Rebecca Oswald is an award-winning U.S. composer with many areas of experience and excellence. Rebecca has a BMus in Music Theory and Composition, from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, N.J. and a MM in Music Composition from the University of Oregon School of Music in Eugene, Oregon. From 2002-2004 Rebecca was on the music faculty at the University of Oregon. Since 2004 she has been a freelance composer. Rebecca now resides in Keizer, Oregon.
Rebecca Oswald is an award-winning U.S. composer and lifelong pianist. Born in Oklahoma, she later moved to Colorado, then Texas. From 1981 to 1995 she worked as a piano entertainer, accompanist, band keyboardist, and studio musician in Houston, Texas. In 1998 she earned her Bachelor of Music degree in Music Theory and Composition, summa cum laude, from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, N.J., where she studied composition with Joel Phillips, Stefan Young, and Ron Hemmel, and piano with Lillian Livingston. In 2001 she completed her Master of Music degree in Music Composition at the University of Oregon School of Music in Eugene, Oregon, where she studied composition with Robert Kyr and David Crumb. While at the UO SOM she served as a graduate teaching fellow in aural skills and keyboard skills. From 2002-2004 Rebecca was on the music faculty at the University of Oregon, teaching advanced aural skills, first year composition, and an orchestration seminar for undergraduates and graduate students. Since 2004 she has been a freelance composer writing in numerous genres. Her orchestral works Sleep, Child and Finding the Murray River were recorded by the Moravian Philharmonic and released in 2011 on the PARMA/Navona label. Her frequently performed Aesop’s Fables (woodwind quintet and narrator) was recorded by the Arrieu Quintet, with JoJo Jensen, narrator. Rebecca’s two albums of original solo piano music, the retrospective October Wind (2005), and the concept album Whereas (2011), can be heard on all major streaming platforms. Five of these songs earned her a Special Judges' Citation from The American Prizein 2018. In earlier years, several of her choral and chamber compositions were finalists for The American Prize, and in 2015 her mixed chamber ensemble work Theseus and the Minotaur received an Honorable Mention. Rebecca received a 2015 Individual Artist Fellowship award from the Oregon Arts Commission for her opera Viá Láctea, libretto by Ellen Waterston, which premiered in Bend, Oregon in 2016. Rebecca has had performances of her concert works at Carnegie Hall and the Society for Ethical Culture in NYC, the Hult Center and Beall Concert Hall in Eugene, Oregon, the (Big) Baker Memorial Chapel at McDaniel College, Princeton University Chapel, Bristol Chapel at Westminster Choir College, and many other venues throughout the U.S. and abroad. In 2020 Rebecca was a guest composer at the Missouri State University Composition Festival, with performances of Wise Words of Love (women’s chorus/piano, Shakespeare texts) and Field Report: News from Rural Oregon (clarinet/piano). OCP publishes Rebecca’s sacred choral anthem The Light on the Hill. Many of her other choral scores, plus her piano books and chamber ensemble scores and parts, can be found on SwirlyMusic.org.
For the opera Viá Láctea: "Oswald's score was ambitious and by-and-large very engaging; unpretentious and true to the task. Oswald has some real skill as a composer. The first act was largely through-sung, featuring small, repetitive phrases that were sometimes slightly reminiscent of Phillip Glass. In the hands of the fine principals the score came alive and revealed its imaginative nature. The text underlay was part of the fascination: not always predictable, and featuring humorous and original syncopations."
From Northwest Reverb (blog), June 18, 2016; Lorin Wilkerson, reviewer.
For the choral work The Soul Contemplates the Creator in the Creation: "Rebecca Oswald is not a showy composer, but she's an honorable one. 'The Soul Contemplates the Creator in the Creation' is splendid choral writing. This unpretentious style isn't calculated to impress the trendy set, but in terms of craft, it sure impressed me. Spend some time with the score, and you'll find that inside the 'simplicity,' each voice has its own lyrical life. Oswald would win the prize for best choral-writing in honor of Bach, if there were one." — The Register-Guard (daily newspaper in Eugene, Oregon), July 11, 2002; Tom Manoff, reviewer.
For the solo piano songbook Whereas: "The release of Rebecca Oswald’s second solo piano CD, Whereas, marks a very significant artistic event. The release of the companion songbook is equally significant in that is demonstrates the artistry Oswald brings to her music as well as her attention to the finest details in the composition and notation of her music....[T]his music is...sublime and well worth the effort to learn it!...Very highly recommended for advanced pianists and students." — Mainly Piano (web magazine), December 19, 2011; Kathy Parsons, reviewer.
Rebecca Oswald is a lifelong pianist and Whisperings Solo Piano artist with two full length CDs of original solo piano music: October Wind (2005) and Whereas (2011). From 1983-1995 she played steady solo piano gigs and special events in the Houston, Texas area, during which years she also accompanied voice lessons, played studio sessions, and performed in a few bands. At her undergraduate school, Westminster Choir College, she studied piano with Mrs. Lillian Livingston. In 2010 Rebecca was one of the featured performers at the First International Gathering of Solo Pianists (El Primer Encuentro Internacional de Pianistas Solo) in Mallorca, Spain, along with fellow composer/pianists Julio Mazziotti (Argentina), Mario Lopez-Santos (Spain), Emmy winner Lisa Downing, and Grammy nominee Suzanne Ciani (both from the U.S.). Her piano compositions have earned critical praise and numerous accolades. In 2018 she received a Special Judges Citation from The American Prize in Composition (chamber music, professional division) for five of the songs on her solo piano CD Whereas. Rebecca now resides in Keizer, Oregon.
For the CD Whereas:
...[T]he music...flows...with a quiet simplicity and a subdued sense of drama.... — Zone Music Reporter (new age/world/ambient reviews, reports, ranking), September 21, 2012; Bill Binkelman, reviewer.
...[G]orgeous in its depth and range of emotion....Whereas is a lovely effort, a delightful companion. — Amazon (web store), December 26, 2011; Lee Armstrong, reviewer.
...[S]oulful beauty....[S]tunning in...emotional depth, passion and honesty....Whereas...is truly an exceptional album in every way and I cannot recommend it highly enough. — Mainly Piano (web magazine), December 13, 2011; Kathy Parsons, reviewer.
...[A] dynamic sound and a masterful technique that give the impression of a full orchestra, thanks to her ambidextrous rendering of melodies, harmonies, and fills....The compositions and performances themselves are full of drama and nuance. While they are serene and beautiful, they are also very compelling.... — Rajman Reviews (web magazine), June 10, 2012; Raj Manoharan, reviewer.
...Whereas is an emotional and open work, full of easily grasped and understandable feelings, among which are hidden light, sweet memories of childhood and nostalgia....A very beautiful and soulful release by a remarkable performer. — Ascentor (web magazine), May 4, 2012; Sergey Oreshkin, reviewer.
For more information about my music, please visit my music page.
