Biographical Information

Marjorie M. Rusche composes music for opera, music theater, orchestra, chorus, dance, soloists, and a variety of vocal and instrumental ensembles.  Awards and commissions include:  Columbia College Chicago's Follett Fellowship (2007-2008); Saint Mary’s College Women’s Choir (2004); Indiana Music Teachers Association Convention Commission (2003); South Bend Symphony Orchestra (2003 & 2000); Indiana University South Bend Philharmonic (2000); the American Music Center’s Margaret Fairbank Jory Copying Assistance Program, New York City (1999); DuPage Chorale/American Composers Forum-Chicago Chapter (1998); Stickley Foundation Opera Commission Award, South Bend, IN (1998); Indiana State Arts Board Individual Composer Fellowship (1996-1997); Meet The Composer-Midwest (1996, 1987, 1983); the Jerome Foundation, St. Paul, MN (1996); the American Chamber Opera Company, New York City (1995); Gotham Ensemble, New York City (1993); Meet The Composer-New York Composer Performance Fund Award (1993); Indianapolis Symphonic Choir, IN (1992); McKnight Foundation Fellowship in Music Composition, St. Paul, MN (1988); Minnesota State Arts Board Individual Artist Fellowship in Music Composition (1987); Minnesota Composers Forum Demo Tape Grant (1983); the Schubert Club, St. Paul, MN (1985, 1975); Minnesota Composers Forum/Jerome Foundation Composers Commissioning Program Award (1983); Skylight Comic Opera Theater, Milwaukee, WI (1983); DANCECIRCUS, Milwaukee, WI (1982); and yearly ASCAP Standard Awards Grants (2005-1985).  Her compositions have been performed live and on radio in Amsterdam, Vienna, Chicago, New York City, San Francisco, Kenya, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Indiana.

Dr. Rusche is affiliated with ASCAP, the American Music Center, the American Composers Forum, the Chicago Composers Forum, the College Music Society, the National Music Teachers Association, Indiana Music Teachers Association, and South Bend Area Music Teachers Association.  She teaches music composition, music theory, music history, musicianship, orchestration and piano at the Indiana University South Bend, the University of Notre Dame, Saint Mary's College, IN and at her private studio in Mishawaka.  She has also taught at Columbia College Chicago and Southwestern Michigan College.

