Draft:Anne Marie Guzzo

Anne Marie Guzzo (b. 1968) is an Emmy-nominated American composer and educator in Wyoming. She is the founder and director of both the New Frontiers: Laramie Contemporary Music Project and the Wyoming Music Festival: New Music in the Mountains.

Guzzo is also known for her advocacy for same-sex marriage rights in Wyoming. She was the lead plaintiff in the case Guzzo v. Mead, which ultimately lead to the legalization of same-sex marriage in Wyoming.

Early Life
Anne Guzzo was born on June 1, 1968 in Laramie, Wyoming. She and her older brother, Phillip Guzzo, were both born at Ivinson Memorial Hospital shortly after their parents, Tony Guzzo and Sandra Elizabeth (Schmitz) Guzzo, moved to the town.

Growing up in Wyoming and being a Wyoming kid has shaped Guzzo’s professional identity. She introduces herself not simply as just a composer, but as a composer from Wyoming. Anne grew up in a home full of music and art. Her parents met through folk dancing, and very soon after, Tony proposed on a folk dancing trip to Mount Lemon. Their shared love for music, dancing, and art was a cornerstone of their long and happy marriage, and their habit of leaving the radio on, tuned to the local classical music station, planted the seed for Guzzo’s career in music.

Anne’s written thanks to her parents, part of the acknowledgements section of her dissertation, is a testament to their role in introducing her to music early in life and supporting her through her musical journey:

"Without my parents, there wouldn’t have been music—thank you for saying I could do anything, keeping the radio on, and watching Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies with me."

Guzzo’s interest in music composition began in junior high. While attending a concert at Laramie High School, she was surprised to find that one of the pieces on the program was written by a living composer – a student, just like herself – and she realized that she could write original compositions of her own. Soon after, with the support of her band director, her first piece was played by her peers in the UW Prep band.

Musical Career
Guzzo graduated cum laude with her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of New Mexico in 1992. She earned her Master of Arts in 20th Century Performance Practice from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1996. She went on to earn her PhD in Music Composition and Theory from University of California, Davis in 2002.

After graduating, Guzzo returned to her hometown, and began work as an audio-visual archivist at the University of Wyoming American Heritage Center. During this time, she was also active in the UW music department. She taught composition classes, performed in concerts, and promoted new music in the Laramie community. Programs from these early concerts are archived at the American Heritage Center. In 2006, Guzzo accepted the role of Assistant Professor of Composition and Theory in UW’s music department, and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2011. She received the Seibold Professorship Award in 2019, an annual award that grants a year off of teaching to allow UW faculty members in the Department of Arts and Sciences the opportunity to explore in-depth projects.

Anne is the director and founder of the New Frontiers: Laramie Contemporary Music Project, an annual new music festival in Laramie, Wyoming that celebrates 20th and 21st century music and living composers. As part of the festival, Guzzo brought a number of significant composers and their music to UW, such as Alex Shapiro, Libby Larsen, Gabriela Lena Frank, Jennifer Higdon, and Forrest Pierce. As part of the experience, composition students at UW participated in masterclasses and took lessons with these composers, and had their own music performed by student performers during “apprentice concerts.”  Archived New Frontiers Festival programs found at the American Heritage Center extend back to 2008.

In 2014, Guzzo participated in a 2-week residency at the Ucross Foundation, called the Cross Pollination Experiment, in which four artists and four scientists and a project coordinator combined their varying professional experience to see the world in a new light. Alongside Guzzo, participants included coordinator, philosopher, writer, entomologist Jeffrey Lockwood, sculptor Ashley Hope Carlisle, entomologist Michael Dillon, geologist Ron Frost, rangeland ecologist Ann Hild, poet Harvey Hix, choreographer and dancer Rachel Shaw, microbiologist Naomi Ward, and filmmaker Ali Grossman. The experiment inspired ongoing collaborations between participants, and paved a path for a number of projects that Anne completed in the years following, including Locust: The Opera, Carnival of the Microbes, Clinker: Between an Opera and a Hard Place, and the Power of Play Exhibit. Guzzo was featured as one of the participants in the residency in a 2015 documentary film entitled The Ucross Experiment that detailed the experience, collaborations, and resulting projects.

During the 2015-2016 season, Guzzo was the composer-in-residence for the Colorado Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Thomas A. Blomster.

