We are extremely excited to introduce you to Ingrid Stölzel, and even more excited about our upcoming premiere of her work Waves Within a Tide.
In 2015, I came across a work entitled There Are Things to be Said for flute, oboe and piano. I was struck by its quiet and still beauty, and subtle manipulation of time. I thought it would be a great piece to teach for a graduate chamber music class with students who had not had much experience with contemporary music. These were students used to traditional repertoire, meaning they knew how things were “going to go.” There Are Things to be Said was a challenge in rhythmic discipline and learning to maintain that while playing expressively. Its composer was Ingrid Stölzel, who I began corresponding with and then met in 2016 while she was in New York to hear her work being performed at Carnegie Hall. I was not able to go to that concert, but we met for coffee and had a lovely, long afternoon talking about so many things. I will never forget that afternoon. I felt like we could have talked the night away and was sad that we both had to get on to other commitments.
Since that time, I have taught and performed There are things to be Said as well as another work, Leonardo Saw the Spring (for flute and piano) several times. They are both pieces I don’t think I will ever get tired of. I find them beautiful, expressive, in a language that is accessible, yet unique. One reviewer has said that Ingrid has “a gift for evoking a sense of longing.” I would agree, but there is so much more to it than that!
Ingrid and I have stayed in touch all this time, and finally, 8SW, was able to find a way to commission a work from her. In a recent email exchange, Ingrid wrote the following to me:
“I’ve been thinking back to our first and only in person meeting and how we kept that instant connection alive through the years. I’m grateful you said yes to meeting for coffee back then and even more grateful we get to bring something new into the world together. “
Please join us on March 27th at St. John’s in the Village for the premiere of Waves Within a Tide for ALTO Flute, viola and cello. Tickets can be purchased here.
In the meantime, I am thrilled to post this interview with Ingrid from January, 2026. Please enjoy!
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SG: What were your earliest experiences with music? When did you become interested in composing?
IS: I grew up in a musical family and started learning the piano when I was young. My dad was a tenor and choral director, so music was an important part of my life growing up in Germany. I have this early memory from when I was little at one of my dad’s concerts. My dad brought me up on stage for a cute cameo to hold his music for him. When the choir sang behind me and I was engulfed in the sound, I think that was the first time I experienced the power (chemicals and all) of music. As far as composing, I always “made stuff up” at the piano, I just didn’t call it composing until much later in life.
SG: Can you please describe your process when you compose a work?
IS: I do most of my composing in my studio at the piano. But inspiration can strike anywhere and for me it often happens on walks in nature. I used to capture those moments by quickly writing it down, but now I love using my phone to record myself singing the idea into a voice memo and then later work it out on the piano.
SG: The bio on your website states that the unifying factor in your work is a “belief that music can create profound emotional connections with the listener.” Beyond that, how would you describe your musical language?
IS: My goal as a composer is simply to connect – connect to the listener, connect to the performer and connect to myself. In order for connection to happen in life and in music, we need to allow ourselves to be seen and heard authentically, removing all of those layers we wrap around our literal and figurative self. I believe audiences will connect with authentic artistic expression. If I’m genuine in my work and let myself be vulnerable in the process, it will translate to the audience and hopefully create a meaningful listening experience. Over the years I have embraced that I love writing melody and even started calling myself a melodist. One of my all-time favorite quotes is from Thomas Mann’s Der Zauberberg (The Magic Mountain) which sums up how I feel about my music, time and being a composer: “Musik erweckt die Zeit.” (Music awakens time)
SG: Without giving away too much, what would you like audiences to know about Waves Within a Tide?
IS: Waves Within a Tide takes inspiration from Amy Lowell’s poem Listening. I was drawn to this poem for an instrumental composition because Lowell so elegantly uses music as a metaphor for the complex relationship with our inner self. The poem suggests that our true “music” does not come from the external “song” we sing, but rather from a deeper harmony within our spirit. The music of the soul, our inner nature, resonates through all of our outward actions and creations, forming a lifelong harmony that is uniquely our own. This beautiful metaphor and emotional landscape became my compass throughout the compositional process and in the creation of my musical soundworld that represents a deeper, unified beauty.
