Phyllis Zimmerman

Phyllis E. Zimmerman (1934–2012) was an American composer, choral conductor, and music educator.

Biography

Zimmerman was born in Pennsylvania and graduated from Thiel College in Greenville, Pennsylvania in 1956. She studied vocal performance at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota with conductor Paul J. Christiansen, graduating in 1959.[1] Zimmerman initially taught high school music in Pennsylvania before becoming the choral director at Santa Barbara (California) High School, where she taught from 1969 to 1995. Her choirs toured Europe several times and performed in Romania by invitation of the U.S. State Department.[2]

During the late 1970s, Zimmerman was involved with the International League of Women Composers, which was absorbed into the International Alliance for Women in Music in 1995.[3]

Following her retirement in 1995, Zimmerman founded the Canticle A Cappella Choir, a community choir that recorded several CDs and performed on National Public Radio and NBC-TV. Concordia College honored her as a Distinguished Alumna in 2006.[1]

Zimmerman's choral compositions include:

  • "Alleluia"[4]
  • "An Easter Carol"[4]
  • "Earth Chants"[5]
  • "Fog" (words by Carl Sandburg, music by Phyllis Zimmerman)[6]
  • "Four Settings of Poems by Sara Teasdale (Life Has Loveliness to Sell; To-night; Dusk in June; I Would Live in Your Love)"[6]
  • "Hodie Christus natus est"[4]
  • "Letting the Silence Sing"[7]
  • "My Song in the Night"[7]
  • "O Sing Unto the Lord"[8]

Her choral arrangements include:

  • "Gentle Annie" (melody by Stephen Foster; arrangement by Phyllis Zimmerman)[9]
  • "King of Glory"[10]
  • "Simple Gifts"[11]
  • "Thy Little Ones, Dear Lord, Are We"[10]

References
  1. Miller, Joseph (24 Oct 2012). "Phyllis Zimmerman: 1934 - 2012". Santa Barbara Independent News. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  2. College, Concordia. "Past Alumni Achievement Award Recipients". concordiacollege.edu. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  3. "International League of Women Composers Newsletter 1981". books.google.com. International League of Women Composers. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  4. Cohen, Aaron I. (1987). International Encyclopedia of Women Composers (2nd ed.). New York: Books & Music (USA) Inc. p. 779. ISBN 0-9617485-1-6.
  5. "Madrigals of Santa Barbara High School, Phyllis E. Zimmerman – Earth Chants". discogs.com. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  6. "One World • Many Voices". Earthsongs. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  7. "Search results for 'Phyllis Zimmerman'". WorldCat. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  8. Schmidt, Stan. "Going Beyond Words". Going Beyond Words Radio Program and Blog. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  9. "Search Results for "Phyllis Zimmerman"". SheetMusicPlus. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  10. "Search results for Zimmerman, Phyllis". WorldCat. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  11. Miller, Joseph. "Adelfos Ensemble Spring Concert Review". independent.com. Santa Barbara Independent Newspaper. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
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