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43-697: The Radcliffe Choral Society was founded in 1899 by Elizabeth Cary Agassiz , the first President of Radcliffe College , and is one of the oldest women's choirs in the nation and the oldest women's organization at Radcliffe. In 1913, under the leadership of Dr. Archibald T. Davison , the Radcliffe Choral Society began a tradition of collaboration with the Harvard Glee Club and the Boston Symphony Orchestra . Through Davison's conductorship and that of his successors,

86-525: A change to make each of their choruses' by-laws gender-neutral. The musical nature of the Radcliffe Choral Society's traditions remained unchanged, but it now welcomes singers of all gender identities. The Choral Society emphasized its desire to preserve its legacy and history while embracing inclusivity and rejecting discrimination. In January 2019, RCS embarked on its first joint tour with the Harvard Glee Club since 1967. The two groups performed both joint and individual concerts throughout Texas. RCS also joined

129-843: A member of the Ladies' Visiting Committee for the Kindergarten for the Blind, under the Perkins Institution for the Blind . She acted as treasurer for the Cambridge branch of the committee until an illness in 1904. Agassiz's research can be studied through her published books in addition to her series of diary entries depicting her global ventures. Her publications include A First Lesson in Natural History (1859) and Seaside Studies in Natural History (1865), in which she

172-593: A school for girls from Boston. Her husband supported her by giving courses as well as arranging for courses from other Harvard professors. After the closure of the school in 1863 she helped organize and manage the Thayer Expedition with her husband, who she accompanied to Brazil (1865–1866). This expedition, occurring from 1865 to 1866, took place at the end of the American Civil War , its maiden voyage from New York to Rio de Janeiro beginning in

215-938: Is a contemporary American classical composer. Along with composer Stephen Paulus , she is a co-founder of the Minnesota Composers Forum, now the American Composers Forum . A former holder of the Papamarkou Chair at John W. Kluge Center of the Library of Congress , Larsen has also held residencies with the Minnesota Orchestra , the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra and the Colorado Symphony Orchestra . Libby Larsen

258-434: Is by reading scores voraciously, from Chuck Berry to Witold Lutosławski ." Her style and approach to music comes from her own philosophy on music. Her music comes from the sound she hears everyday around her in the world. It is noted for its "energy, optimism, rhythmic diversity, colourful orchestration, liberated tonality without harsh dissonance, and pervading lyricism." The rhythms used are often taken directly from

301-491: The Minnesota Composers Forum with colleague Stephen Paulus with the goal to provide a public platform and an audience for the creation and performance of new compositions, along with giving practical help in business matters such as applying for fellowships and negotiating contracts. In 1996, the organization changed its name to the American Composers Forum and established chapters in cities throughout

344-652: The Pacific Coast , specifically California, for three months. Agassiz died on June 27, 1907, in Arlington, Massachusetts of a cerebral hemorrhage . She is buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery with her husband. The monument is a boulder selected from the moraine of the Aar Glaciers , near where Agassiz once lived. Libby Larsen Elizabeth Brown Larsen (born December 24, 1950)

387-522: The Saint Joseph of Carondelet nuns at Christ the King School. All students sang Gregorian Chant and learned to sight-read using moveable ‘do’ solfege . The rhythmic flexibility and prosody of text Larsen learned in chant showed her that there is freedom in music, a concept that would prove to be very influential in her future compositions. In addition to her classical training, Larsen's father

430-455: The American language: "our own American language has beautiful rhythms in it; it is this American vernacular and the rhythm of our American life that is the language of my music." Pieces such as Holy Roller (about a revivalist preacher’s speech) and Bid Call (about auctioneering patterns) showcase this style. Larsen composes without barlines, preferring to first discover the natural flow of

473-669: The Choral Society continued to gain prominence throughout the United States as a women's choir of distinction and excellence. Elliot Forbes , a conductor and well-known Beethoven scholar, conducted both the Radcliffe Choral Society and the Harvard Glee Club from 1958 to 1970. In 1965, the Radcliffe Choral Society and the Harvard Glee Club were nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Choral Performance (Other than Opera)" for their recording of Mozart's Requiem in memory of Harvard graduate and U.S. President John F. Kennedy . In

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516-545: The Festival of Women's Choruses, which took place over two days and included workshops, seminars, and three concerts. Seven high school and college women's choirs, as well as professional ensemble Tapestry, performed. Special guests included composers Hilary Tann , Caron Barnett , Libby Larsen , Patricia Van Ness , and keynote speaker Ambassador Swanee Hunt . RCS toured Atlanta and surrounding areas in March and combined with

