"I am drawn to composing large-scale work that allows time for the material to unfold, develop, and transform."
Over the last 30 years, Andrea Clearfield (b. 1960) has composed more than 125 works for orchestra, chorus, chamber ensemble, dance, and multimedia collaborations, exploring subjects ranging from freedom and oppression, to ancient cultures, religion, health, and technology. Clearfield creates deep, emotive musical languages that she says, "synthesize disparate elements into a musical whole" and "build cultural and artistic bridges." Her 2012 cantata, Tse Go La (At the threshold of this life) for double chorus, electronics, and chamber orchestra incorporates Tibetan melodies, inspired by fieldwork that she conducted in the remote Himalayan region of Lo Monthang. Her first opera, MILA, Great Sorcerer, based on the life of an 11th-century Tibetan yogi, is currently being developed by American Lyric Theater for a 2017-18 premiere in New York City. Clearfield has been a fellow at the American Academy in Rome, and has held residencies at the Rockefeller Foundation's Bellagio Center and MacDowell. She holds a DMA in music composition from Temple University and an MM in piano performance from The University of the Arts. Clearfield has been the pianist in the Relâche Ensemble since 1990, and she is founder and host of the Philadelphia Salon, a monthly performance series established in 1986.
