Ina Boyle - Selina Adelaide Phillipa Boyle, named after her mother—was one of the most prolific Irish composers of the twentieth century. Born in Enniskerry, County Wicklow in 1889, she took violin and cello lessons at home. Despite almost no other opportunity to hear classical music, she studied theory and harmony while still very young. Her orchestral rhapsody The Magic Harp was published when she was twenty- one, and she was the first Irish woman to write a symphony - and a concerto and a ballet. She studied composition with Ralph Vaughan Williams, who became a strong supporter of her work, but caregiving obligations significantly limited her studies abroad, and few of her works were performed during her lifetime. She was devoted to her home region, where, according to a friend, she “lived the sad, full, solitary, humorous life of a saint.” Composer Elizabeth Maconchy curated her works after her death in 1967.

This season, Mississippi Valley Orchestra will present four US premieres and one regional premiere of orchestral music by Ina Boyle. These performances are supported by the Ina Boyle Society.