A Conversation with Composer Jennifer Higdon
by Lauren Wingenroth
Composer Jennifer Higdon is no stranger to Carolina Performing Arts. In 2017, her Cold Mountain opera, a collaboration with librettist Gene Scheer, was a sold-out hit.
But when the Philadelphia Orchestra brings Higdon’s Concerto for Orchestra on November 5, it’ll be a particularly special visit to Memorial Hall: It will be Higdon’s first time experiencing her own work at CPA as a Chapel Hill local.
“I’d been to this area for various concerts over the past two decades,” says Higdon, who is one of the most in-demand composers in the United States. “Every time I came here, I remember thinking, wow, this area is so nice.”
After nearly four decades in Philadelphia, Higdon relocated to Chapel Hill last year. Living here, “I hear music clearer in my head—it’s easier to compose,” she says. She’s also a fan of the easy airport access to get to her many concerts across the country and abroad, and of course, “the amount of art in this area—it’s absolutely huge,” she says. “I have all these friends coming through on tour. I’ve only been here two years and I’ve had six different groups doing pieces of mine. It just feels inspiring—the energy here is very good.” Naturally, Higdon has become a regular CPA attendee: Recent favorites include Johnny Gandelsman’s residency last season, and Paola Prestini’s The Old Man and the Sea in 2024.
In many ways, the Philadelphia Orchestra performance feels written in the stars. For one, Higdon has a long and storied history with the Orchestra, where she formerly served as composer in residence and where many musicians are friends or former students. And Concerto for Orchestra, which the Philadelphia Orchestra commissioned in 2002, was the work that launched her career. Back then, Higdon was fresh out of graduate school, and had never written a full-length orchestra piece. “I was a complete unknown,” she says. “I thought, this will be the only orchestra commission I ever get, so I’m gonna put everything in it.”
Thankfully, Higdon was very wrong—but her bold approach to the work paid off. Not only was it an immediate hit, but it happened to premiere at the League of American Orchestras conference, in front of an audience full of orchestra managers from across the country.
“My life changed overnight,” she says. “My career shot off like a rocket—people started calling me for commissions; people started programming the piece. That was in June of 2002, and it literally has not slowed.”
Since then, Concerto for Orchestra has been recorded by three major orchestras, and is performed all over the world every season. “For a living composer to have a piece of this size recorded with three orchestras, it’s unheard of,” says Higdon.
Also unusual—and, at first glance, contradictory—is the piece’s premise. “Normally with a concerto, you have a soloist standing out front,” says Higdon. “This was a chance to hear the entire orchestra in that manner.” Though concertos for orchestra exist (most famously Béla Bartók’s 1943 work of that name), they are uncommon. “It’s a harder piece, more virtuosic than a normal orchestra piece,” says Higdon. “There’s a lot more energy, because you’re basically showing off the skill of all the players individually, but also as a unit.”
Writing Concerto for Orchestra was a challenge—and a thrill—for Higdon. “When I was in school, I used to buy really cheap seats in the nosebleeds at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia, and listen to these solos,” she says. “I thought, I’m going to get to write for all of these people. Everyone is going to get solos, absolutely everyone.” Higdon worked closely with orchestra members—and took requests. “There’s one movement that’s just percussion,” she says. “The timpani player asked if I could write them a really cool part. I tailor-made it for the musicians, like making a really good suit of clothes that fits well.”
The piece “taught me to really think about the fact that an orchestra is a collection of skilled musicians,” she says. “You could pluck anyone out of the Philadelphia Orchestra, no matter where they are, and put them in front, and they’d sound great playing a concerto. It’s a recognition of the incredible skill level that is uniformly fantastic across the entire ensemble.”
“I go back and I hear it now and I’m like, I can’t believe I wrote that,” says Higdon. “It’s been amazing to watch the piece transform. But there’s something magical about having the orchestra you wrote it for touring to the place where you live, doing the very piece that launched your career.”
Also on the November 5 program will be Brahms’ Fourth Symphony, and on November 4, the Orchestra will perform William Grant Still’s Wood Notes, Brahms’ Third Symphony, and Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto, featuring acclaimed pianist Emanuel Ax. On both programs, the Orchestra will bring their signature expressiveness and passion. “There’s a lot of soul in their playing,” says Higdon. “They aren’t just running through the motions—it actually feels personal, like it means the world to them, like they must do this or they won’t exist.”
The same could be said for the Orchestra’s leader, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, whose bold, energetic approach has made him one of the most exciting conductors in the United States. “The first time he conducted my work, I remember thinking, Holy cow, this guy is bringing out things in the texture that I didn’t realize were there,” says Higdon. “That’s a composer’s dream, because he’s giving me a revelation of a piece that came out of my head. I still pinch myself that I get to work with him.”
“It’s a joy to be able to share the Philadelphia Orchestra sound and some of the work we’ve done together,” says Higdon.
If you spot her at the show, don’t hesitate to say hello. “I’m honored to now be a part of this community,” she says. “It feels like I’ve stepped into a really comfortable pair of shoes.”
Don’t miss this extraordinary homecoming performance with this special offer: Use code PHILLYX2 for 50% off tickets to the November 5 performance only. Enter the code before choosing your seats to unlock your savings.
