Mary Lloyd-Butler is a composer, lyricist, librettist, pianist, conductor and educator. Her musical compositions range from vocal and instrumental works to musical theatre and opera.
For her latest music-theatre work, Hide and Seek, Mary has written music, lyrics, libretto and orchestrations. Hide and Seek explores the story of a young woman struggling to break free of a family profoundly affected by addiction. This sung-through work has received two readings through Emerging Artists in New York City and is being readied for a workshop production.
Mary’s musical, The Happiness of Fish, written with lyricist Mindi Dickstein was produced twice at the Bridewell Theatre in London. Her choral setting of ‘Head, Heart’, (text by Lydia Davis) was given its premiere by the Brooklyn Conservatory Chorale. Mary has also contributed many songs to the new musical Betwixt and Between, (lyrics by Kate Hanenberg).
Her instrumental works include ‘Prayer for Peace, A Meditation on 9/11’ and ‘Jill’s Journey’, written for chamber orchestra and ‘Wind-born’, composed for the First Street Woodwind Quintet.
Mary was awarded a month-long Artist Residency at the Millay Colony and has participated in the Composer/Librettist Studio at New Dramatists and with Raw Impressions Musical Theatre.
She received her M.F.A. from the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program at New York University, where she was a Jan Peerce Fellow and her B.A. in Piano Performance from the University of California at Santa Barbara.
Mary has taught at the Berkeley Carroll School and Project Reach Youth in Brooklyn, New York. Three of her student arrangements for Violin (Flute) and piano, Amazing Grace, Greensleeves and Silent Night have been published by C. F. Peters. Peters also distributes Myth Music, a collection of two and three part songs for soprano recorders. Each song is based on a Greek myth and the Full Score includes an optional easy piano accompaniment.