Andrea Clearfield

Discipline: Composing

Based In: Philadelphia, PA

Year at Millay: 2005, 2003

Awards/Honors: Participant, Visby International Centre for Composers, Visby, Sweden (2026, 2023); Artist-in-Residence, The Bellagio Center Residency Program, The Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center, Lake Como, Italy (2024); Artist-in-Residence, I-Park Residency, East Haddam, CT (2023); Artist-in-Residence, Marble House Project, Dorset, VT (2023); Artist-in-Residence, Leighton Studios, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Banff, Canada (2022); Artist-in-Residence, VCCA–France, Le Moulin à Nef, Auvillar, France (2022); Artist-in-Residence, Women’s International Study Center, Santa Fe, NM (2022); Composer-in-Residence, National Concerts, Carnegie Hall, New York, NY (2020–2022); Artist-in-Residence, Residency Program, Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest, IL (2021); Fellow, MacDowell, Peterborough, NH (2021, 2014, 2011, 2009, 2005); Artist-in-Residence, Mojácar Residency, Fundación Valparaíso, Mojácar, Spain (2020); Award Winner, International Artist Residency Award, The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, Philadelphia, PA (2020); Artist-in-Residence, The Helene Wurlitzer Foundation of New Mexico, Taos, NM (2020); Composer-in-Residence, The Steven R. Gerber Composer-in-Residence Program, The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA (2018–2019); Artist-in-Residence, Copland House Residency Awards, The Copland House, Cortlandt, NY (2018–2019, 2014–2015); Artist-in-Residence, VCCA Residency, Amherst, VA (2018); Artist-in-Residence, Music, Ucross Foundation, Clearmont, WY (2018); Fellow, Pew Fellowship in the Arts, The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, Philadelphia, PA (2016); Fellow, Civitella Ranieri Fellowship, Civitella Ranieri Foundation, New York, NY (2013); Artist-in-Residence, Blue Mountain Center, Blue Mountain Lake, NY (2013); Artist-in-Residence, Djerassi Resident Artists Program, Woodside, CA (2009); Fellow, Fellowships in the Arts, Independence Foundation, Philadelphia, PA (2017, 2008); Fellow, Tyrone Guthrie Fellowship, The Tyrone Guthrie Centre, Monaghan, Ireland (2002).

Website: https://www.andreaclearfield.com/

Creating deep, emotive musical languages that build cultural and artistic bridges, the music of Andrea Clearfield is performed widely in the US and abroad. She has been praised by The New York Times for her “graceful tracery and lively, rhythmically vital writing”, the Philadelphia Inquirer for her “compositional wizardry” and “mastery with large choral and instrumental forces,” the Los Angeles Times for her “fluid and glistening orchestration” and by Opera News for her “vivid and galvanizing” music of “timeless beauty.” She has written 175 works for opera, chorus, orchestra, chamber ensemble, dance, and multimedia, including 17 cantatas. Documenting Tibetan music in the Himalayas inspired a decade of new work including the opera MILA, Great Sorcerer to libretto by Jean-Claude van Itallie and Lois Walden presented at the NYC Prototype Festival. She received a Pew International Residency Award, a Pew Fellowship in the Arts, two Independence Foundation Fellowships, two Fellowships at the Rockefeller’s Bellagio Center and Fellowships at the American Academy in Rome, MacDowell, Yaddo, and Copland House, among others. Dr. Clearfield served on the Composition Faculty at The University of the Arts from 1986–2011. Passionate about building community around the arts, she is founder, curator and host of the Philadelphia Szalon featuring contemporary, classical, jazz, folk, electronic, and world music since 1986. Andrea served two terms on the Board of the Grammy’s, Philadelphia Chapter, and currently serves on the Board of Wildflower Composers, highlighting voices of female, nonbinary, genderqueer, and transgender composers. She is represented by Black Tea Music.