I am honored to the invited lecturer of MacDowell Downtown during my MacDowell residency on September 5th, 7:30pm. I will discuss my process and background that contributed to Why Women Went West, the current project In America: Modjeska, and the a focus on my work during the residency.

Lecture Description

I am a composer, pianist, writer, and curator of new music. My work spans immersive concert-length projects, solo compositions, chamber music, and multimedia opera collaborations, rooted in archival historical research, the evolution of compositional thought, deep listening, and the celebration of women in music. Notable projects include the Opera America, National Endowment for the Arts, and New Music USA awarded opera "Why Women Went West" and "Oratorio for the Earth." I have been recognized as a Huntington Library Fellow, Alpert Award Panelist, and Creative Capital artist “on the radar,” and have received residency fellowship awards from Copland House, MacDowell, UCross, Women’s International Studies Center, Wurlitzer, Huntington Library Mellon Foundation, and American Scandinavian Foundation. I am a professor of Music Composition at California State University, Fullerton, where I direct the New Music Ensemble, New Music Series, and InterArts Collaborative Projects.

I am excited to present my latest large-scale project: "In America: Modjeska!" This 40-minute concerto/aria project for piano and voice focuses on immigration in America. The work follows the complex story of Helena Modjeska, a Polish immigrant and renowned Shakespearean actress who emigrated to the United States in the late 19th century for personal and political reasons. She settled in Southern California to establish the Bohemian artist community "Arden" in what is now Modjeska Canyon, near my home in Laguna Beach. My work at MacDowell explores the legacy and impact of women artists, tracing this through archival research, site explorations, and the creation of new works influenced by the region. I will present the concerto/aria project "In America: Modjeska," featuring the song cycle "Tesknota" (“Longing”) with piano interludes inspired by MacDowell’s Woodland Sketches.

About MacDowell Downtown

MacDowell Downtown is a free series of presentations by MacDowell Fellows that are open to the public. It takes place on the first Friday of the month from March to November in downtown Peterborough, NH. Each season of MacDowell Downtown features a wide array of programming, including film screenings, readings, artist talks, interviews, musical performances, and more.

I will explore the creative process behind my Opera America award-winning work, "Why Women Went West." In the presentation, I discuss how my work documents historical dramas and revive the voices of women through archival research, collaboration, and deep listening at significant sites, aiming to impact the future.

This is a virtual presentation held via Zoom.

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Full Blurb:

Pamela Madsen, an internationally acclaimed composer, performer, researcher, and director of the CSUF New Music Series, will share insights into her creative process, focusing on her Opera America award-winning work, Why Women Went West; Her diverse portfolio includes immersive concert-length projects, solo and chamber music, and multimedia opera collaborations, tackling themes of social change, image, music, text, and the environment. With a Ph.D. in Music Composition from UCSD and Yale University, and training in Deep Listening with Pauline Oliveros, Madsen’s research explores compositional evolution, improvisation, electronic music, and the role of women in music. As a composer, she documents historical dramas, reviving women’s voices through archival research, collaboration, and deep listening at significant sites, aiming to impact the future. Her major works include award-winning operas like Why Women Went West; Oratorio for the Earth; and There Will Come Soft Rains. exploring themes around Marie Curie, ancient sibyls, Arctic myths, and climate change. Madsen has been recognized as a Huntington Library Mellon Fellow, Alpert Award Panelist, and Creative Capital artist “on the radar”, with awards from the Copland Foundation, American Scandinavian Foundation, MacDowell, UCross, Women’s International Studies Center, and Wurlitzer Foundation. She currently serves as Professor of Music Composition at California State University, Fullerton.