Gwyneth Walker

"Press Kit" Composer Information

This page contains the following links and information intended primarily for the use of journalists or those preparing programs or publicity materials related to the music of Gwyneth Walker. Links on the website's home page contain all other information regarding Walker's music.

• Biography
• Download Printable version (color) of Gwyneth Walker portrait shot
  (no photo credit necessary)
• Download Full-size printable version (color) of Gwyneth Walker portrait shot
  (use photo credit: Kansas State University)
• Download Full-size printable version (color) of Gwyneth Walker portrait shot
  (use photo credit: Robert Eddy)
• Download Full-size printable version (B&W) of Gwyneth Walker and the cows photo
  (use photo credit: Robert Eddy)
• Download Full-size printable version (B&W) of Gwyneth Walker portrait shot
  (no photo credit necessary)

• View a video introduction and interview with the composer -- strongly recommended.
• Hear Gwyneth Walker on WFDD with David Ford, Winston-Salem, NC -- archived broadcast from February 26, 2005 in RealAudio G2 or MP3
• Hear Gwyneth Walker on WDAV with Rachel Jeffreys, Davidson, NC -- archived broadcast from February 23, 2005 in RealAudio G2 or MP3

• Read Gwyneth Walker: An American Original, an introduction to her work by Carson P. Cooman.
• Read For Braintree Composer Gwyneth Walker, The Commissions Keep On Coming by Ruth Horowitz, Seven Days. (1999)
• Read An Interview with Gwyneth Walker by Gene Brooks, Executive Director, The American Choral Directors Association. (1999)
• Read Gwyneth Walker to Receive VCA Lifetime Achievement Award by Marjorie Drysdale, The Herald of Randolph. (2000)
• Read An Interview with Gwyneth Walker by Susan Weber and Marcia Lee Goldberg, MMB Music Newsletter. (2004)
• Read Walker Celebrates Lifetime of Composition by Chris Costanzo, The Randolph Herald. (2007)
• Read a review of Harlem Songs (2000) for SATB chorus and piano by Orson Scott Card, The Rhinocerous Times.
• Read a review of I Thank You God (1998) for SSA chorus and piano by Roger MacNeill, Nebraska Music Educators Association.
• Read a review of Craftsbury Trio (1990) for piano trio by Jim Lowe, The Times Argus.
• Read a review of The Light of Three Mornings (1987) for orchestra by Everett Hafner, Daily Hampshire Gazette.
• Read essays by and about the composer.
• View the full list of articles about the composer's music and activities.
• View the full list of reviews of the composer's works.

Biography

Widely performed throughout the country, the music of American composer Gwyneth Walker is beloved by performers and audiences alike for its energy, beauty, reverence, drama, and humor. Dr. Gwyneth Walker (b. 1947) is a graduate of Brown University and the Hartt School of Music. She holds B.A., M.M. and D.M.A. degrees in Music Composition. A former faculty member of the Oberlin College Conservatory, she resigned from academic employment in 1982 in order to pursue a career as a full-time composer. For nearly 30 years, she lived on a dairy farm in Braintree, Vermont before returning to live in her childhood hometown of New Canaan, Connecticut.

A composer since age two, Gwyneth Walker has always placed great value on writing in a broad array of genres. More than 400 commissioned works for orchestra, chamber ensembles, solo instruments, chorus, and solo voice have been created—all arising from the impetus of performers and collaboration with musicians. Over the decades, she has traveled throughout North America to attend performances of her works and to meet her musician colleagues.

Gwyneth Walker is a proud resident of New England. She was the recipient of the 2000 "Lifetime Achievement Award" from the Vermont Arts Council and the 2018 "Alfred Nash Patterson Lifetime Achievement Award" from Choral Arts New England. In 2020, her alma mater, the Hartt School of Music of the University of Hartford, presented her with the Hartt Alumni Award.

Walker's catalog includes musical works of many sorts: arrangements of traditional folk songs; original music in both vocal and instrumental genres inspired by great American poetry; dramatic works that combine music with readings, acting, and movement; works for student performers of all ages; and large-scale pieces for professional players and ensembles. The music of Gwyneth Walker is published by E.C. Schirmer (choral/vocal/instrumental music) and Lauren Keiser Music (orchestral/instrumental music).