Philadelphia-based composer Melissa Dunphy first earned critical acclaim in 2009 for The Gonzales Cantata, an epic work for chorus with texts drawn from controversial public commentary by U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Hailed as “moving” by MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, the piece became first in a series of testimonial choral numbers addressing urgent political topics, including What Do You Think I Fought for at Omaha Beach (2010) and American DREAMers (2018).

Dunphy’s O Oriens (2015) and Halcyon Days (2020) have become concert hall staples for their vocal writing coupled with reflections on the theme of hope. But her catalog also moves into the zany and fantastical without sacrificing musical accessibility. A virtuosic song cycle for soprano, Tesla’s Pigeon (2010), draws from eclectic sources to paint a portrait of the famed inventor Nikola Tesla told from the pigeon’s perspective, while Jack and the Beanstalk (2012) for children’s chorus and baritone presents a fanciful reimagining of a classic fairytale.a

Following early studies in viola and theater, Dunphy immigrated to the United States from Australia in 2003. She now holds a PhD in composition from the University of Pennsylvania and serves on the Music faculty at Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. When not composing, Dunphy pursues archaeological interests sparked by the acquisition of a colonial-era property that she is renovating into a community performance venue. Historical research on the property inspired Dunphy’s first opera, Alice Tierney (2023), which interrogates the haunting challenge of reconstructing marginalized women’s voices from the past.