The varied works of Anna have been heard throughout North America, Europe, and Asia from 1978 to the present. Beginning with acoustic composition in traditional forms – solo, chamber, and orchestral works for various ensembles - she has focused more recently on the integration of amplified instruments with live electronics as well as ‘electric stories’ – richly layered narrations embedded in digital sound. The special sounds of Baroque instruments – lute, flute, oboe, recorder, and the viola da gamba – have also inspired her to write many works. Her most recent experiments involve composing music that extends the natural and graceful movements of the virtuoso performer, ritual, and dance.
In addition to two recent awards by the Maryland State Arts Council, she has been honored multiple times by both the Ohio Arts Council and the New York Foundation for the Arts, and named a Fellow of the National Orchestral Association. The Delta Ensemble Gaudeamus Prize was granted to her work De Nacht: Lament for Malcolm X in Holland in 1984. She and co-composer Laurie Hollander were awarded a jury prize by the Aether Festival #1- International Radio Art/Radio Station KUNM, Albuquerque, NM for their piece Family Stories: Sophie, Sally.
Her work has been commissioned by several groups including: New England Foundation for the Arts, The New York State Arts Council, the Northern Ohio Youth Orchestra/ Oberlin Choristers/Ohio Ballet Theatre, Cleveland Choral Arts Society, Urban Sky Consort, WNYC-New York Public Radio, New American Radio, and the Washington International Chorus.
Soloists such as Thomas Buckner, Marlowe Fisher, F. Gerard Errante, Jeffrey Krieger, E. Michael Richards, Airi Yoshioka, Maria Loos, and Isabelle Ganz have commissioned works from her as well. Her work has been performed by such ensembles as the Da Capo Chamber Players, Los Angeles EAR Unit, the Nash Ensemble, Contemporary Music Forum, and Ruckus. Performances in recent years have occurred in Beijing, Hong Kong, Berlin, Munich, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Baltimore, Miami and on nearly a score of university campuses in the United States. Such organizations as the International Computer Music Association, the Society for Electro-Acoustic Music U.S., and the International Alliance for Women in Music have featured her compositions as well.
Her work is recorded on the Albany, Capstone, Neuma, Sony, and SEAMUS labels and she is published by Leisure Planet and AR New Music Publications. She has taught at Oberlin College, Lafayette College, and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County from which she retired in 2018 . She began her graduate work with composers Mel Powell, Earle Brown, and Pauline Oliveros, and completed a doctorate in composition with Paul Lansky at Princeton University.
Her research into the work of composer Francis Dhomont has resulted in publications and conference presentations in France and the U.S.
She has had a long association with a number of contemporary music associations including the American Music Center (one-time editor), Independent Composers Association of LA (co-founder), Perspectives in New Music (editorial board), and the International Alliance for Women in Music (former president and board member).
Links
The following are links to external websites and will open in a new window:
Homepage
http://www.annarubinmusic.com/
Articles
Women Composers and Music Technology in the United States: crossing the line Pages 78-82
Writings
Article on Female composers pages 316-317
Bibliography
B. Grigsby: “Women Composers of Electronic Music in the United States”, The Musical Woman: an International Perspective, i: 1983, ed. J.L. Zaimont and others (Westport, CT, 1984), 154-96
Hinkle-Turner: ‘Recent Electro-Acoustic Music by Women: A Survey’, ILWC Journal (1992), Oct. 8-14