FRANCES POLLOCK
Photo by Lindley Battle
Hometown
Winston-Salem, NC
Resides
New Haven, CT
Education
Furman University, Peabody Conservatory, Yale University
2018/19 Highlights:
• Sneak peek into new opera Salt at American Opera Projects
• Orchestral premiere with Yale Symphony Orchestra
• NYC premiere of Stinny: An American Execution at PROTOTYPE FESTIVAL
• World premiere of Avatar, co-commissioned by Seattle Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago
Known for her “bold and bracing” (Baltimore Sun) opera writing, Frances Pollock’s music “pulls no punches and never flinches.” (City Paper) Originally from North Carolina, Frances’ music digs its roots into jazz, blues, gospel, folk, and a variety of other styles. Her music has been performed all over the country by the Bridge Ensemble, Prima Volta, The North Carolina Governors’ School, Divine Waters Ensemble, Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, and many others. In 2016, Frances was commissioned by Washington National Opera to write a one-act opera entitled What Gets Kept as part of the Kennedy Center’s American Opera Intiative Festival.
Frances has always been passionate about producing her own music. In 2015, she wrote, produced and directed her first opera, Stinney, and held an open workshop to a sold-out audience in Baltimore, Maryland. Stinney’s accolades include multiple awards from Johns Hopkins University and beyond, including the Diversity Innovation Grant and a Baltimore City Paper “Best of Baltimore” award, and will travel to New York City to be performed at the PROTOTYPE Festival in January 2019. Frances’s recent premieres include her Stabat Mater, performed by the North Carolina Governors’ School, and a children’s opera based on the beloved children’s story, The Little Prince. Frances is currently a composition fellow at the Aspen Music Festival and with American Opera Projects’ Composers and the Voice where she is developing a new opera entitled Salt.
Frances is a founding member of the new music non-profit, Prima Volta. She holds a Bachelors of Music in Theory and Composition from Furman University where she studied with Dr. Mark Kilstofte. She is graduated from Peabody Conservatory with a Masters of Music in Vocal Performance under the tutelage of Dr. Steve Rainbolt. She currently studies with Christopher Theofanidis at Yale University.