Amanda Harberg (born in 1973 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) was showing interest for music very early in life and, although born in a non-musical family, she was always supported in her musical pursuits. She was trying and playing multiple instruments through junior high school, and began her first serious private piano lessons at the age of fifteen. This helped her acquire focus and discipline and provided her with a knowledge of standard music repertoire. Her early studies of composition and basic orchestration with Andrew Rudin prepared her for her conservatory studies at The Juilliard School, where she completed her undergraduate and master’s degrees while studying with Robert Beaser, Stephen Albert, and David Diamond. She received a Fullbright/Hays fellowship to study for a year with Frederic Rzewski, and earned a Ph.D. from Rutgers University School of Graduate Studies, where she studied with Robert Aldridge and currently teaches at the Mason Gross School of the Arts. An avid educator, Harberg has been teaching composition, piano, music theory, aural skills, and twentieth/twenty-first century music history for over two decades while also being active as a concert pianist. Her music is melodic and tonal, well-structured and attractive, and has been widely commissioned and performed in the United States and abroad.

Firefly Triptych for Alto Flute and Piano, composed in 2023, represents a truly significant addition to the repertoire originally written for alto flute. This suite of three movements takes deep consideration of the characteristics of the alto flute as such and in relation to the piano. The alto flute is required to show everything it can offer, stretching from the lowest to the highest register. The balance with the piano is perfect; an elaborate piano part never overshadows the alto flute. The first movement, Journey into Night, sets the stage with piano and alto flute exchanges. These make room for the sweet, almost silky melody which is contrasted by a bouncy secondary theme. The second movement, Incantation, opens the space for the alto flute to show all its expressive powers through melodic and nostalgic phrases. This tender, emotional space is a bridge towards the Midnight Jam, the energetic third movement. It almost gets you by surprise with its insistent syncopated rhythm and extending techniques, such as flutter tonguing, until the celebration simply explodes and vanishes into the night. Or in the composer’s own words: ‘For me, this piece is a journey into a nocturnal world, sometimes mystical, sometimes primal, and sometimes celebratory, with each musical adventure framed by the magic of fireflies.’