Jennifer Higdon (b. Brooklyn, NY, December 31, 1962) is active completing commissions from a wide range of performers: from the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Cleveland Orchestra, to The President’s Own Marine Band; from the Tokyo String Quartet to the new music ensemble, eighth blackbird, as well as individual artists such as violinists, Jennifer Koh and Hilary Hahn (for the Pulitzer Prize work, “Violin Concerto”) and pianists, Gary Graffman and Yuja Wang. Her first opera, “Cold Mountain”, sold out both the premiere run at Santa Fe and the Opera Philadelphia performances as well. Her current schedule includes a Low Brass Concerto for the Chicago Symphony, a Tuba Concerto for the Pittsburgh Symphony, and a Harp Concerto for Yolanda Kondonassis. She makes her living from commissions and has served as composer-in-residence with various orchestras throughout the country. She is currently Barr Laureate scholar at UMKC’s conservatory. She is recorded on over 60 CDs (and received a Grammy for her “Percussion Concerto”). She holds the Rock Chair in Composition at The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.