Recorded by the Juilliard Orchestra in 2014; conducted by Jeffrey Milarsky.

Extraordinary Flora

For clarinet, trombone, marimba, piano, violin, and double bass.  Performed by the 2013 Norfolk New Music Ensemble, conducted by Julian Pellicano.

...and Fate turns on a light

The first movement of "Mean Reds," a new sonata for solo viola. Performed by Jacob Shack.

Mean Reds for solo viola:  I. Valentine

Wrung and snapt

for flute, Bb clarinet, guitar, and cello.

With Reluctant Morning Eyes

Cassandra was commissioned in 2015 by the Melodia Women’s Choir of New York City. As a female composer writing for a women’s choir, I found it fitting to create a work that tells a story about an extraordinary woman. I have always been fascinated by Roman and Greek mythology, and I chose to gather multiple texts that together relate the tragedy of the Trojan princess Cassandra.

According to myth, Cassandra was one of the most beautiful women in the world, second only to Helen of Troy. The god Apollo, hoping to seduce the princess, made her his priestess and gave her the gift of prophecy. When Cassandra refused him, he cursed her so that no one would believe a word she said. Thereafter, the Trojans viewed her as a madwoman, and she lived a life of isolation and misery. Following the destruction of Troy, Cassandra was captured by the Greeks and made the concubine of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae and commander of the united Greek army. Upon reaching Mycenae, Agamemnon’s wife, Clytemnestra, murdered Cassandra in a jealous rage.

We don’t know if the princess actually existed, but I wonder - if we strip away the supernatural elements of Cassandra’s story, what was actually “wrong” with her, if anything? I like to imagine her as formidably intelligent and outspoken, an extraordinary woman millennia ahead of her time.

Cassandra 14 May 2016

Cassandra

Premiered by the Yale Philharmonia in December 2016. Conducted by David Yi.

Likely Pictures in Haphazard Sky

"A Clarion Call" (2016) for baritone and chamber ensemble was commissioned by the Eric Stokes Fund in 2015 and premiered in April 2017 by conductor Matthew Cramer, baritone David Tinervia, and Yale University musicians. The piece focuses on the Marshall Islands and the devastating effects of climate change.

IV. Frost and ice

III. If the water comes

II. I am a serious professional

I. Surrounded

Daylights

Composed for "Because," a new book by Mo Willems with illustrations by Amber Ren.

The Cold

Beyond the daily mist of our minds

"John Eason Stops Preaching," performed by C4 and conducted by Ben Arendsen.

John Eason Stops Preaching

Hilary Purrington is a composer of chamber, vocal, and orchestral music. Her work has received recognition from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), the International Alliance for Women in Music, and the National Federation of Music Clubs (NFMC), among others. 

Purrington’s orchestral and chamber works have been performed by many distinguished ensembles, including the Peabody Modern Orchestra, the American Modern Ensemble, Voices of Change, and the Chicago Harp Quartet. Her orchestral work Likely Pictures in Haphazard Sky, premiered by the Yale Philharmonia, has been read by the Philadelphia and American Composers Orchestras and performed by the Minnesota Orchestra. Recent commissions include new works for the New York Youth Symphony and American Composers Orchestra, and upcoming projects include commissions for the Philadelphia Orchestra and the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra. For the 2018–19 season, Purrington was named the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra's Composer of the Year and served as composer-in-residence for the Musical Chairs Chamber Ensemble. She is a 2020 recipient of an orchestral commission from the League of American Orchestra's Women Composers Readings and Commissions program, supported by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.

Purrington has also composed several works for dance. Most recently, the Albany Symphony commissioned Patterns, a new work for chamber orchestra. Inspired by the life of fashion arbiter Ellen Louise Demorest, the piece featured the Albany Berkshire Ballet with choreography by Mary Talmi. In 2018, Purrington participated in Periapsis Music and Dance’s Emerging Artist Residencies and created a new work with choreographer Annalee Traylor, which premiered in May 2019. While attending The Juilliard School, Purrington collaborated with choreographer Stephanie Terasaki to create a new work for brass quartet and dance.  

Also an accomplished vocalist, Purrington has developed a reputation as a skilled composer of solo and choral music. Her song For your judicious and pious consideration was premiered by mezzo-soprano Adele Grabowsky on the 2016 NY Phil Biennial’s New Music New Haven concert. In 2015, the Eric Stokes Fund commissioned Purrington to compose a new song cycle about the devastating effects of climate change. The resulting work, A Clarion Call, was premiered at the 2017 Conference for Ecology and Religion hosted by the Yale Divinity School. Recent vocal commissions include new works for the Melodia Women’s Choir of NYC, Yale Glee Club, inFLUX, and the Bowers/Fader Duo. In April 2019, C4: The Choral Composer/Conductor Collective premiered John Eason Stops Preaching, a new work with words by contemporary poet Julia Bouwsma.

A versatile collaborator, Purrington recently worked with children’s author Mo Willems and composed an original piece to appear in the book Because (Hyperion Books for Children, 2019). Illustrated by artist Amber Ren, Because tells the story of a young girl who devotes herself to studying music and grows up to become a professional conductor and composer. The book reached The New York Times’ Best-Seller List and continues to charm and inspire young readers across the world.

Originally from western Massachusetts, Purrington holds degrees from the Yale School of Music, The Juilliard School, and the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University.

Hilary Purrington

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