Peggy Stuart Coolidge was an American composer and conductor. She was one of the first female American composers to have a recording devoted to her symphonic works, and the first American composer to have a concert devoted entirely to her works presented in the Soviet Union. Although she does not quote particular melodies, her compositional style is accessible and influenced by American folk and popular idioms; her success at creating a distinctly American musical voice places her among such figures as Charles Ives, Aaron Copland and George Gershwin.