Professional Development Panels:
March 13, 2020 – 10:00am – 3:00pm | $10 Tickets>>
Featuring composers:
Dai Wei, Samsaric Dance
Anthony R. Green, Peace Til We Meet Again
Paul Novak, as the light begins to drift
Christian Quiñones, Trigueño o moreno
Gity Razaz, And the brightest rivers glide…
Keane Southard, Symphony No. 2 – Movement I
Program:
American Composers Orchestra seeks to identify and celebrate emerging American composers through its Underwood New Music Readings program.
The Readings include two sessions with American Composers Orchestra, a working-rehearsal and a run-through performance. The performances are professionally recorded, and each composer is given a high-quality audio recording to be used for archival, study and portfolio purposes. Composers also participate in a series of professional development workshops covering such topics as promotion, score preparation, publishing, copyright agreements, and other career essentials.
The Underwood New Music Readings participant composers will work closely with mentor composers Melinda Wagner, Jonathan Bailey Holland, and ACO Artistic Director, Derek Bermel, as well as conductor George Manahan.
Six composers participate and at the conclusion of the program, one participating composer will receive a $15,000 commission and future performance by ACO. Female participant composers are also eligible to apply for the Women Composers Commission Program, which, in partnership with the League of American Orchestras, provides three women with a $15,000 commission and world premiere with a professional orchestra.
SELECTED COMPOSERS
Dai Wei (Guangdong, China)
Dai Wei (she/her) is originally from China. Her musical journey navigates in the spaces between east and west, classical and pop, electronic and acoustic, innovation and tradition. She often draws from eastern philosophy and aesthetics to create works with contemporary resonance, and reflect an introspection on how these multidimensional conflict and tension can create and inhabit worlds of their own. Her artistry is nourished by the Asian and Chinese Ethnic culture in many different ways. Being an experi-mental vocalist, she performs herself as a Khoomei throat singer in her recent compositions, through which are filtered by different experiences and background as a calling that transcends genres, races, and labels. She recently served as Young Artist Composer-in-Residence at Music from Angel Fire and Composer Fellow at Intimacy of Creativity in Hong Kong. She has received commissions and collaborations with Utah Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Bang on a Can, Curtis 20/21 Ensem-ble, Merz Trio, and the Rock School of Ballet in Philadelphia.
Her compositions were broadcast by WHYY, Performance Today, Radio Television Hong Kong, and Qinghai Television. Wei is currently pursuing a doctorate in composition at Princeton University as a Naumburg Doctoral Fellow. She is working on a piece called Partial Men for string quartet, live electronics, and voice where she will perform with Aizuri String Quartet. The piece is dedicating to two deceased men who donated their kidneys to her mother, and to many other deceased organ donors who extended other people’s life. Photo Credit: Cristina Cutt
About Samsaric Dance
The piece was inspired by a book I was reading called The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, which is written by Sogyal Rinpoche. He says:
The successive existences in a series of rebirths are not like the pearls in a pearl necklace, held together by a string, the “soul,” which passes through all the pearls; rather they are like dice piled one on top of the other. Each die is separate, but it supports the one above it, with which it is functionally connected. Between the dice there is no identity, but conditionality.
The title came from the Sanskrit word Samsara, which is often defined as the endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. In this piece, you will hear three different characters that represent three different lifetimes. They are being reincarnated and intersected by each other and more. It’s like a musical hotpot filled with diverse ingredients, and diversity is something we have since day one in our history. At the end of the piece, the orchestra evolves into only one pitch which represents the oneness of everything. As if we can finally rest. And yet, another journey is just about to start.
Anthony R. Green (Providence, RI)
The creative output of composer, performer, and social justice worker Anthony R. Green (he/him) includes musical and visual creations, interpretations of original, contemporary, and repertoire works, collaborations, educational outreach, and more. Behind all his artistic endeavors are the ideals of equality and freedom. His work has been presented in 20+ countries by Amanda DeBoer Bartlett, Eunmi Ko, the McCormick Percussion Group, Boston Landmarks Orchestra, counter)induction, Tenth Intervention, NOISE-BRIDGE, Access Contemporary Music, the Playground Ensemble, Ossia New Music Ensemble, and Alarm Will Sound, to name a few. His work has been presented at the ACA festival, the Grachten Festival (Amsterdam), Gaudeamus Muziekweek (Utrecht), Fulcrum Point New Music Discoveries (Chicago), and Ft. Worth Opera Frontiers (Texas), amongst others. A McKnight Visiting Composer, he has received support from numerous foundations and residencies in the US and Europe, including Kimmel Harding Nelson, VCCA, VICC (Sweden), Space/Time (Scotland), atelier:performance (Germany), and the Bemis Center for Contemporary Art.
As a performer, he has appeared at venues across the US, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, presenting piano and chamber music recitals, interdisciplinary and experimental performances, and lecture-recitals that fuse performance with research. Green’s most important social justice work has been with Castle of our Skins, celebrating Black artistry through music. Photo Credit: Colin Conces
About Peace Till We Meet Again
Peace Till We Meet Again is at once a dedication to Black people who were killed by cops. However, during the composition process of this work, the story of Black people in the United States throughout history was in my head, heart, and soul. This incredible journey from surviving the transatlantic journey in chains all the way to the present uncomfortable mix of success and failures is a history with which I sit every day of my life. When taking that into consideration, Peace Till We Meet Again can then extend its dedication to every Black person who has died because of racism, bigotry, discrimination, oppression, and other reasons beyond their control. This piece originally is the third movement of a large chamber work entitled Oh, Freedom! for flute, viola, and cello, which was commissioned by the Boston-based concert and education series Castle of our Skins. With this work, I wish to express the following: to all Black victims of legal brutalization and otherism, past, present, and future, I extend peace … till we meet again.
