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Biography
Known for her “bold and bracing” (Baltimore Sun) opera writing, Frances Pollock's music “pulls no punches and never flinches.” (City Paper). Originally from North Carolina, Frances is inspired by a variety of artists including Missy Elliot, Dolly Parton, Whitney Houston, Joni Mitchell, Stephen Sondheim, Beyonce, Julia Wolfe, and Billy Joel. She loves theatre and spends most of her days writing the music with theatre and opera companies all over the country.
She has written operas for Washington National Opera, the PROTOTYPE Festival, Chicago Lyric, Seattle Opera and American Opera Projects. Her opera, Stinney (Co-librettist Tia Price), won the “Best of Baltimore” award in 2015 and was programmed at the 2019 PROTOTYPE Festival. Her opera “Earth to Kenzie” (librettist Jessica Murphy Moo) is currently touring with both Chicago Lyric and Seattle Opera in the 2019-2020 season. This coming year she will write music for Opera Omaha, Yale University, the Chautauqua Summer Festival, the Detroit New Music Ensemble and Bel Cantanti Opera in Silver Springs, Maryland.
Frances is a founding member of the new music non-profit, Prima Volta. She holds a Bachelors of Music in Theory and Composition from Furman University where she studied with Dr. Mark Kilstofte. She is graduated from Peabody Conservatory with a Masters of Music in Vocal Performance under the tutelage of Dr. Steve Rainbolt. She is continuing her Doctoral Studies at Yale University this fall.
When Frances is not writing music, she is singing in choirs, cooking dinner for friends and family, exploring New Haven, running with her wife and best friend, Emily, and cheering on her favorite minor league baseball team, the Hartford Yard Goats.
OPERA America/Opera.ca Grants Awarded
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| GRANT NAME | YEAR | Opera Grants for Women Composers: Discovery Grants | 2017 |
Productions
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Artist Information
All information is derived from OPERA America's Season Schedule of Performances and titles databases which date back to 1991. OPERA America is constantly updating this data. If you feel that a work or an artist has been omitted or that information is incorrect, please use the linked forms below. Title Information Form Artist Information Form
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