Abbie Betinis

Abbie Betinis (b. 1980) has written music in a variety of genres, but her greatest passion is for the human voice. Included in her catalogue for voice are commissioned pieces for Cantus, Dale Warland Singers, Kantorei, The Rose Ensemble, University of Minnesota Men’s Choir, and Young New Yorkers’ Chorus. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Olaf College, where she studied primarily with Peter Hamlin and Mary Ellen Childs, and a Master of Arts degree from the University of Minnesota, under the mentorship of Judith Lang Zaimont. She also spent two summers at the European American Musical Alliance in Paris as a student of Philip Lasser. Her composition, Toward Sunshine, Toward Freedom: Song of Smaller Creatures, won the 2005 Craig and Janet Swan Composer Prize. Abbie lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she is the Composer in Residence for the Schubert Club, and sings alto with The Singers-Minnesota Choral Artists.