Paul Novak (Reno, NV)
Paul Novak (he/him) writes music that is lyrical but fragmented, exploring the subtleties of instrumental color and drawing influence from literature, art, and poetry. He has received numerous national awards, most recently from the ASCAP/SCI Commission, Tribeca New Music, Webster University, and YoungArts Foundation, and has participated in festivals across the country, including the first-ever National Youth Orchestra of the United States Composer Apprenticeship. Novak has collaborated with ensembles including the Austin Symphony, Orlando Symphony, Reno Philharmonic, NYO-USA, the Amaranth and Rosco Quartets, Sō Percussion, Texas New Music Ensemble, NODUS Ensemble, MotoContrario Ensemble, Ensemble Ibis, Blackbox Collective, Face the Music, and Worcester Chamber Music Society; he has worked on interdisciplinary projects with Rice Dance Theatre, poets Ming Li Wu and Erica Cheung, and the Bowdoin Museum. Originally from Reno, NV, Novak is an undergraduate student at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, where he has studied with Kurt Stallman, Pierre Jalbert, Anthony Brandt, and Karim Al-Zand. Upcoming projects in Spring 2020 include a commission from the Texas New Music Ensemble, a soprano/contrabass duo for LIGAMENT, and work for viola and ensemble for violist Sebastian Stefanovic.
About as the light begins to drift
As a student at Rice, I’ve become familiar with the unusual and beautiful cloud formations that appear in East Texas skies. as the light begins to drift was inspired by their subtle interplay of light and shadow and their flowing, hazy geometries. The work opens with a burst of swirling texture, with spiraling runs and swells entangling in a chaotic sound world. The brass interjects with jagged, syncopated hits as different instruments emerge from and then vanish into the ensemble. After a spiraling downward run, a plaintive English horn melody is accompanied by a canopy of string harmonics and trills. In the second section, crystalline percussion instruments merge with subtle orchestral textures. A clarinet solo leads into a pulsing triplet ostinato, which is passed throughout the ensemble, growing in intensity until it reaches a furious climax. The work closes gently with the return of the English horn, fading to nothing in a halo of shimmering sounds.
Christian Quiñones (Camuy, Puerto Rico)
Christian Quiñones (he/him) is a Puerto Rican composer whose music explores concepts like cultural identity and minorities within society, literature, and poetry. He was the 1st prize winner of the 2019 Boston New Music Initiative Young Composer Competition and the Pro Arte 2015 Composition Competition. His music has been performed by the Trio Sanromá, Victory Players, Cuban virtuoso René Izquierdo, Boston New Music Initiative, Orquesta del Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico, Young Artist Concert Orchestra (YACO), emerging talents such as Daniela Santos Colón. Christian has also been commissioned by The Association of professional dancers (APRODANZA), Young Artist Concert Series, and The Zodiac Festival in France where he was awarded the Distinguished Composer award.From 2018 to 2019 he was the composer in residence for the Mt. Holyoke MIFA Festival where he was commissioned by the Victory Players and worked on outreach programs bringing new music talks and performances to public schools in Massachusetts. Apart from his work as a composer, Christian has done research on the commissions of “Ballets de San Juan” to Puerto Rican composers, and an analysis of the sustainability of independent music in Puerto Rico during an economic crisis published by Musiké.
He obtained his BM in Music Composition at the Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico, studying composition and orchestration with Alfonso Fuentes and in 2019 Christian was a recipient of the Graduate College Master’s Fellowship at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he is studying with composer Carlos Carrillo.
About Trigueño o moreno
The title of the piece is not an idea that can be translated easily from Spanish to other languages. It comes from a study from 1992 where they would ask second-generation Puerto Ricans that were living in the United States if they identify as either black, white, or other. Most of them did not respond in a binary form of black and white but identify themselves as either trigueño or moreno. In Spanish, depending on the cultural context, when you describe a person as trigueño or moreno it means that this person as color skin is not “black enough” to be considered black (the person do not have strong African factions), but also not “white enough” to be considered white. So for the majority of these second generation of Puerto Ricans, there is an identity crisis because of the rich mix of heritage in Puerto Rico. In a way, this piece is a comment on that confusion of who we are, and how as a Puerto Rican I can’t describe myself in a binary form. And also, how the same identity crisis happens in music. In a certain way this piece it’s representing the amazing, but at the same time conflicting, heritage that Puerto Ricans are.
Gity Razaz (Tehran, Iran)
Hailed by the New York Times as “ravishing and engulfing,” Gity Razaz’s (she/her) music ranges from concert solo pieces to opera and large symphonic works. With intense melodies and inventive harmonic languages, Ms. Razaz’s compositions are often dramatically charged. Her music has been commissioned and performed by Washington National Opera, National Sawdust, National Ballet School of Canada, Chautauqua Opera Company, Ballet Moscow, Seattle Symphony, Albany Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, La Jolla Symphony & Chorus, American Composers Orchestra, New York Choreographic Institute, and Amsterdam Cello Biennale, among many others. Her compositions have earned numerous national and international awards, Her compositions have earned numerous national and international awards, such as the 2019 American Academy of Arts and Letters Andrew Imbrie Award, the Jerome Foundation award, the Libby Larsen Prize in 28th International Search for New Music Competition, three ASCAP awards, ASCAP Plus Award, to name a few. Ms. Razaz is a composition teacher and mentor for the Kaufman Music Center’s Luna Composition Lab since 2017 Ms. Razaz attended The Juilliard School on full scholarship, and received her Bachelor and Master of Music in Composition under the tutelage of John Corigliano, Samuel Adler, and Robert Beaser.
About And the brightest rivers glide…
And the brightest rivers glide… is my third composition for large orchestra; its title refers to a fragment from a poem by the Persian poet Rumi. I have always been fascinated by the Sufism of Persian poets, and how their evocative depictions of earthly pleasures are actually metaphors for the intensity and purity of their spiritual devotion. In this way, this piece is an attempt to conjure a dramatic, voluptuous surface that surrounds the deeper spiritual essence, as depicted by a pure and simple lyrical line. The structure of the piece is a hybrid idea inspired by palindromes and the Golden Ratio, or the divine proportion. Musical ideas and textures re-appear in exact reverse order of the opening episodes, their length upon return considerably shortened in order to maintain and an organic and proportional dramatic arc.
