We are happy to welcome our first Composer in Residence, Haley Olson (pictured at left), as well Ensemble Chorister, Caitlin Duckworth, to the Brown Memorial family.
Haley is a composer, improviser and pianist based in Baltimore who is serving as Brown Memorial’s first Composer in Residence. In this role, she is currently composing a series of choral benedictions for the Chancel Choir, as well as two anthems, including one based on the Tiffany window “Lead Kindly Light.”
Haley is pursuing an M.M. Composition degree at the Peabody Institute. Her works have been performed throughout the Midwest and in New York and Maryland. Her choral music has been performed at the Lutheran Summer Music Festival and St. Olaf College.
As a composer, Haley is interested in collaborating with solo artists and singers, most recently writing for violinist Peter Sheppard Skaerved. Her art song “at this time i could not breathe like the others” was premiered at the Sparks and Wiry Cries SongSlam in New York in April 2017, and will soon be available under Sparks Publishing.
Haley holds a B.M. in music theory and composition from St. Olaf College, where she co-founded the St. Olaf Laptop Orchestra. As an improviser, she can be heard accompanying for the Baltimore Improv Group and performing in venues and ensembles throughout the city.
Caitlin is a Baltimore-based soprano and emerging artist from the Houston area. She earned her Bachelor of Music Degree in Vocal Performance at New York University, and is currently a second year master’s candidate in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy at the Peabody Institute. She also serves as the Opera Outreach Coordinator at Peabody.
Caitlin is the proud recipient of both academic and artistic awards, including the NYU Founders Day Award, Steinhardt Eckhouse Scholarship, Peabody Degree Scholarship, and Peabody Career Development Grant. In the coming season, Caitlin Duckworth will give the world premiere of the role of Mariola in Jake Heggie’s newly revised chamber opera, “Out of Darkness: Two Remain,” at the Baltimore Theatre Project.
Previous performances include the recent U.S. premiere of Errollyn Wallen’s “ANON” at the Baltimore Theatre Project, a Kurt Weill review titled “The Sage of Jenny” at the Province Town Playhouse in New York City, and Massenet’s “Cendrillon” at the Frederick Loewe Theatre.