Music Composition/Journalism
Bernadette Speach is a composer, pianist, and educator whose 40-year career spans classical, jazz, and avant-garde traditions.
A native of Syracuse, NY, she earned degrees in music from The College of Saint Rose and SUNY Buffalo, where she studied with Morton Feldman.
Speach’s music blends precision with raw emotion, as showcased in her latest opera, The Little Rock Nine, a collaboration with librettist Thulani Davis about the 1957-58 school desegregation crisis at Little Rock Central High School.
Her works have been commissioned by leading arts institutions and performed by renowned ensembles, including the Arditti String Quartet and pianist Anthony de Mare.
A recipient of numerous grants and awards — including an Opera America Discovery Grant — Speach has also led influential arts organizations and taught at institutions including The New School and Brooklyn College.
Her long-standing collaborations with Davis have redefined potery-music fusion, earning praise for their innovative, emotionally resonant style.
September Events:
9/16/25 – Student Event: Conversation with Composer Bernadette Speach about Interdisciplinary Projects
12:15-1:30 pm; Stanley Russ Hall 103
9/16/25 – Film Screening: The Crisis Mr. Faubus Made: The Role of the Arkansas Gazette in the Central High Crisis (2010, Kevin Clark, dir., 30 min.), with Q & A by Composer Bernadette Speach and Film Co-Writer Dr. Donna Lampkin Stephens
1:40 – 2:30 pm; Stanley Russ Hall 103
9/17/25 – Student Event: Round-Table Discussion for Interdisciplinary Students with Composer Bernadette Speach, Journalist Wadie Moore, and Civil Rights Activist Elizabeth Eckford, moderated by Dr. Donna Lampkin Stephens
12 – 12:50 pm; Stanley Russ Hall 103
9/18/25 – Public Event: A Conversation with Little Rock Nine Opera Composer Bernadette Speach with Video Clips from the Little Rock Nine Opera, moderated by Dr. Donna Lampkin Stephens
7 – 8:30 pm; Windgate Center for Fine and Performing Arts Concert Hall