Keane Southard (Southborough, MA)
Described as “a hugely prolific musician with a wide variety of skill sets” (newmusicbuff.com), Keane Southard (he/him) is a composer and pianist who believes deeply in the power of music to change how people think, feel, and act, and that it can be a catalyst for positive change in the world. His music has been described as “a terrific discovery” (Bandworld Magazine) and “highly-professional and well-orchestrated” (Portland Press Herald) and his works reflect his many diverse musical tastes, from medieval chant to 70’s rock, Bach to the Blues, and 19th century romanticism to Latin dance forms. He has been a recipient of many awards, most recently winning the Yale Glee Club’s Emerging Composers Competition and Capital Hearings Young Composers Competition, and has been a fellow at the Intimacy of Creativity (Hong Kong) and the Bennington Chamber Music Conference. Keane earned his M.M. at the University of Colorado-Boulder in composition and is currently a Ph.D. student in composition at the Eastman School of Music. His composition teachers include Kenneth Girard, Loris Chobanian, Daniel Kellogg, Jeffrey Nytch, Carter Pann, Richard Toensing, Allen Shawn, Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon, and David Liptak. Keane spent 2013 in Brazil as a Fulbright scholar studying music education.
About Symphony No. 2, Movement 1
Symphony No. 2 for Large Orchestra first began life as my Piano Sonata No. 2. The sonata was begun in 2006 and completed in 2008. This was my first large-scale work (over 15 minutes) that I had ever written, and I premiered the sonata myself in 2008. After playing the first movement in a masterclass with a well-known American composer, she suggested that I orchestrate it, that the instruments and colors were right there begging to be realized in orchestral form. This thought stayed in the back of my mind for several years until I decided to give it a shot. After completing the first movement, I decided that the other movements would work well in an orchestral form as well and decided to turn the sonata into a symphony. (I am still working on orchestrating the other three movements). While I have written a lot of joyful and happy music in recent years, this work of mine represents a different side of my music, one that is loud, dissonant, “in your face,” and intense. I haven’t written in this mode very often, but I still connect deeply with it and feel it is an important part of my creative identity and what I want to express in my music.
Sesiones de lecturas de obras contemporáneas para orquesta
Marzo 12-14, 2020 Orquesta de Compositores Americanos (Nueva York, NY)
City College Aaron Davis Hall Marian Anderson Theater 160 Convent Ave New York, NY 10031
Sesiones abiertas: Marzo 12, 2020 – 9:30am – 12:30pm Marzo 13, 2020 – 7:30pm – 9:30pm
Paneles de desarrollo profesional: Marzo 13, 2020 – 10am – 3pm
Con compositores: Dai Wei, Samsaric Dance Anthony R. Green, Peace Til We Meet Again Paul Novak, as the light begins to drift Christian Quiñones, Trigueño o moreno Gity Razaz, And the brightest rivers glide… Keane Southard, Symphony No. 2 – Movement I
Programa
American Composers Orchestra busca identificar y celebrar a los compositores estadounidenses emergentes a través de su programa Underwood New Music Readings.
Las lecturas incluyen dos sesiones con la American Composers Orchestra, un ensayo de trabajo y una presentación continua. Las actuaciones se graban profesionalmente, y cada compositor recibe una grabación de audio de alta calidad para usar con fines de archivo, estudio y portafolio. Los compositores también participan en una serie de talleres de desarrollo profesional que cubren temas tales como promoción, preparación de puntajes, publicación, acuerdos de derechos de autor y otros elementos esenciales de la carrera.
Este año, los compositores participantes en la residencia con la Orquesta de Compositores Americanos trabajarán de cerca con los compositores mentores Derek Bermel, Jonathan Bailey Holland, and Melinda Wagner, así como con el director de musica de la Orquesta, George Manahan.
Participan seis compositores y al finalizar el programa, un compositor participante recibirá una comisión de $15,000 USD y el rendimiento futuro de ACO. Las compositoras participantes también son elegibles para solicitar el Programa de la Comisión de Mujeres Compositoras, que, en asociación con la Liga de Orquestas Estadounidenses, ofrece a tres mujeres una comisión de $15,000 y un estreno mundial con una orquesta profesional.
EarShot, an initiative of American Composers Orchestra (ACO) in partnership with American Composers Forum,League of American Orchestras, and New Music USA, is the nation’s first ongoing program for identifying and promoting the most promising orchestral composers on the national stage. ACO’s artistic and administrative staff collaborates with participating orchestras, assisting with planning, program design, and execution. EarShot residencies include mentorship from the most accomplished orchestral composers in the country, orchestra readings, and musician and conductor feedback sessions. The program is customized to each host orchestra’s aesthetic, demographic, community, and educational interests.
The Sarasota Orchestra EarShot participant composers will work closely with mentor composers Robert Beaser, Laura Karpman, and Chinary Ung. There will be professional development panels including the mentor composers and guests William J. Lackey of American Composers Forum, Stephen Miles of New College of Florida, and select staff from the Sarasota Orchestra administrative team.
SELECTED COMPOSERS
Krists Auznieks
Currently pursuing doctorate at Yale School of Music with Aaron Jay Kernis and David Lang, Krists Auznieks’ (b.1992) most recent recognitions include Jacob Druckman Prize from Aspen Music Festival, Latvian National Grand Music Award for the best new work of the year, The Woods Chandler Memorial Prize from Yale, fellowships from Aspen Music Festival, NEXT Festival of Emerging Artists (NYC), Bennington Chamber Music Conference, and Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, winning works at The Chicago Ensemble’s Discover America XI and Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra competitions. His quintet “Piano” was featured in The New York Times among the week’s best classical music moments. His opera NeoArctic, co-written with British techno producer Andy Stott, won Danish Reumert Prize and will have its US premiere at The Kennedy Center in 2019.
About Crossing
The title of Auznieks’ work envisages a “crossing” into another state of mind, suggested and catalyzed by rhetorical and musical devices. “I hope Crossing can become a leap from the familiar physical world and how memory operates in it,” says Auznieks, “to some other imaginary, utopian, idealistic world.” The work centers on motivic transformations that function as an analogy to Proustian notions of memory. “The same motifs are heard, re-heard, and misheard,” Auznieks points out. As Feldman once observed, “The whole lesson of Proust is not to look for experiences in the object, but within ourselves.” Auznieks aims for this work to similarly elicit a parallel experience within the listener.
