Tina Davidson

Over her forty-five-year career, Tina Davidson has been commissioned by well-known ensembles such as National Symphony Orchestra, OperaDelaware, Roanoke Symphony, VocalEssence, Kronos Quartet, Cassatt Quartet, and public television (WHYY-TV). Her music has been widely performed by many orchestras and ensembles, including The Philadelphia Orchestra, American Composers Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Relâche Ensemble, and Orchestra 2001. Davidson was commissioned by GRAMMY® Award-winning violinist Hilary Hahn as part of her 27 Encores project. The work, Blue Curve of the Earth, was released on Deutsche Grammophon in 2013, and again in 2018 on Hahn’s new album, Retrospective.

Long-term residencies play a major role in Davidson’s career. As composer-in-residence with the Fleisher Art Memorial (1998-2001), she was commissioned to write for the Cassatt Quartet, Voces Novae et Antiquae, and members of the Philadelphia Orchestra. She also created the city-wide Young Composers program to teach inner city children how to write music through instrument building, improvisation, and graphic notation. She was composer-in-residence as part of the innovative Meet The Composer “New Residencies” with OperaDelaware, the Newark Symphony and the YWCA in Delaware (1994-97). During this residency, she wrote the critically acclaimed full-length opera, Billy and Zelda, as well as created community partner programs for homeless women, and with students at a local elementary school.

The recipient of numerous prestigious grants and fellowships, Davidson was the first classical composer to receive a $50,000 Pew Fellowship. She has been awarded four Artist’s Fellowships from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, CAP grants from the American Music Center and numerous Meet the Composer grants. Her work, Transparent Victims, was selected by the American Public Radio as part of the International Rostrum of Composers, held at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris.

Born in Stockholm, Sweden, Tina Davidson grew up in Oneonta, NY and Pittsburgh, PA. She received her BA in piano and composition from Bennington College in 1976 where she studied with Henry Brant, Louis Calabro, Vivian Fine and Lionel Nowak. She currently lives in Lancaster PA.

Tina Davidson creates music that stands out for its emotional depth and lyrical dignity. Lauded for her authentic voice, she has been praised for her “vivid ear for harmony and colors” (The New York Times) and for offering “real music, with structure, mood, novelty and harmonic sophistication–with haunting melodies that grow out of complex, repetitive rhythms.” (The Philadelphia Inquirer).

Featured Works

Beyond the Blue Horizon - 5 min, for orchestra

Celestial Turnings - 15 min, for string orchestra

Barefoot - 12 min, for string orchestra

”Paper” from Paper, Glass, String & Wood - 15 min, versions for triple string quartet and string orchestra

Blue Curve of the Earth - 5 min, for solo violin

Tremble - 10 min, for piano trio

At the core of my artistic endeavor is a sense of abundance and possibility. There is always a new piece to compose, and an new opportunity to explore. And if I don’t hear or see one, I set out to sniff it out – using all the tools I have honed over the life time. There is always something more.

Interview on YourClassical “New Classical Tracks”

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