Liza White writes music that combines influences from all over the musical spectrum, exploring concepts of expressive beauty, rhythmic drive, and meditative order. Her work has been performed by leading ensembles such as ALEA III under the direction of Gunther Schuller, the University of Minnesota Wind Ensemble under the direction of Craig Kirchoff, the Massachusetts Youth Wind Ensemble under the direction of Eric Hewitt, and the Charlestown Symphony Orchestra Brass Quintet. Liza has won numerous awards and honors including the Craig and Janet Swan Prize, the Margaret Blackburn Biennial Composition Competition, and an Emil and Ruth Beyer Award from the National Federation of Music Clubs. She has been invited to attend the Bowdoin International Music Festival, the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, California Summer Music, the Summer Institute for Contemporary Performance Practice, and the Composers’ Conference at Wellesley College, and has held residencies at the MacDowell Colony, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and the Hambidge Center for Creative Arts and Sciences.
Liza received her Master of Music degree in Composition from the New England Conservatory of Music and her Bachelor of Music degree in Composition and Trombone Performance from Boston University. She has also studied at the Royal College of Music in London, England. Her principal teachers have included Ken Ueno, Franck Bedrossian, Michael Gandolfi, Lee Hyla, Ketty Nez, Theodore Antoniou, Martin Amlin, Huw Watkins, and Samuel Headrick. Liza co-founded and co-directed Embryonic NOISE!, a Boston area concert series featuring works by emerging composers, in 2008-2009. She is currently working toward a PhD in Composition at the University of California at Berkeley.
