Lauren Bernofsky

Biography

Lauren Bernofsky (b. 1967, Rochester, N.Y.) is an American composer.

Dr. Bernofsky holds degrees from the Hartt School, New England Conservatory, and Boston University, where she earned a doctorate in composition. She has taught at Boston University, The Peabody Institute, and Interlochen, and she regularly serves as a clinician and guest conductor at schools, universities, and regional festivals.

Hailed by Lukas Foss as “a master composer,” Lauren Bernofsky has written well over a hundred works, including solo, chamber, and choral music, as well as larger-scale works for orchestra, film, musical, opera, wind ensemble, and ballet. Inspired by the expressive potential of each instrument, her distinctive language speaks both to musical history and the present day. Her philosophy of composition is simple: Music should be a joy both to play and to hear. Her music has been performed across the United States as well as internationally in major venues from Carnegie Hall to Grieg Hall in Bergen, Norway.

Her works have won the National Flute Association’s Newly Published Music Competition, the Longfellow Chorus Award of Distinction, and an Excellence in Composition Award from the Brass Chamber Music Forum. Bernofsky has received grants from The National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts, The American Music Center, and The American Composers Forum. Her compositions have been commissioned by The Del Mar Trio, The Holyoke Civic Symphony, The Litchfield County Children's Choir, The South Shore Conservatory, Sinfonia Calcania of Boston, The Harford Ballet, Reimagining Opera for Kids, the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra, and many others.

Works for Winds

Resources

The Horizon Leans Forward..., compiled and edited by Erik Kar Jun Leung, GIA Publications, 2021, p. 264.
Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music. "Lauren Bernofsky." Accessed 23 June 2020
Lauren Bernofsky website Accessed 23 June 2020