Born in Iowa City, Iowa, Anna Weesner grew up in New Hampshire, studied at Yale, and earned her D.M.A. from Cornell University. She teaches at the University of Pennsylvania.

Weesner’s song drew attention in 1995 when soprano Dawn Upshaw programmed some of Weesner’s Emily Dickinson settings on a concert. In addition to her several Dickinson settings, Weesner has set the poetry of many other American poets as well as her own texts.

–Christie Finn