"Firefly Triptych" for alto flute and piano

Amanda Harberg (1973) is a prominent American composer and pianist whose music is celebrated for its emotional depth, rhythmic vitality, and seamless integration of traditional forms with a modern sensibility.
Born in New Jersey, Harberg began her musical journey as a pianist. She displayed an early affinity for both performance and creation, often finding that her compositional voice was deeply tied to her physical connection with the piano.
Her upbringing was marked by a love for the "American sound" and the lyrical traditions of the 20th century.
She earned her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School, where she was a student of the legendary Milton Babbitt and Robert Beaser. She later pursued a PhD from the Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts.
Her education included a formative year in Salzburg, Austria, as a Fulbright Scholar, where she studied with Stefan Hunt and refined her understanding of European classical structures.
Harberg’s music is noted for its ability to communicate directly with audiences. While her works are technically demanding and structurally sophisticated, they prioritize melody, lyricism, and rhythmic drive. She has written for a vast array of genres, including solo piano, chamber music, choral works, and large-scale orchestral concertos.
Her contributions to the flute repertoire are significant. Works such as her Flute Sonata (2011), Prayer (2011), and Feathers and Fur (2018) are considered essential modern classics. During the global pandemic, her work Prayer became a symbol of resilience, culminating in a virtual flute orchestra performance featuring nearly 100 world-class flutists and conductor JoAnn Falletta.