Elaine Hagenberg’s music “soars with eloquence and ingenuity” (ACDA Choral Journal). Known for her captivating melodies, lush harmonic landscapes, and evocative piano and orchestral accompaniments, her compositions are performed worldwide and frequently featured at American Choral Directors Association conferences, All-State festivals, and distinguished venues including Carnegie Hall, the Vatican, and the Église Saint-Sulpice in Paris, with performances spanning the Americas, Europe, Australia, Asia, and Africa.

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Winner of the ACDA Brock Prize for Professional Composers, Elaine writes music that has found a place in choral repertoire around the world—music the NY Concert Review described as pulling “at one’s heartstrings.”

 

One of her most celebrated works, Illuminare for chorus and orchestra, has garnered international acclaim across five continents for its emotional power and seamless integration of choral and orchestral textures. The Chicago Tribune described it as “inspiring and uplifting… soaring and cinematic.” Drawing on sacred Latin, Greek, and English texts, Illuminare narrates a journey from beauty and goodness, disrupted by darkness and confusion, culminating in the triumphant return of Light.

 

In addition to composing full-time, Elaine actively engages in bringing her music to life as the guest artist and featured clinician for professional conferences and festivals both in the U.S. and abroad as a composer, conductor, and accompanist of her work. Her engagements include ACDA conferences, Carnegie Hall festivals, the Incanto Mediterraneo International Choral Festival in Italy, the Vox Anima London Choral Festival, the Galway Choral Festival in Ireland, and the Mzanzi Conductors Convention in South Africa.​

 

Her catalog, ranging from intimate a cappella settings to large works for chorus and orchestra, is published through Elaine Hagenberg Music and distributed by GIA Publications, with earlier works published through several leading choral publishers.