I just learned of the marriage of composer Jennifer Higdon, and I was wondering if conductors are like ship captains, if Marin Alsop can officiate at a wedding? It turns out, in California, a person can become a Deputy Commissioner of Civil Marriages for 24 hours with the right paperwork.
Alsop married Higdon and her high school sweetheart Cheryl Lawson early last month. Lawson is the manager of Higdon’s publishing company. Higdon, who is on the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music, and whose works are frequently programmed by the Philadelphia Orchestra, received a Pulitzer Prize in 2010 for her Violin Concerto.
Alsop previously officiated at the wedding of composers John Corigliano and Mark Adamo. Corigliano was recipient of a Pulitzer Prize for his Symphony No. 2 in 2001 and an Academy Award for his score to “The Red Violin” in 1999.
Alsop, a former protégée of Leonard Bernstein, has been music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra since 2007.
I’m just hurt I’m only just now learning about the wedding, since I only live a block away from the happy couple.
PHOTO: With that CD collection, I’d marry her, too. (Actually this looks a lot like my apartment, minus the piano.)