Jennifer Higdon was born in Brooklyn, New York. She originally studied flute at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, but then went to the University of Pennsylvania for degrees in composition. She has studied composition with George Crumb and Ned Rorem, and conducting with Robert Spano. Now, she teaches composition at The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Her works have been recorded on over two-dozen CDs. In 2004, her CD Concerto for Orchestra / City Scape, recorded by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, won a Grammy Award. Her composition, blue cathedral is one of the most performed orchestra works by a living composer.
