[full-length]
Mavis MacNeil is a composer and soprano based in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. Her compositions combine moments of lyricism with spare, open harmonic language and subtle timbral shifts, and have been performed in the U.S., Canada, and Croatia, by ensembles such as SputterBox Ensemble, 5th Wave Collective, Bent Frequency Duo, and Beo String Quartet. She is particularly interested in the intersections of music and language/text; her writing often includes vocalizations, whether from singers or instrumentalists.
Mavis holds a Master of Music degree in Composition from Bowling Green State University, where she studied composition with Marilyn Shrude and Christopher Dietz, and voice with Chelsea Cloeter. She also served as the president of Praecepta, BGSU’s student chapter of the Society of Composers, Inc.
From the age of four, Mavis studied piano with Mary Anthony Cox, and violin and later flute with teachers in her region, as well as receiving extensive chamber music coaching from Mary Lou Rylands and members of the Craftsbury Chamber Players. She began writing music at the age of fifteen, through Music-COMP (formerly the Vermont MIDI Project). She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Music from Skidmore College, where she studied composition with Evan Mack and voice with Anne Zwick Turner. During her undergraduate years, her primary areas of study included ethnomusicology and jazz; she played tenor saxophone in a funk band and spent a semester at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, studying composition with Joël Bons.
As a vocalist, Mavis is primarily interested in new music and early music; she eagerly performs contemporary works on a regular basis. While living in NYC, she was a member of C4: the Choral Composer/Conductor Collective, and Cerddorion Vocal Ensemble, and coordinated an informal sight-singing group, “Palestrina & Wine.” Mavis has also sung with The Astoria Choir, the BGSU Collegiate Chorale, the BGSU Early Music Ensemble, the Skidmore College Vocal Chamber Ensemble, and the Northeast Kingdom Chorus, and is a visiting member of the St. Michael’s Church Choir (Greensboro Bend, VT).
Aside from music, Mavis is very interested in spending time outdoors (whether working on her family’s farm or just looking at bugs in the woods); social justice; and reading (mostly non-fiction, memoir, and poetry).
[250-word]
Mavis MacNeil is a composer and soprano based in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. Her compositions combine moments of lyricism with spare, open harmonic language and subtle timbral shifts, and have been performed by ensembles such as SputterBox Ensemble, 5th Wave Collective, and Bent Frequency Duo. She is particularly interested in the intersections of music and language/text; her writing often includes vocalizations, whether from singers or instrumentalists.
Mavis holds a Master of Music degree in Composition from Bowling Green State University, where she studied composition with Marilyn Shrude and Christopher Dietz, and voice with Chelsea Cloeter; and a Bachelor of Science degree in Music from Skidmore College, where she studied with Evan Mack. During her undergraduate years, her primary areas of study included ethnomusicology and jazz; she played tenor saxophone in a funk band and spent a semester at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, studying composition with Joël Bons. She began writing music at the age of fifteen, through Music-COMP (formerly the Vermont MIDI Project).
As a vocalist, Mavis is primarily interested in new music and early music; she eagerly performs contemporary works on a regular basis. Most recently, she has sung with C4: the Choral Composer/Conductor Collective, and Cerddorion Vocal Ensemble, and coordinated an informal sight-singing group, “Palestrina & Wine.”
Aside from music, Mavis is very interested in spending time outdoors (whether working on her family’s farm or just looking at bugs in the woods); social justice; and reading (mostly non-fiction, memoir, and poetry).
[100-word]
Mavis MacNeil is a composer and soprano based in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. Her compositions examine intersections of music and language, and combine moments of lyricism with spare, open harmonic language and subtle timbral shifts. Her work has been performed in the U.S. and internationally. Mavis holds a M.M. in Composition from Bowling Green State University, where she studied with Marilyn Shrude and Christopher Dietz; and a B.S. in Music from Skidmore College, where she studied with Evan Mack. As a vocalist, Mavis is primarily interested in new and early music; as a human she is primarily interested in being outdoors.
[haiku]
Mavis writes music
she also sings: soprano
she is from Vermont.
Mavis MacNeil 