559-772: The Glee Club, fall and spring performances in Sanders Theatre, and the ARTS First celebration in May. The choir is one of the few remaining organizations to carry the Radcliffe College name, and one of two organizations on campus to perform Radcliffiana, or traditional Radcliffe College tunes, including the school's fight song and alma mater . In the spring of 2018, the Harvard Choruses announced

602-810: The Harvard Glee Club and the Yale Glee Club in November 2019 for the 120th annual Harvard-Yale Football Concert for the first time since the concert's inception. The 'Cliffe Notes is the a cappella subset of the Radcliffe Choral Society, founded in 1991. They perform a variety of repertoire ranging from jazz to folk to pop, all arranged by members of the group. 'Cliffe Notes, also known as 'CN, performs during RCS performances in venues such as Sanders Theatre, as well as for jams, private parties, caroling, parades, benefits, and other events. Elizabeth Cary Agassiz Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz ( pseudonym , Actaea ; née Cary; December 5, 1822 – June 27, 1907)

645-825: The Harvard Glee Club and the Harvard Radcliffe Collegium Musicum, including Beethoven's Missa Solemnis for the celebration of Jim Marvin's 25th Anniversary and Mozart 's Requiem in D for the ACDA Eastern Division Regional Conference. RCS also made history as the first choir from Harvard to tour in Africa by traveling to South Africa for three weeks during the summer of 2004. The choir gave performances in Johannesburg and Cape Town, as well as at several universities. The 2004–2005 season began with

688-882: The Harvard Glee Club and the Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum for the ARTS First performance of Brahms' Ein Deutsches Requiem. From 2005 to 2009, the Radcliffe Choral Society toured the UK, performing in Southwark Cathedral (where John Harvard was baptized), the American Northwest, Costa Rica , and the American South. It combined with the Holden Choruses to perform Handel 's Messiah with

731-554: The Harvard University Director of Choral Activities in 2010. In the spring of 2011, Radcliffe Choral Society performed Ross Lee Finney 's Pilgrim Psalms with the Harvard Glee Club and John Adams' On the Transmigration of Souls paired with Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with the Glee Club, Collegium-Musicum, and Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra. It also embarked on a tour to Southern California. That fall,

774-722: The Orchestra of Emmanuel Music , Stravinsky 's Symphony of Psalms , and Beethoven 's Missa Solemnis . It also attended an ACDA Convention in Hartford . In October 2007, the Radcliffe Choral Society was chosen to perform at the inauguration of the Harvard's first female president , Drew Gilpin Faust . In the fall of 2009, RCS hosted a Festival of Women's Choruses, bringing together twelve children's, high school, collegiate, and adult choirs from across New England. The 2009–2010 season

817-822: The Portuguese . In 1996, she received Honorary Doctorates from both St. Mary's College/Notre Dame, and the University of Nebraska . In addition to being known as a composer, Larsen is known as a musical philosopher and speaker. She has given keynote addresses at places such as the League of American Orchestras , American Choral Directors Association , American Orff-Schulwerk Association National Convention, Concert Band Directors National Association, Dominique de Menil Presidential Lecture Series at Rice University (2001), Music Educators National Convention, and National Association of Schools of Music . From 2003-04, she served as

860-542: The Radcliffe Choral Society, with the other Holden Choruses and HRO, and accompanied by a light show, performed as part of Harvard's 375th Anniversary celebration, which featured speeches from President Faust and Dean Evelynn Hammonds and closed with a performance by Yo-Yo Ma . That winter, the RCS and HGC premiered the commissioned piece Winter (the forgottens) by Dan Locklair . RCS rehearses in Holden Chapel , which

903-786: The Youth Division of the International Eisteddfod in Llangollen , Wales . Under her dynamic leadership, the group achieved tremendous growth and acclaim. During this time, the Radcliffe Choral Society performed frequently with the British a cappella vocal ensemble the King's Singers . In 1995, the Radcliffe Choral Society came under the leadership of Dr. Jameson Marvin . The group's endeavors under Marvin's baton included its fifth international tour to Western Europe in