Krists Auznieks’ Full Bio
The music of Krists Auznieks has been performed at The Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles), The Royal Danish Theatre, Beijing National Arts Centre, Shanghai City Theatre, Amsterdam’s Muziekgebouw, The Southbank Center (London), Théâtre Maisonneauve (Montreal), The Kitchen (NYC), National Sawdust (NYC), Chassé Theater (The Netherlands), Cultuurcentrum Hasselt (Belgium), Théâtre De Nîmes (France) and featured in Gaudeamus Muziekweek (Holland), Aspen Music Festival, American Music Festival (Albany, NY), MATA 2017 (NYC), Arctic Arts Festival (Norway), UNESCO International Rostrum of Composers in Finland, European Capital of Culture Aarhus 2017 Festival (Denmark), and Chelsea Music Festival (NYC). He has worked with Sandbox Percussion (NYC), David Kweksilber Big Band (Holland), Antico Moderno (Boston), Yale Philharmonia, Orkest de Ereprijs (Holland), pianists Robert Fleitz and David Fung, and guitarist Jiji. Recent works include Crossing for orchestra, commissioned by Aspen Music Festival and Robert Spano, premiered by Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra and Patrick Summers, as well as works for Capella Amsterdam, Latvian Radio Choir, Albany Symphony musicians (NY), Yale Percussion Group, and two massive concert-length works for Contemporaneous (NYC) and Sinfonietta Riga (Latvia).
Nicky Sohn
From ballet to opera to Korean traditional-orchestra, the wide-ranging talent of composer Nicky Sohn (b. 1992) is sought after across the United States, Europe, and Asia. Characterized by her jazz-inspired, rhythmically driven themes, Sohn’s work has received praise from international press for being “dynamic and full of vitality” (The Korea Defense Daily), having “colorful orchestration” (NewsBrite), and for its “elegant wonder” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung), among many others. As a result, Sohn has enjoyed commissions from the world’s preeminent performing arts institutions, including sold-out performances at the Stuttgart Ballet in Germany, The National Orchestra of Korea, and the New York Choreographic Institute at New York City Ballet.
About Bird Up
Bird Up encapsulates the composer’s perspective on the erratic nature of New York City, as seen through the lens of the bizarre and chaotic humor in the Eric Andre Show. Throughout several years of living in the absurd and unpredictable environment that is New York, the composer found that his skits were a clever match to the everyday unpredictability of the city. The skit that inspires this piece reflects the extreme end of the chaos that New Yorkers often encounter with a humorous twist, Eric Andre dresses up as a bird and confronts strangers on the street. The composer develops the piece around direct inspiration from the show, the primary motivic material of the piece is derived from the opening chords of the tv show. Incorporating this motive in several modes, the piece gradually transforms, reflecting the humor of the ever changing yet constantly absurd reality of the show and New York City.
Nicky Sohn’s Full Bio
In 2019, Sohn will attend the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy as Gerald Fischer Fellow, where she will work with Grammy-winning soprano Jessica Rivera. Other projects include commissions from the Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra as the sole winner of the Jacob Druckman Prize, as well as the Chelsea Music Festival. Festival appearances include the Aspen Music Festival and School, Les Ecoles d’Art Américaines de Fontainebleau, Ars Nova with Unsuk Chin and the Seoul Philharmonic, and the Summer Festival of the Moscow Conservatory of Music, among others. Residencies have included the Avalon Music Consort in Sweden, Washington Square Winds in New York City, and Project: 音 Sound 음 in Korea. Nicky Sohn currently shares her time between Berlin, New York City, and her hometown of Seoul, and holds a Master of Music Diploma from The Juilliard School. Her early years are marked by a voracious eagerness to learn. Already a student of piano at the age of two, she began seriously studying composition at the age of seven. At fourteen, Sohn completed her high school diploma, and would go on to receive both a Bachelor of Music degree and a Diploma of Piano Performance from the Mannes College of Music. She is grateful to her pedagogues, which include Robert Beaser, Chris Theofanidis, Derek Bermel, and Richard Danielpour.
Sam Wu
The music of Sam Wu (b. 1995) deals with the beauty in blurred boundaries. From Shanghai, China, Wu attends The Juilliard School for his M.M., after receiving an A.B., with honors, from Harvard University. His teachers include Tan Dun, Robert Beaser, Chaya Czernowin, Richard Beaudoin, and Derek Bermel. Wu also has been featured on the National Geographic Channel, Business Insider, Harvard Crimson, Yale Daily, Asahi Shimbun, People’s Daily, China Daily USA, SinoVision, CCTV, and ICS, among others.
About Wind Map
Wind Mapwas composed with inspiration from a graphic visualization of global wind patterns. Wu notes, “Massive amounts of weather data are fed into a supercomputer that then produces a live (or pseudo-live) ‘wind map.’ The swirls and swoops are color-coded: areas of blue and green are relatively calm, while red and purple usually imply devastating conditions in a tropical system. There is something particularly poetic about seeing our atmosphere on such a macro scale; the same colors that are converted from numerical data also suggest Van Gogh-esque brushstrokes. The confluence of the empirical and the aesthetic in the ‘wind map’ has proved wildly inspiring for the composition of this piece.”
Sam Wu’s Full Bio
Winner of Harvard’s Robert Levin, Francis Boott, Bach Society, Wister Prizes, Artist Development Fellowship, Oklahoma City University’s Project21 Prize (Second Place), and the Interlochen Fine Arts Award. Sam was also a finalist for the Cortona Prize and ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Awards. Wu’s music has been performed across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. His collaborators include the Melbourne, China National, Shenzhen, Xi’an, Suzhou Symphonies, Shanghai, Moscow, Boston Youth Philharmonics, National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing, Shanghai International Arts Festival, Sydney University Confucius Institute, Asia Society, members of the Parker and Ansonia Quartets, Princeton Pianists’ Ensemble, Radcliffe Choral Society, Harvard Ballet Company, and pipa master Wu Man.
Kitty Xiao
KittyXiao (b. 1989) is an Australian composer, pianist, and collaborative artist based in Rochester, New York. She is currently completing a Master of Music (Composition) at the Eastman School of Music as a graduate award recipient, studying composition with Robert Morris and piano with Tony Caramia. Xiao is founder, composer and pianist of Nimbus Trio and released her first album Novum in 2016 as a represented artist of Move Records label. In 2017 Kitty formed the Six Piano Collective and is Artistic Director of the Six Piano Project. The same year she launched a new concert series NoiseSense.