Guzzo is also the director and founder of the Wyoming Festival: New Music in the Mountains, an annual week-long festival held at the UW-NPS Research Station at the AMK Ranch in Grand Teton National Park. Founded in 2016, the festival brings selected composers together to discuss new music, participate in listening seminars, and spend time in nature. As part of the festival, composers write an original work inspired by Grand Teton National Park and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, and at the end of the week, composers’ pieces are premiered at a concert – a “Special Event” on the UW-NPS Research Station’s annual Harlow Summer Seminar Series. Pieces are performed by Wyoming Festival Artists-in-Residence, who are all members of the Grand Teton Music Festival, lead by Artistic Director and violinist Holly Mulcahy. Composers-in-residence at the Wyoming Festival have included Alex Shapiro in 2016, Forrest Pierce in 2017, and Rob Deemer in 2018.

Wyoming
Growing up in Wyoming was very important to Guzzo’s musical career, and has been an inspiration in many of her compositional works. In an interview for the Wyoming’s Greatest Resource video series, Guzzo is quoted saying, “There’s so much I love about Wyoming. As you probably know, I’m a native, and I grew up in Wyoming. I grew up in Laramie. And there is something about the outdoors that just sort of infiltrates your soul.”

Talking about her piece, Spinning Light, which premiered in 2023 as part of the Shepard Symposium at the University of Wyoming, Anne said, “You know, kids that grew up in Wyoming know the prairie, and they feel it.” Also in 2023, Anne gave a presentation about her works inspired by Wyoming's nature and people entitled "Place-Based Creativity and Collaboration."

Guzzo has written numerous pieces inspired by Grand Teton National Park and the natural wilderness that surrounds the University of Wyoming National Park Service Research Station at the AMK Ranch; a few of these pieces were performed at the Wyoming Festival. For the 2023 Wyoming Festival, she wrote a piece for string quartet and bassoon entitled Shimmering Sentinels, inspired by the quivering leaves and massive root structures of quaking aspen trees.

In 2018, Guzzo participated in a unique collaboration with violinist and Wyoming Festival Artistic Director Holly Mulcahy and the non-profit group Arts Capacity, to write The Wind: Reconciliation. The end of the piece was written based on feedback from prisoners at, and it was completed during a residency at the UW-NPS Research Station, and performed at the Wyoming Festival in 2018. The inmates were also involved in choosing the title. In her program notes, Anne wrote "The title, suggested by more than one inmate, resonated with me as someone who lives in the windswept plains of the high desert in Wyoming."

During the 2017 Wyoming Festival, Guzzo presented a piece entitled The Bear and the Eclipse. This piece was inspired by two significant events in Grand Teton National Park: the 2017 solar eclipse and the tragic loss of famous Grizzly 399's only cub during the previous year. The program notes provide additional imagery for listeners: a cheerful melody represents the mother bear, ambling through the Park. In the shadow of the moon, the bear sees stars in the sky, and we remember the lost cub. The piece ends cheerfully with this year's twin cubs joining their mother in the forest. The Bear and the Eclipse was also performed on April 29th, 2023 by the Pro Musica Colorado Chamber Orchestra. In a video published prior to the concert, music director Cynthia Katsarelis spoke about the piece, calling Guzzo a "nature buff" and describing how her time at the UW-NPS Research Station inspired the music.

Science
Guzzo’s music is often inspired by science. Anne has collaborated with scientists in varying disciplines, including entomology, microbiology, geology, and rangeland ecology. Many of these collaborations with scientists were a direct result of her participation in the Ucross Cross Pollination Project.

In collaboration with insect ecologist Jeffrey Lockwood, Guzzo composed the piece Locust: The Opera. The opera, touted as an environmental murder mystery, is based on Lockwood’s book, Locust: The Devastating Rise and Mysterious Disappearance of the Insect that Shaped the American Frontier. It premiered in Jackson, Wyoming in September 2018, before it was performed internationally in Morocco and Scotland in 2019 and 2021 respectively.

Working with microbiologist Naomi Ward, Guzzo found the inspiration for her piece Carnival of the Microbes, which was premiered as part of her residency with the Colorado Chamber Orchestra during their 2015-16 season, on January 24, 2016. This piece consists of four movements, each of which represent a different microbe: Verrucomicrobial ectosymbiont, Noctiluca scintillans, Corynebacterium glutamicum, and Epulopiscium fishelonii.

