Rachel Portman is the first female composer to win an Academy award for her original score for Emma. She also received Academy nominations for Chocolat and Ciderhouse Rules, which also earned her a Golden Globe Nomination. Having scored over 100 films, Portman also enjoys writing for the concert hall and the stage.
Misato Mochizuki’s works, which have been performed at international festivals such as the Salzburg Festival, the Biennale di Venezia, and the Folle Journée in Tokyo, have received numerous awards. Her most outstanding productions include the orchestral portrait concert at Suntory Hall in Tokyo (2007), the cinema concert at the Louvre with the music to the silent film Le fil blanc de la cascade by Kenji MIzoguchi (2007), and the portrait concert at the Festival d’Automne in Paris (2010).
Best known for her musical theater works her award-winning catalog includes Fun Home (Tony Award, Pulitzer finalist); Caroline, or Change (Olivier Award); Violet; Shrek; Thoroughly Modern Millie; Twelfth Night; A Free Man of Color; and by The Public at Central Park: Mother Courage.
IFTA-nominee Anna Rice is fast emerging as a versatile and highly sought-after composer and orchestrator in the UK and Irish music industries. Equally at home in orchestral and electronic fields, she enjoys a varied career scoring both animation and live action, and a busy schedule as orchestrator and arranger for a number of renowned live and recording artists in Ireland and beyond.
Kaija Saariaho is a prominent member of a group of Finnish composers and performers who are now, in mid-career, making a worldwide impact.
Karen Tanaka is an exceptionally versatile composer and pianist. She has composed extensively for both instrumental and electronic media.
As Master of the Queen’s Music, Judith Weir supports school music teachers, amateur orchestras and choirs, and rural festivals. She has written music for national and royal occasions, including the Queen’s 90th birthday celebrations and the UK’s official commemoration of the 1918 Armistice.
“The High Priestess of Soul,” Nina Simone was a singer, pianist, songwriter, and civil rights activist. Mostly known as a jazz singer, her music blended gospel, blues, folk, pop, and classical styles. No popular singer was more closely associated with the Civil Rights Movement than Simone.
One of the greatest jazz pianists, composers, and arrangers of all time, Mary Lou Williams was a swing and bebop icon. “The Lady Who Swings the Band” also devoted herself to aiding musicians in need and teaching younger generations about jazz’s rich African American heritage.
Toshiko Akiyoshi changed the face of jazz music over her sixty-year career. As one of few women and Asian musicians in the jazz world, Akiyoshi infused Japanese culture, sounds, and instruments into her music. As a pianist, bandleader, and composer-arranger, Akiyoshi cemented her place as one of the most important jazz musicians of the twentieth century.