Lesser-Known Composer of the Month: Margaret Brouwer

Wait, Who?

Margaret Brouwer began composing in high school as an amateur, but her education and early career was primarily as a violininst.  She played with the Dallas Symphony, Fort Worth Symphony, and the Fort Worth Opera Orchestra, as well as playing gigs for the recording industry.  In that capacity she played with a number of popular artists, including tours with Tony Bennett and Johnny Mathis.  She continued composing, though primarily for friends and amateur groups; none of her early works were recorded.

Finding that sustaining a career as a violinist left her little time for composition, she saved up the money to return to Indiana University for a DMA in composition, where her teachers included Donald Erb and George Crumb.  After obtaining her degree, she taught at Washington and Lee University, then moved to the Cleveland Institute of Music where she was head of composition from 1996 until 2008.  She also served as composer-in-residence for the Roanoke Symphony from 1992-1997.

Brouwer has written for for a wide variety of instruments in small and medium ensembles as well as full orchestral works, including four concertos.  Larger works such as her viola concerto often play with the timbral possibilities of different subgroups of instruments. Though primarily an instrumental composer, she has also written several vocal and choral pieces.

Among her more experimental works, her 2009 Breakdown! is a "sample-based hybrid opera" done in collaboration with filmmaker Kasumi, employing thousands of audio and video samples in addition to live orchestral music.