Mona Lyn Reese

Mona Lyn Reese
Composer Mona Lyn Reese
Born	August 24, 1951 Morris, Minnesota
Occupation	Composer
Language	English
Nationality	American
Website
www.monareese.com

Mona Lyn Reese (born August 24, 1951) is an American composer, best known for her operas and choral music. Her work is melodic and accessible with an emphasis on driving or complex rhythms, movement, and contrasting textures. Her music communicates and expresses emotions traditionally or experimentally without allowing a prevailing fashion to dictate style, form, or harmony.

Reese was born in Morris, Minnesota, and began piano lessons at age six, flute lessons at age eight, and taught herself guitar at age 13. She attended the University of Minnesota, Morris, (BA), where she also studied flute performance, composition and French. She continued at the University of Kansas (MM Composition), writing Love Songs to the Moon and Piano Moods. She began composing professionally in 1975, with music for woodwind quintet and percussion to a documentary film on Kansas. Reese was Composer in residence at the Minnesota Opera from 1991–99, where she arranged works for the Minnesota Opera touring company and conducted educational residencies to help students write and produce original operas.

In 1993, Reese was awarded a Faith Partners Residency sponsored by the American Composers Forum and the Otto Bremer Foundation. During this residency, she collaborated with librettist Delores Dufner OSB, on the dramatic oratorio Choose Life, Uvacharta Bachayim which premiered at the Basilica of Saint Mary, Minneapolis (Teri Larson, Music Director) in 1994. The following year, the Otto Bremer Foundation gave Reese an additional grant to write a symphonic version which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 1995. The symphonic version was performed by the Billings Symphony Orchestra & Chorale (Uri Barnea, Music Director) in 1996, and was also performed by the Basilica of Saint Mary, Minneapolis (Teri Larson, Music Director), as part of the “Basilica 2000” series. In 2011, the San José Chamber Orchestra and Chorus released Choose Life, Uvacharta Bachayim (album), recorded at Skywalker Sound in Marin County, California. In 2014, the San José Chamber Orchestra and Chorus performed a suite from Choose Life, Uvacharta Bachayim in the San José City Hall Rotunda.