About Ink and Wash
Ink and Wash is influenced by Chinese calligraphy, in particular the work of contemporary Chinese, New York based artist Gu Wenda. His works, Negative and Positive Characters and TranquilityComes from Meditation, liberate themselves from traditional technical and aesthetic structures. For me, the works confront repression and the power of the human spirit. These ideas are expressed sonically in various strokes and lines of light and shade, attack and decay, from singular gestures to the mass.
Kitty Xiao’s Full Bio
Commissions include Arts Centre Melbourne’s 5x5x5, Plexus, Elysium Dance, Brighton Fashion Week London, Six Piano Project, Nimbus Trio, Tilde New Music Festival, Gamelan DanAnda, the Augmented Trumpet, Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra, Panoramic Voices, Australian Art Orchestra CMI, Clan Analogue; her work being featured on their recent album Coordinates and Australian short/feature films. Her works have been part of the Adelaide Fringe, Melbourne Festival, Mapping Melbourne Festival, performed at Deakin Edge, Melbourne Recital Centre, Elder Hall University of Adelaide, broadcast on 3MBS, 4MBS, ABC Classic FM, PBS, KUTX 98.9 (U.S). She has performed in the UK, US and Europe as a soloist, with Kirolian Piano Trio, Trinity Laban’s new music ensemble, her work recorded at Cacophony Records by Grammy award winner Erik Wofford and her music performed at Kilbourn Hall, The Museum of Human Achievement, The Blanton Museum of Art. Kitty was resident composer of 2017 Tilde New Music Academy, 2016 Keep Composer’s Weird in Austin, and 2016 Australian Art Orchestra CMI. Xiao holds a Master of Music (Performance) from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London as a full recipient of the Alfred Kitchin Scholarship, Master of Teaching (Music Education) from The University of Melbourne, Bachelor of Music from The University of Melbourne and was a scholarship recipient at Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School.
Participants Composers and Works: Brian Raphael Nabors, Rise Marian L. Harrison Stephens, Out of Kilter Anthony Tidd, Sa & Alatangana Kerwin Young, American Caravan
Reading Sessions Open to the Public:
Wednesday, March 6, 2019 at 1:30pm Saturday, March 9, 2019 at 11am Fisher Music Center 3711 Woodward Avenue | Detroit, MI
EarShot, an initiative of American Composers Orchestra (ACO) in partnership with American Composers Forum,League of American Orchestras, and New Music USA, is the nation’s first ongoing program for identifying and promoting the most promising orchestral composers on the national stage. ACO’s artistic and administrative staff collaborates with participating orchestras, assisting with planning, program design, and execution. EarShot residencies include mentorship from the most accomplished orchestral composers in the country, orchestra readings, and musician and conductor feedback sessions. The program is customized to each host orchestra’s aesthetic, demographic, community, and educational interests.
This year, the Detroit EarShot participant composers will work closely with mentor composers Gabriela Lena Frank, Derek Bermel, and DSO’s Classical Roots composer-in-residence (TBD), as well as conductor André Raphel, guest teaching artist Jessie Montgomery,and ACO’s Education Director, Kevin James.
The Professional Development component of this residency will be focused on education and community engagement. Participant composers will receive hands-on training and will collaborate with DSO’s Teaching Artists, Jessie Montgomery, and Kevin James to present composition basics to students in local public schools.
SELECTED COMPOSERS
Brian Raphael Nabors
Brian Raphael Nabors (b. 1991) is a composer of emotionally enriching music that tells exciting narratives with its vibrant themes and colorful harmonic language. With an eclectic musical palate and crafty compositional technique to match, Nabors’ music draws from combinations of Jazz/R&B with the modern flair of contemporary music. This interesting blend of sound worlds is one that continues to craft his unique musical voice.
About Rise
Of his work, Nabors says, “Rise for orchestra is an adaptation of the first movement of my Concerto for Hammond Organ and Orchestra. The musical elements of the piece in its original form symbolize the eclectic beauty of American lifestyle through music and culture. The work embodies the sense of freedom that the nation continually strives to further embody. This idea is represented through the restless nature of the music. While composing the work, I became quite fond of the synergy between the solo Hammond Organ and orchestra and found that it would double nicely as a small concerto for orchestra. My goal is for the listener to be taken on a journey of restless sounds and lavish tunes, while depicting our innate longing for the freedom to just simply be.”
Brian Raphael Nabors’ Full Bio
Nabors has been commissioned by institutions such as the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra as well as performed at many events across the US, including the Texas Music Educators Association Conference (TMEA), the Midwest Composers Symposium, and the International Double Reed Society Conference (IDRS). He has received awards from the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), Alabama Music Teachers Association (AMTA), the Birmingham Music Club, and has been performed by artists such as the Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings, Zodiac Trio, Unheard-of//Ensemble, and the Contemporary Directions Ensemble at the University of Michigan. He has also received instruction in masterclasses with composers such as Lowell Liebermann, William Bolcom, and pianist Jon Nakamatsu. Most recently, he was selected to compete as a finalist in the Rapido! National Composition Contest Take Five with judges Robert Spano, Jennifer Higdon, and Michael Gandolfi in January 2019.
Nabors is currently completing doctoral studies at the College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati where he studies with Norman Dinerstein Professor of Composition Scholar, Douglas Knehans. He obtained the Master of Music degree in Composition also from CCM, studying with Miguel A. Roig-Francolí. Prior to graduate studies, he obtained a Bachelor of Music Theory & Composition degree from the School of the Arts at Samford University in Birmingham, AL, where he studied composition with Sarana Chou and piano with Kathryn Fouse.
Marian L. Harrison Stephens
Marian L. H. Stephens (b. 1974) is a native of Atlanta, Georgia. In August 2007, she became the first African American to receive the Doctorate of Music degree in Music Composition from Indiana University (Bloomington) Jacobs School of Music. She also holds the Certificate of Visiting Student from the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm, Sweden, for studies completed in music composition during the 2004 – 2005 academic year.Dr. Stephens is the Founding Artistic Director of MLH Music Studio, which she established in 2010. She is the lead instructor to students ages 4 to adult. She resides in Atlanta with her husband, Don, daughters, Nia Sanaa (age 4) and Ava Naima (age 2), mother, M. Loretta Fowlkes Harrison, and Skip, the dog.
