Victoria Bond
DATES

Born in Los Angeles, California, 1945

NATIONALITY

American

STYLE/PERIOD

Modern 1920-Present

FAMOUS WORKS

Molly Manybloom, Mrs. President, Thinking Like a Mountain, Everyone is Good for Something

Victoria Bond

BIOGRAPHY


Victoria Bond is the only woman composer/conductor to receive commissions from major organizations and also to hold music director positions with leading ensembles. Her extensive catalog includes works written for the Houston, Shanghai, and Richmond Symphony Orchestras, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, American Ballet Theater, Pennsylvania Ballet, Jacob’s Pillow Dances Festival, and the Audubon String Quartet, among others. In every genre she undertakes, from opera to chamber music, her consummate musicianship serves to enrich a musical language that is beautifully crafted and deeply expressive.

The first woman to be awarded a doctorate in conducting from The Juilliard School, Bond was appointed by Andre Previn as Exxon/Arts Endowment Conductor with the Pittsburgh Symphony in 1978. In 1986, she was invited to conduct the Houston Symphony and to premiere her own composition for the orchestra, Ringing. In that same year, she was appointed Music Director and conductor of the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra, and shortly thereafter became artistic director of Opera Roanoke, holding both posts until 1995. She has also served as Music Director of The Bel Canto Opera, Harrisburg Opera, and the New Amsterdam Symphony, and as Music Advisor of the Wuhan Symphony in China.

Bond’s musical training also included studies in voice, with William Vennard at the University of Southern California. As a soprano, she recorded with Bethany Beardslee and appeared on the premiere recording of Harry Partch’s Delusion of the Fury. She has brought her vocal experience to bear in composing works such as Molly ManyBloom for soprano and string quartet, described by The New York Times as “by turns wistful, angry, caustic, rhapsodic and nostalgic,” and her chamber opera Mrs. President, based on the life of Victoria Woodhull, the first woman to run for president. Scenes from Mrs. President were performed by New York City Opera in 2001 as part of the company’s Vox reading series.

Victoria Bond has been profiled in the Wall Street Journal and on NBC’s Today Show, featured in People Magazine and in The New York Times. Her music is recorded on the Koch International, Albany, GEGA, Protone, and Family Classic labels.