POTSDAM -- SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music will host Grammy-winning American composer Libby Larsen for a free concert Wednesday, April 3 at 7:30 p.m. in Snell Music Theater.

"Libby Larsen has established herself as an important composer with a very distinctive, and distinctively American, musical voice,” said Crane School Dean Michael Sitton,. “She has also made a mark on the national arts scene as an eloquent spokesperson for music, for the arts, and for the place of the arts in our cultural life. Having the opportunity to experience her perspective directly, in person, and to be able to interact with her will, I'm sure, be extremely memorable for students, and will have a real and positive impact on their musical thinking."

As the 2013 visiting guest composer Larsen will bring her expertise and perspective to discussions and workshops with Crane students, faculty and the campus community.

"While The Crane School's own outstanding faculty members bring their expertise and vision to our students on a daily basis, it is always enriching to bring in other voices from outside the School, to add even more breadth and depth to the student experience. Frankly, we're all looking forward to spending some time with her music, because it is unfailingly fresh, engaging and compelling," said Sitton.

Larsen will work directly with students and faculty during her visit, giving lectures, speaking with classes, working with ensembles, leading a masterclass and consulting with composition majors to give them feedback on their work.

Libby Larsen is one of America's most performed living composers. She has created a catalogue of more than 500 works spanning virtually every genre, from intimate vocal and chamber music, to massive orchestral works, including over 15 operas.

Widely recorded, with more than 50 CDs of her work, Larsen has won Grammy Awards as well as the 2010 George Peabody Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Music in America.

She is often sought after for commissions and premieres by major artists, ensembles and orchestras around the world, and has established a permanent place for her works in the concert repertory.

Libby Larsen has received numerous awards and accolades, including a 1994 Grammy as producer of the album "The Art of Arlene Augér," an acclaimed recording that features Larsen's "Sonnets from the Portuguese."

Her opera "Frankenstein, The Modern Prometheus," was selected as one of the eight best classical music events of 1990 by USA Today.

Larsen has had many collaborations with a long list of world-renowned artists, including the King's Singers, Benita Valente and Frederica von Stade, among others. Her works are widely recorded on such labels as Angel/EMI, Nonesuch, Decca and Koch International.

As a past holder of the 2003-04 Harissios Papamarkou Chair in Education at the U.S. Library of Congress, the recipient of the Eugene McDermott Award in the Arts from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Larsen is a vigorous champion of the music and musicians of our time.

In 1973, she co-founded the Minnesota Composers Forum along with Stephen Paulus. Now called the American Composers Forum, it has been an invaluable advocate for composers in a difficult, transitional time for American arts.

Consistently sought after as a leader in the generation of millennial thinkers, Larsen's music and ideas have refreshed the concert music tradition and the composer's role in it.

For more information about Libby Larsen, please visit www.libbylarsen.com.