Peter lieberson first wife

Peter Lieberson passed away yesterday, April 22, 2011 in Israel, at the age of sixty-four. Peter was a close student of Trungpa Rinpoche, an early director of Shambhala Training, a prominent teacher within Khandro Rinpoche’s community, and a renowned composer. He is survived by Ellen Kearny, his wife of many years, and by their daughters: Katherine, Christina, and Elizabeth. He is also survived by his third wife, Rinchen Lhamo. Peter is predeceased by his second wife, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson.

Tribute to Peter Lieberson

By Barry Boyce

July 15, 2011

Peter Lieberson cut his teeth as a dharma teacher in Boston. It’s a notably tough town. It intimidates. Books have been banned there. Street toughs from Southy and the Dirty Dot (Dorchester) are not to be messed with. Fenway’s Green Monster has made visiting leftfielders look silly. The Boston Brahmins up on Beacon Hill look down their aquiline noses and reduce the hoi polloi to nothing with a withering stare. Harvard is older than America, and way smarter too, so they will tell you.

The Boston Dharmadhatu was already venerable in the late seventies. A proud collection of early pioneers, we wrangled people into the dharma one rigorous nyinthun at a time. Trip cutting was the order of the day (and good thing too; there were lots to be cut). Honest, cynical, no bullshit dharma was our stock in trade.

Into this fray waltzed Peter and Ellen with the lofty message of cheerfulness and confidence. They did not receive a love and lighty reception. They were ripped to pieces. Trungpa Rinpoche sent them in to shake things up, and shake they did. He loved it that way, but it was vitally important that the shakers and the shakees get shaken together. That’s how it went, and Peter and Ellen came out the other side. They became an integral part of the community and Shambhala Training flourished. Most people of Peter’s parentage would need to strain to behave as a bloke. It came naturally to Peter.

Peter Lieberson studied composition with Milton Babbitt, Charles Wuorinen, Donald Martino, and Martin Boykan. After completing his musical studies at Columbia University, he left New York in 1976 for Boulder, Colorado, to continue his studies with Chögyam Trungpa, a Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhistmaster. It was there he met and married Ellen Kearney, a fellow student of Trungpa's. At their teacher's request, the Liebersons moved from Boulder to Boston, Massachusetts, to co-direct Shambhala Training, a meditation and cultural program.

Lieberson attended Brandeis University, from which he received a Ph.D. From 1984 to 1988 he taught at Harvard University. He then became international director of Shambhala Training in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Beginning in 1994, Lieberson devoted his time entirely to composition. He met his second wife, mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, in 1997 during the Santa Fe Opera production of his work Ashoka's Dream; they married in 1999 after Lieberson and his first wife were divorced. He wrote his song cycles Rilke Songs and Neruda Songs for Hunt Lieberson. The Neruda Songs were co-commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Boston Symphony; the world premiere was given on May 20, 2005, by the Los Angeles Philharmonic with Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting and Hunt Lieberson as soloist. The Boston Symphony performed the work in November 2005 with Hunt Lieberson as soloist and James Levine conducting, followed by performances with the Cleveland Orchestra, Robert Spano conducting. Hunt Lieberson died of breast cancer in July 2006, aged 52.Nonesuch subsequently released a commercial recording of the Boston/Levine performance of the Neruda Songs.

In December 2007, Lieberson won the 2008 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition for Neruda Songs. The Rilke Songs have also been issued, in separate studio and concert performances by Hunt Lieberson, both on the Bridge Records, Inc. label.

American classical composer (1946–2011)

Peter Goddard Lieberson (25 October 1946 – 23 April 2011) was an American composer of contemporary classical music. His song cycles include two finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for Music: Rilke Songs and Neruda Songs; the latter won the 2008 Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition and both were written for his wife, the mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson. His three piano concertos were each premiered by the pianist Peter Serkin, with the 1st and 3rd also being Pulitzer finalists.

Early life

Peter Goddard Lieberson was born in New York City. He was the son of ballerina and choreographerVera Zorina (née Eva Brigitta Hartwig) and Goddard Lieberson, president of Columbia Records. Lieberson studied composition with Milton Babbitt, Charles Wuorinen, Donald Martino, and Martin Boykan. After completing his musical studies at Columbia University, he left New York in 1976 for Boulder, Colorado, to continue his studies with Chögyam Trungpa, a TibetanVajrayanaBuddhist master. It was there he met and married Ellen Kearney, a fellow student of Trungpa's. At their teacher's request, the Liebersons moved from Boulder to Boston, Massachusetts, to co-direct Shambhala Training, a meditation and cultural program. Lieberson earned a Ph.D. from Brandeis University. From 1984 to 1988 he taught at Harvard University. He then became international director of Halifax Shambhala Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Musical career

Beginning in 1994, Lieberson devoted his time entirely to composition. He met his second wife, mezzo-sopranoLorraine Hunt Lieberson, in 1997, during the Santa Fe Opera production of his work Ashoka's Dream; they married in 1999 after Lieberson and his first wife were divorced. He wrote his song cycles Rilke Songs and Neruda Songs for Hunt Lieberson. The Neruda Songs, a cycle of songs set to love poems by Pablo Neruda, were co-commissio