Andrea Clearfield

Artist Statement

I am passionate about writing music that speaks to what is possible in humanity. Communication, connection and collaboration manifest throughout my life and work. During the past forty years I have composed over 160 pieces ranging from opera orchestral, choral, concerti and chamber music to collaborations with dance, visual arts and film. I aspire to synthesize disparate elements into a musical whole. I care about color, texture, structure and form. Drawn to creating large-scale works, I have composed sixteen cantatas on sociocultural themes that speak to freedom from oppression, robots and AI, identity, environmental sustainability, healing from sexual abuse, health, home, migration and diaspora, LGBTQ+ families, transgender youth, banning conversion therapy, mythology, personal transformation, ancient cultures and rituals and cycles of life.

Bio

Creating deep emotive musical languages that build cultural and artistic bridges, the music of Andrea Clearfield is performed widely in the U.S. and abroad. She has written 160+ works for opera, chorus, orchestra, chamber ensemble, dance and multimedia collaborations. Recent compositions, including her opera, MILA, Great Sorcerer to libretto by Jean-Claude van Itallie and Lois Walden, are inspired by Tibetan music fieldwork that she conducted in the Nepalese Himalaya. Among her works are sixteen cantatas including one for The Philadelphia Orchestra. She has been awarded a Pew Center International Residency Fellowship, a Pew Fellowship in the Arts, two Independence Foundation Fellowships and Fellowships at the Rockefeller's Bellagio Center, American Academy in Rome, Yaddo, MacDowell, Copland House, Ucross, Marble House Project and Virginia Center for the Creative Arts among others. Passionate about creating community around the arts, she is also founder of the Philadelphia Salon featuring contemporary, classical, jazz, electronic, dance and world music, now celebrating its 36th Year. More at www.andreaclearfield.com

http://www.andreaclearfield.com/