• From: Kansas City, Missouri 

• Education: Yale School of Music (B.M. and M.M. in Composition), Eastman School of Music (Ph.D. in Composition)

• Career: On faculty at University of Maryland, University of Southern California Santa Barbara 

Select Accolades: Fulbright Scholar (Belgium), Yale’s Certificate of Merit, Eastman’s Edward Benjamin Award, National Endowment for the Arts Award, Kennedy Center Friedheim Award, Composer-in-Residence for the Santa Barbara Symphony (1990-1992)

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Diemer (1927–2024) contributed significantly to the piano repertoire, ranging from pedagogical pieces to advanced concert works, and we are excited to highlight a few of our favorites here. Diemer’s Piano Sonata No. 3 (1996-1999) is a flashy and exciting concert piece influenced by Latin American dance rhythms including the tango, blended with a late-Romantic style and creative use of extended technique to evoke guitar-like sounds. Diemer’s short and virtuosic Toccata for Piano (1979) delves deeply into 20th century technique including frequent use of extended techniques such as placing the hand on the strings inside the piano, patting the strings, and strumming a glissando on the strings. 

For young pianists, Diemer offers a wide array of evocative pieces that appear in her collections such as Reaching Out and Travels through Sound. Selections also appear in RCM’s Celebration series and Alfred’s Contemporary Collage series. Minimalisting is an intermediate piano piece that explores rhythmic syncopation and slowly shifting mood through the use of minimalist textures, while Happy Thoughts provides the student with the opportunity to explore irregular meters and upbeat articulation. Learn more about Emma Lou Diemer and her works on our database here!