NEWS

Maggie Snyder

Creative Research Medal in the Humanities and Arts 2018

Maggie Snyder, associate professor of viola in the Hugh Hodgson School of Music, is an influential champion of contemporary artistic opportunities for her instrument. She has commissioned five original works for viola from four outstanding composers over the last nine years and further deepened the repertoire through live performance, sharing these works at local, national and international venues. Her three CDs produced since 2013 contain a variety of music for three distinct chamber configurations: viola and harpsichord, viola and piano, and solo viola. These discs feature the works that she has commissioned and premiered, including the most recent, Stunned for solo viola, from Libby Larsen, one of the most celebrated composers of our time. These recordings, well produced and brilliantly performed, provide insight for all listeners, especially students, into the capabilities and possibilities of the viola as a solo and chamber instrument.