Jennifer Higdon
She paints with sound, creating vibrant, accessible orchestral works that have made her one of America's most performed living composers.
Born 1962 (age 64)·American composer·Birthday: December 31·Baby Boomers
Biography
Jennifer Higdon's music feels like a burst of color in a concert hall. A late starter who didn't engage with classical music until her teens, she brings a fresh, visceral energy to composition. Her sound is often described as luminous and rhythmically driven, drawing listeners in with immediate emotional resonance rather than academic abstraction. This accessibility has made her works, like the bluegrass-infused 'blue cathedral' or the dazzlingly percussive 'Percussion Concerto,' staples for orchestras worldwide. A dedicated teacher at the Curtis Institute for decades, she has shaped a generation of musicians while amassing a staggering collection of honors, including a Pulitzer Prize. Higdon's career proves that contemporary classical music can be both intellectually rigorous and joyfully communicative.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Jennifer was born in 1962, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Jennifer Was Born
The biggest hits of 1962
#1 Movie
Lawrence of Arabia
Best Picture
Lawrence of Arabia
#1 TV Show
Beverly Hillbillies
Jennifer's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1962Born
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1967Started school
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1975Became a teenager
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1978Could drive
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1980Could vote
John Lennon shot and killed in New York
Gas: $1.19/galHome: $47,200Min wage: $3.10/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Call Me" — BlondieBest Picture: Ordinary People
1983Turned 21
Internet adopts TCP/IP, creating the modern internet
Gas: $1.16/galHome: $57,700Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Every Breath You Take" — The PoliceBest Picture: Terms of Endearment
1992Turned 30
LA riots after Rodney King verdict
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $84,300Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"End of the Road" — Boyz II MenBest Picture: Unforgiven
2002Turned 40
Euro currency enters circulation
Gas: $1.36/galHome: $137,800Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"How You Remind Me" — NickelbackBest Picture: Chicago
2012Turned 50
Curiosity rover lands on Mars; Sandy Hook shooting
Gas: $3.64/galHome: $143,200Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Somebody That I Used to Know" — GotyeBest Picture: Argo
2022Turned 60
Russia invades Ukraine; Queen Elizabeth II dies
Gas: $3.97/galHome: $348,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"As It Was" — Harry StylesBest Picture: Everything Everywhere All at Once
2026Age 64 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Awarded the 2010 Pulitzer Prize in Music for her 'Violin Concerto,' written for soloist Hilary Hahn.
- Won three Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary Classical Composition for her concertos for percussion, viola, and harp.
- Her orchestral work 'blue cathedral' is one of the most frequently performed contemporary classical pieces in the United States.
- Served as a professor of composition at the Curtis Institute of Music for 27 years, mentoring numerous award-winning composers.
Did You Know?
She grew up in Atlanta and Seymour, Tennessee, and played in her high school band before seriously studying classical music.
Her first instrument was the drum set, and she taught herself to play flute by listening to recordings.
She earned her PhD in composition from the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied with George Crumb.
“I want my music to communicate with the audience. I'm not interested in writing music that only five people in the world understand.”
