Bio

    Tamara McLeod was born in Denver, Colorado, to a Ukrainian mother and an American father in 1999. She spent years of her childhood in Crimea wandering through the ancient greek ruins of Chersonese and swimming in the Black Sea. Tamara began composing in her late teens, and is also a pianist/singer. Her music is dedicated to illuminating the experience of the human condition and exploring the multi-faceted world of emotion.

 

    Tamara’s body of work includes a wide array of music, ranging from vocal, orchestral, smaller ensembles, to solo piano works and beyond that. She has a particular fondness for electroacoustic music. Tamara has written an aleatoric piece for trumpet, voice, electronics, and tape, “Granules”; a passionate and fruitful exploration with trumpeter/composer/performer Sam Friedman. Above all, Tamara has a special place in her heart for writing for the voice. 

Her art song "Dirge for a Joker” placed third in the SFCM 9th Biennial art song competition, and her choral piece "De Profundis” placed second in the SFCM 14th Biennial a cappella choral competition. 

 

    McLeod has been commissioned by a diverse range of entities, including the Ensemble for These Times (“Spent”, for piano trio), the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola (“For God Alone…” for accompanied SATB choir), and opera singer Susanne Mentzer (“She Could…(For Mary)”, for mezzo and piano quintet). 

 

    With a tremendous interest in exploring the works of and connecting with other composers, Tamara has attended many music festivals and programs such as the Arts Letters and Numbers Creative Music Intensive (Averill Park NY, USA), the Zodiac Music Festival (Nice, France), the Bowdoin International Music Festival (Brunswick ME, USA), the Fresh Inc Festival (Virtual), and the European American Music Alliance Program (Paris, France). 

 

    Tamara holds a Master of Music in composition from the Manhattan School of Music where she studied with Reiko Fueting, Susan Botti, and David Adamcyk. She began her journey in music composition at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she studied with her mentor, David Garner, and received her Bachelor of Music in composition. She has also studied with wonderful composers/pedagogues including Michael Harrison, Aleksandra Vrebalov, and Derek Bermel. 

 

     Tamara engages in art holistically. She loves poetry, visual art, film, architecture, dance: all of which enriches her sense of humanity. For Tamara, this type of engagement brings about an ever-changing perspective on creation and expression as a human being. 

 

    Tamara McLeod believes in engaging with art holistically. She loves poetry, visual art, film, architecture, dance: all of which enriches her sense of humanity. These engagements bring about an ever-changing perspective in her, of creation and expression as a human being.