Performances of recent works include Modern Mixtures: Piano Sonata premiered by Hsiao-Ling Lin on the PianoForte Salon Series, broadcast live on Chicago Public Radio, WFMT 98.7, Chicago, June 27, 2008; Tone Poems for Bassoon and Piano, performed by Rafael Zanon, bassoon and Sergey Bezrodny, piano, MUSIC ACROSS THE ATLANTIC, The Conservatory of Asturias, Spain, December 19, 2007; premiered by Doug Spaniol, bassoon and Bradley Haag, piano, Indiana University South Bend Auditorium, IN, February 25, 1999; Mood Etudes for Bb clarinets, performed by Miguel Angel Font and Rocio F. Garin, MUSIC ACROSS THE ATLANTIC, The Conservatory of Asturias, Spain, December 19, 2007; performed by Ton Bok and Miny Leeuw, Festival Nieuwe Muziek, Mueller Zaal, Amsterdam, Holland, March 7, 1993; Mostly Women Composers Concert Series, Bloomingdale House of Music, New York, NY, January 26, 1993; tape used in a program by DANCECIRCUS, Milwaukee, WI, April 16&23, 1992; premiered at Indiana University Bloomington Recital Hall, IN, November 11, 1992; Paranormal Transits: Cosmic Clowns, interdisciplinary work for narrator, oboe, percussion, doublebass and dancer, text by the composer, Mark Wooldrage, narrator; Pat Morehead, oboe; Catherine Barnes, percussion; Kells Nollenberger, doublebass; Betty Salamun, dancer; Marjorie Rusche, conductor; premiered at the Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago Composers Forum MUSICIRCUS event, October 7, 2007; Comments, song cycle for soprano and piano, poetry by Dorothy Parker, performed by Laurel Thomas, soprano and Jeffrey Jacob, piano, Composition Recital, Indiana University South Bend Recital Hall, IN, March 29, 2007; Joan Metelli, soprano and Joe Kahre, piano, FESTIVAL 30: NEW MUSIC, Ball State University, Muncie, IN, March 30, 2000; Rebecca Arington, soprano and Kyomi Sugimura, piano, IUSB Auditorium, IN, March 15, 2000; Joan Metelli, soprano and Miko Kominami, piano, IUSB Recital Hall, November 23, 1999; Joan Metelli, soprano and Mark Riggleman, piano, IUSB Auditorium, September 18, 1999; Susan Swaney, soprano and Raymond T. Feldman, piano, Bloomington Community Chamber Music Recital, IN, February 15, 1998 and the IU Bloomington Recital Hall November 13, 1994; premiered by Vivica Genaux, soprano and Grant Wenaus, piano, IU Bloomington Recital Hall, April 16, 1992; Arctic Voyager, for flute, koto, violin, viola & cello, Global Voyages for Six, Music and Art Series, First Presbyterian Church, Portland, OR, September 10, 2006; Midland Regional Library, September 12, 2006; Multnomah Downtown Central Library, September 17, 2006; with funding from the Regional Arts & Culture Council, Portland, OR; excerpts from her chamber opera, She Stoops to Conquer, October, 2005, at NIU, Chicago, IL, the entire opera premiered June, 1999, in New York City by the American Chamber Opera Company, with funding from an Individual Artist Fellowship from the Indiana Arts Commission, the Stickley Foundation, and the American Music Center; Chanting to Paradise, for SSAA chorus, commissioned and premiered by the Saint Mary’s College Women’s Choir, April, 2005, Notre Dame, IN; Hearing the Grass Grow, My Water Buffalo, for soprano, cello, and piano, commissioned by the Indiana Music Teachers Association for their 2003 state conference hosted by Goshen College, IN; and Dreaming the RagWaltz Blues, piano concerto, commissioned and premiered by the South Bend Symphony Orchestra, April 2003.

In November 2003 she was the featured composer at the Indiana State Music Teachers Convention at Goshen College, and in March 2000 was the guest composer at the Ball State University New Music Festival.  She earned her D.M. in Music Composition with minors in Music Theory and Music History from the Indiana University School of Music-Bloomington in May 1996.  She received scholarships from the Indiana University School of Music and the Indiana University Foundation (1994-1995).  She also holds a M.A. in Music Composition and Theory from the University of Minnesota, has worked as an arranger/pianist for dance and theater companies, and taught music in Kenya while serving in the U.S. Peace Corps.

Dreaming the Ragwaltz Blues  --   “The powerful melodies told a story ending in a whisper of silence . . . “ – Marcia C. Porter, South Bend Tribune, April 2003

Fanfare for the Millennium --  “an international flavor, combining folk-inspired melodies, vigorous percussion and sometimes playful exchanges between sections of the orchestra . . . .  accessible and echoing with recognizable motives.” – Julie York, South Bend Tribune, April 2000

She Stoops to Conquer  -- “ Moments of dramatic revelation play in counterpoint to tightly crafted comedic scenes . . .  Rusche’s instrumental accompaniment sets the tone for each scene  . . . “I wanted a variety of textures on stage – musical textures, vocal textures, dramatic textures, emotional textures,” Rusche said.”  -- Julie York, South Bend Tribune, May 1999

Goddess Songs,  --  “musical exploration of the mythology of seven Greek goddesses . . .   The evocative text, by Rusche, creates images of each goddess, poetic yet emphasizing the feminine as it most clearly resonates with modern concerns about love, desire and relationship.  The music is dramatically apt, at ease with the text, and heartfelt.” – Mike Steele, Minneapolis Star Tribune, July 1996