Amy Beach was the earliest American female composer whose works are regularly heard today, on the radio, concerts and streaming platforms. Beach’s Mass in E-flat major and her Gaelic Symphony were premiered by the Boston Symphony Orchestra in the 1890’s, to acclaim by both critics and audiences. The Library holds the manuscript of both those orchestral works along with several others. Beach’s long and eminently successful career included a number of European tours, and performances of her piano concertos in which she was the soloist.

Prof. Bomberger is the editor of The Cambridge Companion to Amy Beach, published in 2023 by Cambridge University Press.