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10/22/2009

Young composer has no doubts about Rice
Award-winning freshman enjoying first semester at Shepherd School

BY JESSICA STARK
Rice News staff

While many students in Rice's Shepherd School of Music are training for careers that will take them to Carnegie Hall, Rice freshman Hilary Purrington already has that experience under her belt -- and her pen. In high school, Purrington composed "Doubts," which her choir sang on the famous stage.

	HILARY PURRINGTON

That piece, which was inspired by the Rupert Brooke poem of the same name, also earned her a 2009 Morton Gould Young Composer Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. At 18, she was one of the youngest recipient of the award, which grants cash prizes to composers up to 30 years of age through a national juried competition.

"'Doubts' is my first substantial piece," Purrington said. "I had no idea the kind of success it would have. My work was on stage at Carnegie Hall -- that was incredible."

After years of playing the piano, Purrington began her composing career in high school. Given her success, she had her pick of schools when it came to deciding where she would continue that career. Despite the excellent programs located throughout the East Coast, the Massachusetts native had her heart set on one: the Shepherd School of Music.

"It was my first choice," Purrington said. "I didn't want to attend a conservatory; I wanted the whole university experience. Then I came to Rice, and I loved it. The vibe I got from the student body is exactly what I wanted. And then the Shepherd School -- it's one of the best music schools and yet it's not cutthroat. It's got a very accepting and collaborative atmosphere."

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Find out how you can pursue a music degree at Rice That atmosphere is exactly what she needed, she said, to continue her career in composing. But what also drew her in was the prestige and pedagogy of the professors within the Shepherd School.

"I looked everyone up, all the teachers in the school," Purrington said. "The Shepherd School is like its own family, so I knew I would probably get to know all the teachers. But I was so excited, I looked them all up."

Unlike other students in the music school, who usually study with one faculty member for a specific instrument, composition students study with a different teacher each year to learn the various composition styles and methods. Purrington appreciated that aspect of the program, as well as the chance she would get to work with graduate students.

"I think too many programs focus solely on graduate education," Purrington said. "Here it's a great mix, and they focus equally on graduate and undergraduate education. I'm in a compositional seminar class with graduate students. That is going to make me better."

Though only in her first semester, she has already slightly modified her approach to composing.

"I plan more now and am more aware of what I'm doing," she said.

She's also listening to more classical music.

"I didn't really listen to it. Now I'm listening to it all and I love it," she said. "There are subtleties I can now pick up that make it even more enjoyable, special and educational."