Kolb, Barbara (1939–)

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Kolb, Barbara (1939–)

American composer. Born Barbara Anne Kolb in Hartford, CT, Feb 10, 1939; dau. of Helen (Lily) Kolb and Harold Judson Kolb (music conductor); University of Hartford, BM, 1961, MA, 1965; studied with Lukas Foss, Gunther Schuller, and Arnold Franchetti.

Composer of numerous contemporary pieces for chamber groups, ensembles, and orchestra, was a professor of composition at Brooklyn College during a time when there were less than 100 women teaching composition in US; was 1st American woman to win Prix de Rome (1969) and 1st woman to be commissioned to compose for concerts at Tanglewood (1970); received commissions from Koussevitzky Foundation, NY State Council for the Arts, and Washington Performing Arts Society, among others; specialized in composing non-traditional chamber orchestras which often combined prerecorded non-electronic sounds with various instruments; composed Soundings, for 3 orchestras, Spring River Flowers Moon Night and Trobar Clubs