JENNIFER HIGDON: "We're starting to see a little bit of a change. I suspect my winning the Pulitzer this year will probably alter quite a bit because it meant that I was in the news enough that there’s some little girl out there who says 'Oh! I can do that!'"

VOICE TWO:

Jennifer Higdon is currently working on an orchestral piece for the Grand Teton Music Festival in Wyoming. The music will celebrate the festival's fiftieth anniversary next year.

Ms. Higdon says one important thing about her work is her general goal when writing music.

JENNIFER HIGDON: "I write music for people who may have no experience with classical music. I often think you don't need to have a [music] degree, you don't even need to have been to a concert hall."

VOICE ONE:

Jennifer Higdon says she is always thinking about her audience when she is composing.

JENNIFER HIGDON: "What if this was someone coming to the music for the very first time? Maybe they've never heard classical music. So give it a chance, see what you think. There is some cool stuff out there."

(MUSIC: "String Poetic"/ Jennifer Higdon, violinist Jennifer Koh and pianist Reiko Uchida)

VOICE TWO:

Our program was written and produced by Dana Demange. I'm Barbara Klein.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Steve Ember. You can read and listen to our programs at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. Join us again next week for more about contemporary American composers on THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.