Composer, violinist, and poet Patricia Van Ness (1951) draws upon elements of medieval and Renaissance music to create a signature voice. She has been called a modern-day Hildegard von Bingen, with her ability to compose music “ecstatic and ethereal,” “both ancient and new.” She is Staff Composer (1996-) for First Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Composer-In-Residence at St. Paul’s Episcopal in Burlingame, CA, and has been an invited lecturer at Harvard University and Boston University.