About Out of Kilter
There are approximately thirteen miles between the Bankhead Courts housing project development, (a fenced-in, self-sustaining dwelling that includes its own elementary school, public library and convenience store) and the High Museum of Art (a multi-million-dollar complex located in the center of Atlanta’s extremely affluent arts district). Three miles from Bankhead Courts, and eleven miles from the High Museum of Art, is the Historic Collier Heights Community where I spent a privileged childhood that included many trips to the High.
Despite the short distance between my neighborhood and Bankhead Courts, I never considered life so out of kilter in such close proximity between the two communities until the year 2000. That year I received a CLiCC grant from the Atlanta Chapter of the American Composers Forum to implement my program, Project MAP (music, art, poetry), into Bankhead Courts Elementary. I soon realized that lack of opportunity, coupled with a constant bombardment of real-life negative images was the main catalyst for many of the problems facing the Bankhead Courts community. Chase Campbell’s images from his children’s book, Riding the Sphinx and Other Adventures at the Museum, was the inspiration for OUT OF KILTER: sounding scenes from Black America. Each image is paired with a major section of music, delineated by subtitles, which I created. These subtitles allude to each picture, as I see them, and also to the mood of the music.
Anthony Tidd
A Philly transplant, and the child of Trinidadian parents, Anthony Tidd (b. 1972) was born and raised in London, England. Over the next eighteen years, he attended the Newham Academy of Music (London), Guild Hall (London), Thurrock College of Music (Grays), and Goldsmiths University (London), and studied with jazz alto saxophonist and McArthur genius, Steve Coleman. As an international touring bassist, Tidd has had the pleasure of working with a number of celebrated names, including Greg Osby, Ravi Coltrane, Vijay Iyer, Kindred, Wayne Krantz, Talib Kweli, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Meshell N’degiocelo, Common, Jill Scott, De La Soul, David Byrne, Gangstaar, Frank Ocean and many others.
About Sa & Atalangana
This piece is dedicated to my Aunt, Ruth Harper, who passed away in 2018 after a long fight with cancer. It celebrates the life cycle, from birth, coming of age, maturity, and of course death, as an inevitable part of this. I tried to use a limited number of themes, which grow slowly throughout, emulating biological growth. The piece also features material which was derived from my jazz improvisational approach, based on my own extensive experience in this area.
Anthony Tidd’s Full Bio
As an accomplished composer/band leader Anthony released his critically acclaimed album, Quite Sane – The Child of Troubled Times in 2002, and has written and recorded works for small ensembles, big bands, and full orchestra. As a Grammy Award winner, Tidd has also recorded and produced a number of records for multiplatinum artists such as, The Roots, Macy Gray, Zap Mama, Lady Gaga, The Black Eyed Peas, Fergie, Pink, Jill Scott, and Ursula Rucker, as well as composing scores for major film and television projects, most recently including Jay Z’s Paramount/BET docuseries, Rest in Power – The Trayvon Martin Story.
As an educator, and long-standing member of the M-BASE collective, Anthony has taught and presented masterclasses at a number of prestigious institutions including NYU, Temple, The New School, U-Chicago, UC-San Diego, UCLA, BANFF, Berklee, New England Conservatory, Engelsholm, The Pavarotti Music Centre, The Lincoln Center, Durban University, Paris Conservatory, The London South Bank, The Royal College of Music, and many others. He is also a master lecturer at the University of the Arts in Philly.
Tidd is the creator/director of the Creative Music Program, Jazz Camp of Philadelphia, as well as curator of Meet the Masters, and popular Philly concert series Sittin’ In, all at the prestigious Kimmel Center, where he currently serves as the Jazz Artistic Advisor. Tidd now divides his time between all of the above, as well saving some time to compose, and educate the next generation of musical talent.
Kerwin Young
Kerwin Young (b. 1970) is a prolific American composer of symphonies, opera, ballet suites, orchestral fantasies, concerti, and works for Chinese and other non-western instruments, introducing fresh repertoire, new rhythms, and unconventional instrumentation to the classical music canon. A member of Public Enemy and their infamous production team, the Bomb Squad (1987-2018), Young and the group were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013. Young is an iconic recording producer who has produced Ice Cube, Mobb Deep, Busta Rhymes, Bobby Brown, Public Enemy, Eric B. & Rakim, Eddie Moore and the Outer Circle, and others. He has arranged and collaborated with artists as Bootsy Collins, Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff, Roy Haynes, Reginald R. Robinson, George Clinton, and the James Brown Band. In 2017, Young served as a U.S. Cultural Ambassador for Hip-Hop in Egypt, teaching music composition, production, media scoring, and business.
About American Caravan
Inspired by current events taking place in the Americas, American Caravan highlights the trek of a people wanting something better; against all odds and harsh conditions, optimism looms above. This work continues in the manner of my previous work, Season of Autocracy, which also highlights the current times in which I am living.
American Caravan is written in B minor, using an octatonic scale from my personalized Palette of Intervallic Relations; a unique component to my system of Geometric Khemistry. There are modulations to neighboring keys (C# minor, E major, F# minor, and G# minor). My greatest wish is that American Caravan will be enjoyed by concert goers and music lovers everywhere, and that it will join other great works among orchestral concert programming.
Kerwin Young’s Full Bio
As a media composer, Young composed for the 1994 debut season of New York Undercover. His first assignment as a film composer was Tar, the 1997 directorial debut of Goetz Grossman. Since 2014, Kerwin is the composer for the KCPT weekly news series Ruckus. Since the late 1989, Young has also composed and produced original songs for feature motion pictures as Do The Right Thing (1989), Green Card (1990), Sister Act 2 (1992), Streetfighter (1994), Dirty Grandpa (2016), and American Crime Story: The People Vs O.J. Simpson (2016).
Kerwin Young studied music composition at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance with Chen Yi, Zhou Long, and Jazz Messenger legend, Bobby Watson. He holds both a BM (2012) and an MM (2015) from UMKC. His works have been performed by Music From China, Kansas City Symphony, Chicago Modern Orchestra Project, University City Symphony, Jeffrey Kail (Principal Contrabass – KC Symphony), Jeff Nelsen (French Horn – Canadian Brass), Tami Lee Hughes, and others.