Guzzo also collaborated with geologist Ron Frost. They worked together on arias for an opera entitled Clinker: Between an Opera and a Hard Place. Talking about this opera for an article in Elevations: The College of Arts and Sciences Magazine, Anne describes the value of collaborating across disciplines:"One of the beautiful things about science-art collaborations is that you communicate these wonders and information in a new way and reach new audiences. For example, if we can present art at scientific conferences, then we have a whole new audience of invested listeners. They understand the story already, and here they are listening to opera about something they care about. If you anthropomorphize a geological process, the creation of clinker—a red, baked, pottery-like rock that forms when underground coal fires burn—and turn that process into a scheming baritone, always looking for ways to heat things up—you have a memorable, interesting, and hopefully engaging way to understand geology AND listen to new classical concert music."

Humor and Absurdism
Many of Guzzo’s works involve an element of humor and light-heartedness. Her dissertation, The life and music of Carl Stalling: From toy pianos to dog ears was an investigation of the life and works of Carl W. Stalling, an American composer who was the first to write for cartoons with sound, best known for his witty music behind Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies, and the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes. While working at the American Heritage Center, shortly after her dissertation was published, Anne and two University of Wyoming graduate students used audio recordings and the AHC's Carl Stalling papers collection, which included original pencil manuscripts from 1931, to reconstruct Stalling's Spider and the Fly and ''The Village Smitty.  Their work culminated in the creation of performance editions of Stalling's original works,'' and the pieces were performed by the Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra as part of their "Movie Magic II" concert on October 18, 2003.

Advocacy and Legal Impact
Anne Guzzo and her partner Bonnie Robinson were among the plaintiffs involved in two significant lawsuits – Courage v. Wyoming and Guzzo v. Mead – that resulted in the legalization and recognition of same-sex marriage in Wyoming. This legal battle was part of a broader movement towards marriage equality for same-sex marriage in the United States.

The initial case, Courage v. Wyoming, began on March 5th, 2014 with a lawsuit filed by four same-sex couples and Wyoming Equality arguing that the state’s refusal to recognize same-sex marriages violated the Wyoming Constitution’s guarantees of equal protection and due process​. ​ In press coverage, Guzzo publicly expressed her frustration with the discrimination faced by same-sex couples in Wyoming and her hope for a future where such couples can marry in their home state without facing legal barriers. ​

The plaintiffs in the case included two married couples that were legally married outside of Wyoming, but whose marriage rights were not recognized within their home state, and two unmarried couples who had been denied Wyoming marriage licenses specifically because they were of the same sex. The married plaintiffs were Cora Courage and Wyoma “Nonie” Proffit, of Evanston, Wyoming, and Carl Oleson and Rob Johnston, of Casper, WY. The unmarried plaintiffs were Guzzo and Robinson, of Laramie, WY, and Ivan Williams and Charles "Chuck" Killion, of Cheyenne, WY. The state of Wyoming sought, but was denied, a stay of execution. On July 29, the judge deferred a hearing on the motion for summary judgment for 90 days to allow the state time to conduct discovery.

During this 90 day deferment period, on October 6, the Supreme Court declined to hear appeals, and the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals lifted stays in Utah (Kitchen v. Herbert) Oklahoma (Bishop v. Smith), ending same-sex marriage bans in both states, and finalizing the court’s ruling that laws against same-sex marriage are unconstitutional. The following day, on October 7 – joined by Brie Barth and Shelly Montgomery, who were just denied a marriage license despite the Supreme Court’s decision – Guzzo and Robinson, Williams and Killion, Oleson and Jolmston, and Wyoming Equality filed another lawsuit against Wyoming (Guzzo v. Mead), requesting that Wyoming immediately end its ban on same-sex marriages. Guzzo was the lead plaintiff in this case. On October 17, 2014, Judge Scott W. Skavdahl ruled in favor of the freedom to marry and granted the plaintiffs’ request and temporarily stayed enforcement to allow time for appeals.

On October 21, 2014, the temporary stay was lifted after state officials announced that they would not appeal the decision. Marriage licenses were issued throughout Wyoming later that same morning. Guzzo and Robinson were among the crowd outside the Albany County Courthouse, which had gathered to celebrate Teresa Bingham and Linda Mahaffey as they were presented the county’s first same sex marriage license. Mahaffey expressed sincere gratitude towards Guzzo and Robinson, stating: “I’m glad that they stuck up and fought for us, honestly, because without them we probably wouldn’t be where we are today.”

