Draft:Ellen Bender

Ellen Bender is an American composer, flutist, and teacher. While she was born in Brooklyn, New York, she has long been based in Boston, Massachusetts.

In April 1999, she married Robert Di Domenica, a fellow composer and flutist, and former faculty and Dean of the New England Conservatory of Music. The two wrote operas together, performed one another's works, and supported local music, including the Needham Concert Society, performing at the 2001 Needham Composers Millennium Concert. They remained married until Di Domenica's death in 2013.

Music education
Ellen Bender began learning piano at age six, followed by flute at age twelve. She later went on to earn a BA from Boston University and a Master of Music (MM) from New England Conservatory of Music. In addition to these formal degrees, she has studied with flutists such as Neal Zaslaw, Harold Bennett (former principal flute of the Metropolitan Opera), and James Pappoutsakis (former second flute of the Boston Symphony Orchestra).

She has since taught at Merrywood Summer Music School in Lenox, Massachusetts; the University of Massachusetts, Boston; and the New England Conservatory. She also retains a private studio in Needham, Massachusetts, from which she teaches private lessons for flute, piano, music theory, and composition.

Compositions
Bender's compositions from 1980 to 2021 are held in the Library of Congress. Her compositions are varied in genre; notable works include her orchestral compositions, solo works, a one-act opera, and compositions for ensembles of varying sizes.

Specific works of note include:


 * Variations for Orchestra (1984)
 * Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra (2001)
 * Trio for Flute, Viola, and Piano (2005)
 * Suite for Flute Solo (2008)
 * The Tragic Triad (2008)
 * Turbolenza (2015)

Her one-act opera, written in 1990, is titled Rappaccini’s Daughter, based upon Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel of the same name. Her husband, Robert Di Domenica, wrote the libretto. The opera debuted on October 28, 1992, at the New England Conservatory.

An article by Richard Dyer was published the following day in The Boston Globe, and Dyer referred to Bender as "a courageous and talented young composer" with "effective [orchestration] that one longs to hear" in full. However, Dyer also stated that Bender needed further development in her writing as he felt she "doesn't know how to write for voices yet." More recently, Bender has been characterized as a "noted composer" by voice instructor and performing singer Carol Mastrodomenico, of both the Tufts University Opera Ensemble and the Longy School of Music of Bard College’s Opera Theater.

Bender also wrote the music for another opera four years later (in 1996), also based upon a Nathaniel Hawthorne novel: The Marble Faun. Jessica Treadway wrote the libretto for this work.