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Kate Soper (disambiguation)
Kate Soper is a composer and vocalist, notable for her innovative treatment of the vocal mechanism. Her work as both a composer and performer explores the myriad dramatic and affective qualities of the human voice, capitalizing on extended vocal and instrumental techniques. In addition to being a recent Guggenheim fellow, Soper is currently in residence as a 2012-2013 fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study.

Style
Soper’s style has been deemed “exquisitely quirky” with “seamless commingling of not only lines but of actual instrumentation and fingering with another player”. Soper’s vocal music is notable for utilizing spoken and sung pitches, overtone effects through altering vowel formants, contrasting vocal timbres with instrumental timbres, extended vocal techniques (such as abrupt register changes, breathy tones, reverse phonation, and resonance changes), and extended instrumental techniques. Performances of Soper’s work showcase a virtuosic and innovative entanglement of a voice and one other instrument, such as in Cipher and Only the Words themselves mean what they say, where the vocalist and the instrument often share a unison pitch and stray from it at varying intervals, making it unclear which performer is creating which tone. Many of Soper’s works treat form in an improvisatory manner and do not adhere to traditional ideas of rhythm, meter, and form, but rather create structure through the use of text and pitch.

In addition to composing and performing in the Western “classical” idiom, Soper is also trained as a vocalist of Indian carnatic music, records and performs as a singer-songwriter of non-classical styles, and writes incidental music for theatrical performances, and explores sound art in other media.

Commissions
Notable recent commissions include the American Composers Orchestra (now is forever, for soprano and orchestra), Yarn/Wire (wolf for piano four hands and two percussionists), Carnegie Hall (Helen Entfettered for soprano, mezzo-soprano, and ensemble), and The Tanglewood Music Center (Nine Rakes for wind orchestra). Soper has also received commissions from the Kenners Ensemble (I had a slow thought on a hard day, saxophone and accordion) and the Museum of Biblical Art (Songs for Nobody for two sopranos and alto).

Wet Ink Band
Soper serves as the managing director and is also a performer and composer with the New York-based Wet Ink band.

Education
Soper holds a D.M.A. from Columbia University, where she now teaches as adjunct professor, and a B.M. from Rice University.

Awards and Fellowships
Radcliffe Fellow, 2012-2013

John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellow, 2012

Lili Boulanger Memorial Fund Annual Prize Winner, 2012

Fromm Music Foundation Fromm Commission, 2008

Soper also holds scholarships from The American Academy of Arts and Letters and the Music Theory Society of New York State, as well as two honorable mentions from the ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Awards (2003 and 2011).

Vocal
The Crito (soprano and percussion), 2012

Only the words themselves mean what they say (soprano and flute), 2010-2011

Cipher (soprano and violin), 2011

Nadja (soprano and string quartet), upcoming 2013

Voices from the Killing Jar (for the Wet Ink band) 2012

Helen Entfettered (soprano, mezzo-soprano, clarinet, trumpet, piano, violin, viola, cello, contrabass), 2009

Door (voice, flute, saxophone, eletric guitar, accordion), 2007

Songs for Nobody (two sopranos and alto), 2006

What you think of in the city (baritone, viola, cello), 2002

Now is forever (soprano and orchestra), 2012-2013

Instrumental
Circuit breaker (bass trombone and orchestra), 2010

Entre les Calanques (orchestra; original chamber version with flute, cello, bassoon, two horns, three violins, three violas, two cellos, two contrabasses), 2010

Nine Rakes (wind orchestra), 2007

The door in the wall (flute, oboe, two clarinets, bassoon, horn, trumpet, tn, piano, two percussionist, two violins, viola, cello, contrabass), 2011, revised 2012

What makes it go (flute, oboe, two clarinets, bassoon, horn, trumpet, tn, piano, percussion, two violins, viola, cello, contrabass; original version with strings, 3-3-3-3) 2010, original version 2008

As the Crow Flies (flute, clarinet, two saxophones, horn, trumpet, trombone, electric guitar, accordion, piccolo, violin, viola, cello, contrabass), 2007 Didcas (brass septet), 2006

Crosshatch (flute, clarinet, horn, trumpet, trombone, piccolo, violin, viola, cello, contrabass), 2005

In the Reign of Harad IV (amplified percussion trio), upcoming, 2013

Wolf (piano four hands and two percussionists), 2010

The Sleep Side (clarinet, trumpet, piano, and percussion), 2010

I had a Slow Thought on a Hard Day (alto saxophone and accordion), 2008

Into that World Inverted (horn and piano), 2006, revised 2010

Purl (flute and percussion), 2006

Knock (solo percussion), 2006

Theatrical
Siren (three voices, piano), upcoming 2013

Electronic
Five One-liners (tape), 2003