Advocacy Through Music
Guzzo’s advocacy extends to her music. In 2023, she was commissioned to compose a new chamber orchestra piece for the 2023 Shepard Symposium on Social Justice. This symposium is an annual event held at the University of Wyoming, in the same town where Matthew Shepard was murdered.

Anne’s piece, entitled “Spinning Light”, premiered during the symposium on October 9th. Talking about this piece, she said, “As an LGBTQ person, I’ve had strong feelings about this for 25 years. I decided to find a way into this story, right? But... as you can tell by the title “Spinning Light,” I wanted to create a sense of positivity, a sense of progress.”

Anne also wrote a piece entitled Stumbling Towards Equality, about marriage equality in Wyoming. The piece was commissioned and premiered by the Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra in 2021.

Opera

 * Locust: An Environmental Murder Mystery (2018)
 * “Powder River Aria" and “Fractures” from Clinker: Between an Opera and a Hard Place
 * The Toughest Cowboy (2008)

Orchestral

 * Carnival of the Microbes (2016)
 * Noturna para Goiás (2012)
 * Scenes of Love and Hate (2010)
 * Fanfare for Mountains and Peace (2007)
 * Three Themes from Wyoming Voices (2006)
 * Sword of Judith (2001)

Choral

 * Circle of Light (2019)
 * I Have Loved the Stars (2014)
 * Pride Parade (2012)

Band and Wind Symphony

 * Mechanations (arr. of chamber music version, 2012)
 * Concerto for Trumpet and Wind Symphony (2003)
 * Suite from the Visit (2000)

Instrumental

 * Aeolian Plains: The Big Hollow (2019)
 * The Long Road (2019)
 * The Wind (2018)
 * Life in the Leaves (2018)
 * The Bear and the Eclipse (2017)
 * Three Paintings (2013)
 * Cerrado (2012)
 * Things Bright (2011)
 * Conigli (2010)
 * Bozzetti di Guzzo (2010)
 * Color of Honey (2010)
 * Timelines (2009)
 * Jazz Professor Glasses (2008–2010)
 * Seeking Ithaca (2007)
 * Two Pieces for Clarinet (2007)
 * Day After Yesterday (2005)
 * Alice Suite (arr. for electric violin and mixed percussion 2004)
 * Sonata from Water (2004)
 * Colored Hills (2002)
 * When Angels Scoured the Prairie (arr. for string octet 2001)
 * Tango No. 1 (2001)
 * Portrait (2001)
 * Bug Dances in F (2001)
 * Acme All-Purpose Percussion Sonata (2000)
 * Duo for Clarinet and Viola (2000)

Vocal

 * Songs from the Book of Frank (date unknown)
 * Haddayr Blogs (2008-2009)
 * Songs I Learned from the Wind (2006, 2010)
 * Anaktoria (2000)

Incidental Theater Music

 * Ci Piacciamo (2010)
 * Henry’s Wives (2004)

Film

 * Wyoming Voices (2004)

Lectures, Interviews, and Videos

 * Music Crush Interview with Dr. Nichole Riner 2024
 * Place-Based Creativity and Collaboration, Discover Wyoming Lecture Series 2023
 * Conversation with Kayoko Dan (Music Director of the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera), Oct 13, 2021
 * Conversation with Kayoko Dan, March 29, 2021
 * Cheyenne Symphony Panel Discussion -- Lunch & Learn: A Time to Honor 2021
 * Meet Anne Guzzo, composer of "Stumbling Towards Equality" 2021
 * Anne Guzzo at Saturday U -- Creating Characters and Narratives for the Chamber Opera Locust 2018
 * Rock Opera! Ucross Experiment- Short version as aired on Wyoming PBS 2018
 * UW Classroom Glimpses: Music 2040 with Professor Anne Guzzo 2016
 * Ucross Pollination Experiment at Saturday U- Clinker: Between Opera and a Hard Place 2014

Honors and Awards

 * 2015-16 Composer-in-Residence for the Colorado Chamber Orchestra
 * 2014 Ucross Foundation: Ucross-Pollination Fellowship
 * 2013 Vine Orchestra, short form composition competition winner
 * 2012 Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts Fellow
 * 2011 Performing Arts Fellow in Composition, Wyoming Arts Council—Cheyenne, WY

Publications

 * Librettos, Sopranos, and Science: Communicating Ecology Through Opera (2020)
 * The life and music of Carl Stalling: From toy pianos to dog ears (2002)