Hilary Purrington

Hilary Purrington’s League commission Words for Departure was premiered by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and music director Nathalie Stutzmann, on October 6, 8, and 9, 2022.

The music starts with a splash of orchestral color — a big, American sound — but quickly picks up a steady pulse, with the piano tapping out a C-sharp endlessly…. along the way she finds moments of urgency and real beauty…. The chirps and gentle plinks in the third [movement] conjure, wonderfully, a kind of urban pastoral landscape.

Pierre Ruhe, ArtsATL.org – review of the world premiere of Hilary Purrington’s Words for departure

Hilary Purrington is a New York City-based composer of chamber, vocal, and orchestral music. Her work has received recognition from the American Academy of Arts and Letters; the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP); the International Alliance for Women in Music; and the National Federation of Music Clubs (NFMC), among others. 

Purrington’s chamber and orchestral music has been performed by many distinguished ensembles, including the Minnesota Orchestra, the American Modern Ensemble, the Albany Symphony, and the Yale Philharmonia. Recent commissions include new works for American Composers Orchestra, the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra, and the New York Youth Symphony. Upcoming projects include commissions from River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and guitarist JIJI. 

Also an accomplished vocalist, Purrington has developed a reputation as a skilled composer of solo and choral music. Her song For your judicious and pious consideration premiered on the 2016 NY Phil Biennial’s New Music New Haven concert, and in 2015, the Eric Stokes Fund commissioned Purrington to compose a new song cycle about the devastating effects of climate change. Other recent vocal commissions include new works for C4: The Choral Composer/Conductor Collective, the Melodia Women’s Choir of NYC, and Yale Glee Club. 

Purrington currently lives and works in New York, NY. She holds degrees from the Yale School of Music, The Juilliard School, and the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University.

(October 2022)

I write by hand until it’s not helpful anymore. At a certain point, I feel like I’m drawing and not composing.

Hilary Purrington, Yale School of Music News

More from Hilary

Photos courtesy of Hilary Purrington