Abbie Betinis

Abbie Betinis (born January 21, 1980) is an American composer. She has composed music for a variety of musical ensembles, and is best known for her choral music and other vocal works. Early life and education Born in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, Betinis began Suzuki piano and ear training at age 4 at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point’s American Suzuki Talent Education Center (now Aber Suzuki Center). Valedictorian of her high school class, she enrolled in St. Olaf College on a piano scholarship, but during her sophomore year was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma and was forced to return home to begin chemotherapy. When she returned to St. Olaf, she changed course to pursue music composition and linguistics, graduating in 2001. She later earned a M.A. in music composition from the University of Minnesota, and studied harmony and counterpoint in the tradition of Nadia Boulanger at the European American Musical Alliance (EAMA) Summer Institute in Paris, France. Her teachers have included Mary Ellen Childs, Peter Hamlin, Philip Lasser, and Judith Lang Zaimont. Career The music of Abbie Betinis has been described as “inventive and richly melodic” (The New York Times), “the highligh