Abbie Betinis

Composer Abbie Betinis writes music called “inventive” (New York Times), “incandescent” (Boston Globe), and “ethereal” (Cambridge University Press). Working primarily by commission, she has composed for world-class organizations, including the American Choral Directors Association, American Suzuki Foundation, Cantus, Chorus Pro Musica, The Dale Warland Singers, James Sewell Ballet, New England Philharmonic, St. Olaf Choir, Young New Yorkers’ Chorus, and Zeitgeist.

Her publishers include G. Schirmer, Graphite, Santa Barbara, and others, as well as her own venture, Abbie Betinis Music Co., through which she distributes her scores to musicians around the world. An advocate for small business and artist rights, she has presented on copyright and publishing at national conferences. She is publisher and co-editor of the Justice Choir Songbook, as well as executive director of the national Justice Choir movement.

A two-time McKnight Artist Fellow, Abbie was voted one of NPR Music’s 100 Composers Under 40, profiled in the award-winning Public Television documentary “Never Stop Singing,” and, in July 2017, named Musical America’s Artist of the Month, with a feature article lauding her “contrapuntal vitality” and “her ability to use her talents to effect social change.”

Abbie is a graduate of St. Olaf College, the University of Minnesota, and has done post-graduate study in Paris, France at the EAMA Nadia Boulanger Institute. She lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, where she hosts a weekly recital series, sings in a local doo-wop quartet, and is adjunct professor of composition at Concordia University.