Martha Hill Duncan

Martha Hill Duncan is an award-winning composer, choral conductor and music educator. Originally from Houston, Texas, her passion for music started early, inspired by her mother, who sang and played the piano by ear. Martha began piano lessons at age 8 and went on to receive a diploma in vocal music from the first graduating class of The Houston High School for Performing and Visual Arts and later earned a degree in composition from The University of Texas at Austin.

Since moving to Canada with her husband, astrophysicist Dr. Martin Duncan, Martha has enjoyed incorporating Canadian poetry, landscapes and stories into her compositions. Many of her piano works have been inspired by her long-time career as a piano teacher and her songs have won both art song and choral competitions. Many of these works are listed and/or published throughout music educational syllabi and publications.

She is a founding member of RED LEAF PIANOWORKS, a self-publishing composer’s collective and the artistic director of SHE SINGS! Women’s Choir. A former piano examiner for The Royal Conservatory of
Music, Martha is also a clinician and frequent adjudicator. She lives in Kingston, Ontario and has two grown children – Alex, a math professor, and Claire, an actress and singer -and an adorable granddaughter, Eloise.

---