Anna Heflin is a composer and writer who constructs high-octane, humorous, and sensual worlds with non-linear narratives that thrive on musical and psychological fragmentation. Whether writing a symphony or a staged literature-inspired solo opera for an instrumentalist, she is drawn to the unexpected and channels her highly imaginative virtuosic visions into complex characters and unorthodox narrative arcs that often integrate text and staging. Her long-term collaborations with individual artists and organizations developed over years of working as a freelance violist are central to her process and her core values include trust, risk taking, experimentation, play, open communication, and creative problem solving.
Her compositions do not fit neatly into a box and neither does she – she is invigorated by approaching music from every angle and can be found writing program notes for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, giving academic lectures, hosting radio shows, leading roundtable discussions, and running her journal Which Sinfonia. Recent performances include the world premiere of Symphony No. 993 (2024) for the Buffalo Philharmonic as part of June in Buffalo, the world premiere of a new work for Canticum Ostrava as part of Ostrava Days 2023, and “To Elvedon” as part of Rochester Fringe Festival 2023.
Anna Heflin; Photo Credit: Dillon Howl
