around the world, and has established a permanent place for her works in the concert repertory.

As a vigorous, articulate advocate for the music and musicians of our time, in 1973 Larsen co-founded the Minnesota Composers Forum, now the American Composer’s Forum, which has become an invaluable aid for composers in a transitional time for American arts.  A former holder of the Papamarkou Chair at John W. Kluge Center of the Library of Congress, Larsen has also held residencies with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Charlotte Symphony, and the Colorado Symphony.

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