Lauren Bernofsky

Lauren Bernofsky
Bernofsky (circa 2021)
Born (1967-09-25) September 25, 1967 (age 57)
Rochester, Minnesota, U.S.
Alma mater

Lauren Bernofsky is an American composer of solo, chamber and choral music as well as larger-scale works for orchestra, film, musical, opera, and ballet. Trained as a violinist, she is particularly known for her writing for brass and winds. Her Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra is frequently performed as audition and recital repertoire and has been featured in the journal of the International Trumpet Guild;[1] it was also the subject of a doctoral dissertation.[2] Her piece "Sonatine" for flute and piano won the National Flute Association's Newly Published Music Competition.[3]

Bernofsky studied at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA), The Hartt School, where she was a student of Eric Rosenblith, New England Conservatory of Music, and at Boston University, where she studied under Lukas Foss. While at NOCCA, she met and took lessons from Ellis Marsalis.[4]

Bernofsky's music is generally tonal/modal, showing influences of Shostakovich, Ravel, Prokofiev, klezmer, and other Eastern European folk music, and often features soaring melodic lines set over syncopation-fueled rhythms and contemporary/experimental approaches to chord structure. Her Trio for Brass has been described as having "poignant harmonies and infectious rhythms."[5] Some of her pieces are environmentally-themed, such as the string quartet Anacostia Journal, written during a residency with the Earth Conservation Corps as part of a project to protect and restore the Anacostia River.[6]

Bernofsky's ecological-futuristic chamber opera for children, Mooch the Magnificent, with a libretto by Scott Russell Sanders based on his novel The Engineer of Beasts, won the Opera Puppets Award at Boston Metro Opera. The opera had its orchestral premiere (in Spanish translation) as part of the Festival Internacional de Artes Vivas in Loja, Ecuador, in 2022.[7]

In 2023, the first act of her new opera The Mensch, about unsung Holocaust hero Anton Schmid, was premiered at Indiana University.[8]

  1. ^ Thornton, Mary (March 2004). "Meet the Composer: Lauren Bernofsky Talks About Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra & Trio for Brass". International Trumpet Guild Journal: 26–29.
  2. ^ Thornton, Mary L. (2002). Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra by Lauren Bernofsky : Conversation and Analysis. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
  3. ^ "Competition Winners By Year". National Flute Association Competition Winners by Year. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  4. ^ Cain, John (March 2012). "Lauren Bernofsky and her Muse : Conversations on the Creative Process of Composing". International Trumpet Guild Journal: 30–36.
  5. ^ Sckolnik, David (10 June 2024). "Review: Colorado College Summer Music Festival brilliantly bursts conventions". The Denver Gazette. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  6. ^ Hanson, Rebekah (2023). "Chamber Music by Female Composers: A Pedagogical Analysis and Historical Overview". American String Teacher. 73 (1): 41-48. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  7. ^ "Una ópera infantil se presenta en Loja, en el marco del Festival Internacional de Artes Vivas". Hora 32. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  8. ^ Salazar, David (7 August 2023). "Indiana University to Present World Premiere of Act one of 'The Mensch'". Opera Wire. Retrieved 21 September 2024.