CALL FOR APPLICATIONS EarShot: Grand Rapids Symphony
September 25-30, 2018 (Grand Rapids, MI)
Application Receipt Deadline: June 11, 2018, 5:00pm EST Composer Notification: July 16, 2018
Program
American Composers Orchestra seeks to identify and celebrate emerging American composers through its Underwood New Music Readings and EarShot program.
Each program provides:
Your piece rehearsed and performed by a professional orchestra
Mentor composers throughout the residency to guide the process and offer feedback
Professional development seminars and networking opportunities
National exposure supported by ACO partners New Music USA, American Composers Forum and the League of American Orchestras
Travel and accommodations
We encourage composers of all backgrounds to apply and are interested in supporting voices underrepresented in the orchestral repertoire today. Selected women composers are eligible for a $15,000 Women Composer Commission with an orchestra through a joint initiative of the League of American Orchestras and the American Composers Orchestra with support from the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.
This program is for composers who have had fewer than 2 pieces performed by a professional orchestra.
Applicant must be either a U.S. citizen or non-citizen lawfully and permanently residing, or studying full-time, in the United States.
We seek composers of all backgrounds, especially those whose gender identity, race, ethnicity, and/or background has been historically or currently underrepresented in professional orchestral programming.
There are no age restrictions; applicants should be composers at the early stages of their professional careers.
Composers selected to participate in prior ACO EarShot, Underwood, or Whittaker New Music Reading Sessions are ineligible.
Past applicants not previously selected are welcome to re-apply with a new and complete application, including score and all required background information.
Application Instructions
Each composer may submit only one composition for consideration. Works that have been previously submitted to ACO for consideration may not be resubmitted.
Works may not have been performed or read by a professional orchestra
Only works completed after January 1, 2015 will be considered.
Compositions must be less than 15 minutes in length. A portion or movement from a longer work may also be considered.
Refer to the instrumentation listed on the application form. If your piece does not match the listed instrumentation, if selected you will be asked to re-orchestrate.
Compositions may not include soloists, electronics, MIDI, digital technology, and/or sound reinforcement.
Do not submit recordings.
The quality of the score submitted is the primary evaluation criterion. It is therefore in the applicant’s best interest that the score be clear, accurate, and the best representation of the composer’s work. The additional background and educational information is for eligibility and documentation purposes; these materials are not considered in the general review of scores.
Incomplete, illegible, or late applications will not be considered.
Please note: composers selected are responsible for delivering timely professional-quality score and parts.
Applicants must submit an electronic submission form, the orchestral score in PDF clearly labeled with the title and composers name on cover page, and current resume. There is no application fee.
For application questions, please contact Greg Evans, Director of Operations, at 212.977.8495 ext 202; or greg@americancomposers.org.
EarShot – Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra Composer Competition in collaboration with the Indiana State University Contemporary Music Festival
September 22-24, 2016, Indianapolis, IN Application deadline: THIS DEADLINE HAS PASSED
The Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra (ICO), Matthew Kraemer, Music Director, and EarShot, the National Orchestral Composition Discovery Network, announce the EarShot – Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra Composer Competition to be held on September 22 – 24, 2016 at the Schrott Center for the Arts, Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The Competition will provide up to five emerging composers the opportunity to work closely with the ICO to have their music workshopped, rehearsed and read, under the guidance of maestro Matthew Kraemer. The experience will include feedback from principal ICO musicians, and mentor composers Melinda Wagner, Michael Schelle, Robert Beaser. Participants will be selected on a competitive basis from a nationwide call for scores.
An intensive reading session and working rehearsal will take place on September 22nd, accompanied by feedback sessions with ICO musicians, mentor composers, and the conductor. ICO will perform a public run-through performance on the evening of September 23rd. A final feedback session will be held the following day with the mentor composers. Career development workshops will also be offered.
Following the competition proceedings, one winning composer and work will be selected to be performed by the ICO as part of the Indiana State University’s 50th Anniversary Contemporary Music Festival on Thursday, October 27, 2016 in Terre Haute, IN.
Composers selected are responsible for delivering professional-quality score and parts. Composers will receive a recording of their work for archival and study purposes. Travel and accommodations will be provided.
Applicants must review the submission guidelines, then submit an electronic submission form, upload a PDF of the orchestral score, a resume, works list, and letter of recommendation.
Applications must be received by Friday, June 17, 2016 at 5pm eastern time. Incomplete, illegible, or late applications will not be considered.
About Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra & Matthew Kraemer
The Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra (ICO) debuted in 1984. Kirk Trevor served as Music Director and Conductor for 27 years. The 2015-2016 season marks an important transition in artistic leadership, as the ICO welcomes Matthew Kraemer to the podium for his first season as Music Director and Conductor.
Comprised of 34 professional musicians, the ICO presents an annual subscription concert series, drawing on a body of musical literature spanning four centuries. Concerts feature internationally recognized concert artists as well as superior local talent, present aspiring young soloists, and showcase the talents of contemporary composers. The ICO has commissioned several new works and has performed a number of world and American premieres. In May 2015, the ICO released its first commercial CD, entitled Momentum 21, with contemporary music composed by James Aikman (who currently serves as composer-in-residence), Derek Bermel, Michael-Thomas Foumai, and Christopher Theofanidis. The ICO offers a full range of educational programs for ages pre-kindergarten through adult. The ICO also accompanies many local arts and educational organizations including the Indianapolis Opera, Indianapolis Symphonic Choir, and American Pianists Association. The ICO also serves as orchestra-in-residence for the Indiana State University Contemporary Music Festival.
Matthew Kraemer recently completed a highly successful, five-year tenure as associate conductor of the Buffalo Philharmonic, where he regularly led the orchestra on each of its concert series. A passionate advocate for new music, he has performed the works of many living composers during his career. He has led composer readings and workshops with several orchestras in the United States, in addition to leading the BPO’s Earshot partnership with the American Composers Orchestra in Buffalo for three consecutive seasons. Increasingly recognized for his committed advocacy of music education and his devotion to young audiences, he has created numerous arts education programs and has taught at several music festivals both in the United States and abroad.
About Earshot
EarShot is a program of the American Composers Orchestra in collaboration with the American Composers Forum, League of American Orchestras, and New Music USA. EarShot helps orchestras around the country to identify and support promising composers in the early stages of their careers. EarShot advises organizations on the programs that would best suit their new-composer needs — from new-music readings to composer residencies and competitions — and assists with planning, identifying composers through its extensive nationwide calls, and program design and execution.
