The composer Jeffrey Mumford grew up with a rich musical collection ranging from classical music to jazz. He wove these influences into his own compositions, which draw from nature and movements of liberation for a sound that is radical, and healing. He will talk with his friend, violinist and violist Miranda Cuckson, about inspirations, interpreting his music, and transmitting legacies through teaching.
Born in Washington, D.C. in 1955, composer Jeffrey Mumford has received numerous fellowships, grants, awards and commissions.
Mumford's most notable commissions include those from the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association and the Library of Congress (co-commission), the BBC Philharmonic, the San Antonio, Chicago & National Symphonies (National Symphony twice), Washington Performing Arts, the Network for New Music, ‘cellist Mariel Roberts, the Fulcrum Point New Music Project (through New Music USA), Duo Harpverk (Iceland), the Sphinx Consortium, the Cincinnati Symphony (twice), the VERGE Ensemble /National Gallery of Art/Contemporary Music Forum, the Argento Chamber Ensemble, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Nancy Ruyle Dodge Charitable Trust, the Meet the Composer/Arts Endowment Commissioning Music/USA, Cincinnati radio station WGUC, the Walter W. Naumburg Foundation, the Fromm Music Foundation, and the McKim Fund in the Library of Congress.
His music has been performed extensively, by major orchestras, soloists, and ensembles, both in the United States and abroad, including London, Paris, Reykjavik, Vienna, The Hague, Russia and Lithuania.
Violinist and violist Miranda Cuckson delights listeners internationally with her versatile and expressive playing of a large range of music, from the newest creations to older pieces. She has become one of the most acclaimed and committed performers of contemporary music, playing innumerable concerts and premieres of new works and moving new music more into the center of classical music life. She is passionate about the creative role of the performer in the artistic process and in communicating the music. She is very active as soloist and collaborator at concert halls and festivals, schools and informal spaces.
She made her Carnegie Hall (Stern Auditorium) debut playing Walter Piston’s concerto with the American Symphony Orchestra. She recently premiered new concertos written for her by Georg Friedrich Haas in Tokyo, Stuttgart and Porto, and by Marcela Rodriguez in Mexico City. Her recent recital appearances include the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra’s Liquid Music series, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Miller Theatre, Strathmore, and the Look and Listen Festival. Other venues range from the Berlin Philharmonie and Teatro Colón, to the Guggenheim and Cleveland Museums and Art Institute of Chicago, and the Marlboro, Bard, West Cork (Ireland), Portland, Music Mountain, Sinus Ton (Germany), LeGuessWho and Soundsofmusic (the Netherlands) festivals. Her upcoming performances include the Ojai, Wien Modern and Time Spans Festivals and the Fromm Concerts at Harvard University.
In addition to working with many emerging artists, Miranda has worked with an array of renowned composers including Dutilleux, Carter, Adès, Sciarrino, Adams, Boulez, Hyla, Mackey, Crumb, Iyer, Saariaho, Davidovsky, Hurel, Bermel, Wyner, Murail, Wuorinen and Currier. Among the composers who have recently written for Miranda are Jeffrey Mumford, Jason Eckardt, Reiko Füting, George Lewis, Wang Lu, Katharina Rosenberger, Steve Lehman, Aida Shirazi, and Harold Meltzer.
Her recording of Luigi Nono’s La lontananza nostalgica utopica futura on Urlicht Audiovisual was named a Best Recording of 2012 by the New York Times. Her album of Bartók, Schnittke and Lutoslawski was released by ECM Records in 2016. Also on Urlicht, she released Melting the Darkness, a lauded album of solo microtonal and violin+electronics pieces by Xenakis, Haas, and more. Her adventurous discography also features the Korngold and Ponce concertos, and music by Finney, Shapey, Martino, Carter, Sessions, Hersch, Ferneyhough, Wolpe, Glass, Mumford, Weesner, Füting, and many more.
Miranda is a member of artist collectives AMOC and counter)induction and founder of Nunc. She studied at The Juilliard School from Pre-College through to receiving her doctorate and the Presser Award. She teaches at New School University/Mannes School of Music.