Born in New York City, composer Lita Grier studied composition at Juilliard with Peter Mennin. At age 16, she won first prize in the New York Philharmonic Young Composer’s Contest. At UCLA, she studied with Lukas Foss and Roy Harris. She received a master’s degree in composition and UCLA’s Atwater Kent Prize, then abandoned composition. “At that time there was little encouragement for women composers, especially those working independently and in a more tonal harmonic language,” she writes.

–liner notes for the album American Flute Concertos: Works for Flute and Orchestra

For more information on Lita Grier’s works for voice and piano, visit her catalogue here. Lita Grier’s music is published by Performers Music (http://www.performersmusicchicago.com/).