SG: Poetry is often a source of inspiration for you, but not always. Is there some sort of common ground in the material that inspires your work? When you do draw from text, is the work always your choice, or have you ever been asked to compose a work based on a poem of a commissioner’s choosing?
IS: I usually know right away when I read a poem if there is something I could contribute musically to it that would somehow illuminate or elevate what is already there. It’s hard to describe what it is; it’s more of a feeling or a knowing than some thing I can point to or share. When I work with singers I collaborate on the selection of the poetry. It has to resonate with both of us. Even when I use a poem for a purely instrumental piece, like Waves Within a Tide, I share it with the ensemble to make sure everyone thinks the message aligns with our project goals. Sometimes it is just a combination of words e.g. Loveliness Extreme (Gertrude Stein) or a quote like The Road is All, the end is nothing (Jules Michelet) that gets my musical imagination going.
SG: You do always seem to be working on a commission, but how else do you remain active as a composer? What reenergizes you, what inspires you?
IS: I travel a lot for concerts, festivals and residencies. I always learn so much by going to rehearsals and concerts and being in residence with different ensembles all over. I’m very lucky that I get to do these things often and all over the world.
SG: How do you view your role as a teacher?
IS: I absolutely love teaching and I’m always inspired by my students. I often find myself saying something to one of my students that I also needed to hear myself. It’s really quite wonderful how that happens…and it is really true what they say: Teaching is Learning.
SG: Do you have advice for aspiring composers?
IS: Authentic and honest service to the profession without expectations has always created the most surprising new opportunities for me.
SG: You grew up in Germany. If I am recalling correctly, you came to the United States for the first time as a teenager/exchange student. You came back to the United States when you were about 20. What compelled you to return?
IS: Yes, one of the most defining moments of my life came at 16, when I received a scholarship from the “Parlamentarische Patenschafts-Programm (US Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange) to spend a year in the US. I lived with an American family in Iowa City, Iowa. It was an amazing experience and I learned so much about myself that year. I knew that I would eventually come back and live in the United States. I returned at 20 and all my formal compositional training from Bachelor to Doctorate happened in the United States.
SG: What is your view of music being composed in our lifetime? What do you think composers can do to help today’s audiences understand modern works?
IS: I think it is important to communicate to audiences that there is nothing new required in order “to understand” a piece of music written today. Listening to music is an emotional experience and it is unique to each of us. That means there is no right or wrong way to feel about a piece of music nor is there anything specific “to get” from a piece of music. All that is required of the listener is to be open to listening.
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Composer Ingrid Stölzel (b.1971) has been described as having “a gift for melody” (San Francisco Classical Voice) and creating work that is “richly introspective” (BBC Music Magazine) and “downright beautiful” (American Record Guide). Equally at home writing for orchestra, choir, wind ensemble and chamber ensembles, her exquisitely crafted compositions are united in the belief that music can create profound emotional connections with the listener.
A melodist at heart, Stölzel’s compositions have been commissioned and performed by leading ensembles and soloists across the globe, including the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, Boston New Music Initiative, Juventas New Music Ensemble and Van Cliburn Gold Medalist Stanislav Ioudenitch, to name a few. Her works have been performed in some of the world’s most revered concert halls and festivals, including Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Seoul Arts Center, Beijing Modern Music Festival (China), Vox Feminae Festival (Israel), as well as many festivals in the United States. Stölzel is the recipient of numerous international composition prizes, and her music has received support from New Music USA, National Endowment for the Arts, Mid-America Arts Alliance, Meet the Composer, and Women’s Philharmonic.
Her discography is extensive and includes a monograph album entitled “The Gorgeous Nothings,” which was selected as AllMusic 2018 Favorite Classical Vocal Album and Apple’s Classical Music – A list, a list that features editor selections of the best new recordings from across the genre.
Stölzel was born and raised in Germany and moved to the United States in 1991. She holds a DMA in composition from the University of Missouri, Conservatory of Music and Dance in Kansas City and a Master of Music in Composition from the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, CT. Stölzel is Associate Professor of Composition at the University of Kansas School of Music. Before joining the University of Kansas School of Music, she served as Director of the International Center for Music at Park University. To learn more please visit ingridstolzel.com