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946-552: The associate director of choral activities at Harvard. In the spring of 1998, DeFotis led the Choral Society on tour to England . In 1999, RCS celebrated its 100th birthday with a Centennial Celebration. Among the festivities were a concert, alumnae reunion, receptions, and banquet. The year ended with the performance of Beethoven's 9th Symphony at Arts First and RCS's sixth international tour to South America . The next five years included spring tours to Virginia, Northern California, and New Orleans and masterworks performances with

989-529: The country including Texas Fort Worth Mesquite, Atlanta, Washington D.C. and Los Angeles, among others. Its base is still in St. Paul, Minnesota. In 1983, Larsen was appointed one of the Minnesota Orchestra's two composers-in-residence , making her the first woman to serve as a resident composer with a major orchestra. She composed her first symphony, Water Music , for the Minnesota Orchestra, which

1032-647: The fall of 1978, Beverly Taylor became the conductor of the Radcliffe Choral Society, leading the group on four international tours to the British Isles in 1979, to Northern Europe in 1983, to Central Europe in 1987, and to Sweden , Poland , and Czechoslovakia in 1992. While abroad, the Radcliffe Choral Society won several international prizes, including Second Prize at the Dutch International Koorfest in The Hague and first prize in

1075-597: The first Harissios Papamarkou Chair in Education and Technology at the Library of Congress. In 2010, Larsen received a George Peabody Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Music in America. When asked about her influences, Larsen responded, "To tell the truth, my teachers have come to me from unexpected places in my musical life. They have been poets, architects, painters and philosophers. The other way I really learn

1118-724: The founding of the coeducational Anderson School of Natural History. In 1869, she became one of the first women members of the American Philosophical Society (with Mary Fairfax Somerville and Maria Mitchell ); she became a member on October 15. In 1879, Agassiz was one of seven female managing directors of the Society for the Private Collegiate Instruction for Women ( Harvard Annex ). This provided qualified women who intended to pursue an advancement in their education in Cambridge with

1161-710: The medical school throughout the winters of 1851–1852 and 1852–1853. She visited Europe with him in 1859. She worked closely with her husband in his scientific research. Specifically, she accompanied him as the main writer and record keeper for the Thayer Expedition to Brazil, from April 1865 to August 1866, and the Hassler Expedition through the Strait of Magellan , from December 1871 to August 1872. In 1856, in their home in Cambridge , Agassiz founded

1204-474: The opportunity to have private tuition from professors at Harvard College. Agassiz was essential in ensuring that the "Harvard Annex" for women's education was transformed in 1894 from Harvard University into Radcliffe College . From 1894 to 1900, this college was under their direction and from 1900 to 1903 she was honorary president. With her tact and her fundraising skills she promoted the college and contributed significantly to its continuity. Agassiz became

1247-725: The second, she wrote an account for the Atlantic Monthly . She published A First Lesson in Natural History ( Boston , 1859) and edited Geological Sketches (1866). Elizabeth Cabot Cary was born on December 5, 1822, into a Boston Brahmin family of New England ancestry. She was born at the house of her grandfather, Thomas Handasyd Perkins , on Pearl Street in Boston, Massachusetts . Her parents were Mary Ann Cushing Perkins Cary and Thomas Graves Cary (who had graduated from Harvard University in 1811). The Cary and Perkins families were from England and came to Massachusetts during

1290-582: The seventeenth century. Elizabeth Cary was the second of five daughters and seven children and was referred to as "Lizzie" by her immediate family and close friends. Because of her fragile health, she was tutored at home in Temple Place, Boston, which included the study of languages, drawing, music, and reading. She additionally received informal history lessons from Elizabeth Peabody . Agassiz traveled with her husband, Louis Agassiz , and their family to Charleston, South Carolina for his professorship in

1333-470: The spring of 1917 with the assistance of the Council of Radcliffe College. Following the marriage of her older sister Mary to Harvard Professor Cornelius Conway Felton (later president of Harvard University), Agassiz began socializing with a group of intellectuals in Cambridge, Massachusetts . In 1846, she met scientist Louis Agassiz at a dinner with Mary and her husband. Though they wanted to marry, he

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1376-626: The summer of 1996, performing in concerts in France , Monaco , Switzerland , and Italy . The group also performed Brahms ' Ein Deutsches Requiem at Lincoln Center in New York City with the Harvard Glee Club, appeared for the fourth time at the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) Convention, and released of a compact disc. In 1996, Constance DeFotis joined the Radcliffe Choral Society as

