Coates, Gloria (1938–)

American composer and programmer. Born Gloria Kannenberg, Oct 10, 1938, in Wausau, Wisconsin; dau. of Natalie Zanon (Italian coloratura) and Roland Kannenberg (state senator); m. Francis Mitchell Coates Jr., 1959 (div. 1969); children: Alexandra Coates (harpist).

Studied music theory with Leonard Siem and began to compose; won apprenticeship at Brookside Playhouse in Petersburg, Pennsylvania; studied with Norwegian opera singer Nene Baalstadand and with Alexander Tcherrepnin; acted with Chicago Stage Guild; conducted choir in Wausau before arriving in NY where she studied voice and art and starred off-Broadway in musical Dacota; while continuing to compose, became music, art, and drama critic for Louisiana State Times and produced and moderated daily tv program; settled in Munich and organized radio programs for West German Radio about contemporary American music; started German-American Concert Series for Amerika Haus (1971); was guest of Soviet Composers Union at 1st International Festival of New Music in Moscow (1981); as composer, had 58 commissions by 1978; wrote String Quartet No. II for 1972 Olympics in Munich (recorded in 1977 and 1983); worked on orchestral piece based on texts by Leonardo da Vinci; was also visual artist with works in private collections and European exhibits; her most popular work was a music song cycle based on poems by Emily Dickinson. Selected works: Music on Open Strings (1974); Planets (1974); Chamber Symphony or Transitions (1976); Sinfonietta della Notte (1982); L'Anima della Terra (1982); Symphony No. 3 (1984); Three Mystical Songs (1985).

See also Women in World History.