1419-441: The theater which showed different perspectives (e.g. those of the monster or those of Frankenstein himself) throughout the opera. This opera was Larsen's first exploration of technological sound and was selected as one of the eight best classical music events of 1990 by USA Today . In 1993, she won a Grammy Award for producer of Best Classical Vocal Performance for "The Art of Arlene Augér", featuring her song cycle Sonnets from

1462-543: The war's final week. In 1867, she began a correspondence with Arnold Guyot , a geologist and meteorologist . She also helped organize and manage the next expedition (the Hassler Expedition in 1871–1872), which was the first important marine exploration by the United States government, and made transcripts. After her husband's death in 1873, she published several books on natural history for which she had conducted research for many years. Agassiz contributed to

1505-489: Was RCS's final season under the baton of Jameson Marvin. After a tour to the Northeastern United States, the group concluded their season with the world premier of Robert Kyr 's Song of Awakening , commissioned for the occasion of Dr. Marvin's retirement by the Radcliffe Choral Society, the Harvard Glee Club, and the Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum and sung by all three choirs. Andrew Clark became

1548-498: Was an American educator, naturalist , writer, and the co-founder and first president of Radcliffe College . A researcher of natural history , she was an author and illustrator of natural history texts as well as a co-author of natural history texts with her husband, Louis Agassiz , and her stepson Alexander Agassiz . Agassiz traveled to Brazil with her husband from 1865 to 1866, and on the Hassler expedition from 1871 to 1872; of

1591-774: Was an amateur clarinetist in a Dixieland band, and her mother played boogie-woogie on the record player, giving her a multifarious and very American musical background. Larsen attended the University of Minnesota for both her undergraduate and graduate work. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theory and Composition in 1971, a Masters of Arts degree in Composition in 1975, and a PhD in Theory and Composition in 1978. Throughout her studies at university, she studied composition with Dominick Argento , Paul Fetler and Eric Stokes . In 1975, Larsen married her husband, James Reece, whom she met at university. In 1973, Larsen co-founded

1634-470: Was assisted by her stepson, Alexander Emanuel Agassiz . Elizabeth Agassiz originally published A First Lesson under the pseudonym Actaea . Additionally, Elizabeth Agassiz co-authored A Journey in Brazil (1868) and edited and published Louis Agassiz: His Life and Correspondence in 1885. A biography of Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz was later written by her sister, Emma F. Cary, and Lucy Allen Paton, published in

1677-515: Was born on December 24, 1950, in Wilmington, Delaware , the daughter of Robert Larsen and Alice Brown Larsen. She was the third of five daughters in the family, and at the age of three, Libby and her family moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her first musical experience dates from the time when she was three years old. She observed her older sister's piano lessons at home; later, she imitated what she had heard. Her formal music education began at

1720-609: Was born. Larsen organized and became artistic director of the Hot Notes Series (sponsored by the Schubert Club of St. Paul) in 1993, which focuses on the modern keyboard, particularly on the interaction between performer and synthesized sound. This interaction has become a feature of her later works, including Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus (1990) based on the book by Mary Shelley . This work used electronic visual effects such as projectors and screens around

1763-474: Was built in 1744 and sits in the middle of historic Harvard Yard . Most of RCS's local concerts are performed at Harvard in Sanders Theatre , which is well known for its acoustics and design. Yearly traditions include participation in the university's Convocation and Commencement ceremonies, including Baccalaureate and Senior Class Day. Annual concerts include a traditional Christmas concert with

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1806-841: Was married, with three children (Pauline, Ida and Alexander ) in Switzerland . His wife had died in 1848. In December 1849 — when it became more socially acceptable for the couple to wed — Lizzie's father gave his blessing in support of their marriage. They married on April 25, 1850, in Boston, Massachusetts at King's Chapel . Agassiz organized the household and took care of the finances and the children. She developed strong relationships with her stepchildren, Alexander, Ida, and Pauline, and her grandchildren. She had no children of her own. After her husband's death in 1873, Agassiz continued to devote time to her work and family. She continued to enjoy traveling, and in 1892, Agassiz ventured with family to

1849-488: Was premiered in 1985 under Sir Neville Marriner . During her time with the Minnesota Orchestra, Larsen researched reasons for the low attendance of people of her own age at classical concerts and why non-European composers were not adequately represented in concert programs. This led her to studies of classical music in America and its place in American culture, the results of which she has explored in her compositions and other philosophical projects. In 1986, her daughter Wynne

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