EarShot is made possible with the support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, and Fromm Music Foundation, and with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York State Council on the Arts. Additional funding provided by the League of American Orchestras with the support of the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.
Applicants must be either a U.S. citizen or non-citizen lawfully and permanently residing or studying full-time in the United States.
There are no age restrictions however, applicants should be composers at the early stages of their professional careers.
Only works that will not have been performed or read by a professional orchestra prior to the reading date (September 23, 2016) are eligible.
Each composer may submit only one composition for consideration.
Only works completed after December 31, 2011, will be considered.
Compositions must be no more than 15 minutes in length. A portion or movement from a longer work is also eligible
Emerging American composers who have applied previously for an EarShot or Under Construction Reading are eligible and must submit a new and complete application, including score and all required background information.
Instrumentation should not exceed the ICO’s standard symphonic complement: 2 flutes; 2 oboes; 2 clarinets; 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 1 trombone, timpani + 2 percussion, piano/celeste, harp and strings: 6.4.4.3.2. (The following doubles are permitted: piccolo, English horn, and E-flat and bass clarinet) Works with instrumentation that exceed the above limitation will be considered only with advance approval.
Compositions may not include soloists, electronics, MIDI, digital technology, and/or sound reinforcement.
Do not submit recordings.
The quality of the score submitted is the primary evaluation criterion. It is therefore in the applicant’s best interest that the score be clear, accurate, and the best representation of the composer’s work. The additional background and educational information is for eligibility and documentation purposes; these materials are not considered in the general review of scores.
Incomplete, illegible, or late applications will not be considered.
If Selected
Composers will be notified in writing.
Composers must attend reading sessions, feedback meetings and professional development workshops in Indianapolis, IN on September 22-24, 2016.
Composers must provide professional, legible orchestral parts and scores prepared according to guidelines established by the Major Orchestral Librarians Association. Materials for the first reading session must be delivered no later than 5:00 PM, August 15, 2016.
Composers agree to submit photos and sound clips for web use and a short biography for media purposes to participate in blogging and social media to be videotaped/recorded for archival and promotional purposes and to have their music recorded for archival and study purposes.
How to Apply
Before submitting an application, carefully review the eligibility & submission guidelines above. A complete submission must include the following:
You will be asked to upload the following information here:
A pdf of the score clearly labeled with the composer’s name and title of the work on the cover page.
A current resume including educational background, major teachers, awards, and professional affiliations.
A list of works, including title, year composed, instrumentation, duration, and performance history.
One letter of recommendation from an established composer or other music professional attesting to the applicant’s accomplishments and potential as an orchestral composer. The recommendation must be on letterhead and must include a signature. Recommendations may be scanned and uploaded, or mailed under separate cover to EarShot – Attn: Indianapolis EarShot, American Composers Orchestra, 244 West 54th Street, Suite 805, New York, NY 10019-5515.
There is no application fee.
The application process must be completed by 5:00 pm (EDT), June 17, 2016. Late submissions will not be considered.
EarShot Naples Philharmonic to take place May 25-26, 2016
Artis–Naples’ Hayes Hall
The JCOI Readings by the Naples Philharmonicwill take place at Artis-Naples Hayes Hall, with mentor composers Vincent Mendoza (composer/arranger), James Newton (JCOI Director; University of California, Los Angeles), and Derek Bermel (Artistic Director, ACO), conducted by Naples Philharmonic Assistant Conductor Yaniv Segal.
These composers were selected from a field of 34 nationwide based on their excellent musicianship, originality, and potential for future growth in orchestral composition. Each of the 34 participated in JCOI’s first phase, a summer intensive last August at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, where they studied new scores and compositional techniques, as well as best practices in orchestration, notation, score preparation, and contemporary performance. Over the course of the last year, sixteen of these composers have been writing new works, taking what they learned in the first phase and putting it into practice. Their pieces will be played and rehearsed, and refined through a series of workshops and critical feedback sessions with the orchestra players, conductors, and mentor composers.
The EarShot Naples Philharmonic New Music Readings are the first of three such Readings programs taking place around the country through EarShot, the National Orchestral Composition Discovery Network. In addition to the four composers in tonight’s Reading, a dozen composers will have their music workshopped and performed by American Composers Orchestra this June and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra in September.
JCOI is a new development in the jazz field. While many jazz composers seek to write for the symphony orchestra, opportunities for hands-on experience are few. JCOI provides new resources for both jazz and classical music, promoting the emergence of composers trained in both jazz and new orchestral techniques. The program broadens the scope of jazz education and presents opportunities for career development—and what’s more, audiences are presented with exciting new models for musical exchange. The Readings represent not only the culmination of the Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute, but also a glimpse into a future of new possibilities—a future where “jazz” composers embrace the “symphony” orchestra, and the orchestra embraces them.
The Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute is made possible by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation’s Continuing Innovation Program, with additional funding provided by The Herb Alpert Foundation and the Fromm Music Foundation. EarShot is a partnership of American Composers Orchestra in cooperation with American Composers Forum, the League of American Orchestras, and New Music USA. EarShot is made possible with the support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and The Aaron Copland Fund for Music. Additional support comes from the League of American Orchestras with a grant from the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.
Readings, Workshops & Performances by Three Orchestras in 2016
16 jazz artists from around the country have been selected to participate in the third Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute (JCOI) Readings in 2016. Three orchestras — the Naples Philharmonic (May 25 & 26), American Composers Orchestra (June 15 & 16), and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra (September 20 & 21) — will workshop, rehearse, and give public readings of new works for symphony orchestra, providing audiences the opportunity to hear exciting new works by a diverse array of composers that break down stylistic barriers and update the orchestral repertory.
“the potential to shift the course of concert music”
– National Public Radio
The 2016 JCOI Readings are the culmination of a process that began in August 2015, when 36 jazz composers of all ages were selected from a national pool of applicants to attend the weeklong JCOI Intensive, a series of workshops and seminars devoted to orchestral composition held at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. After completing the Intensive, sixteen composers were given the opportunity to put what they learned into practice by composing a new symphonic work. The composers, working in jazz, improvised, and creative music, were chosen based on their excellent musicianship, originality, and potential for future growth in orchestral composition. While many jazz composers seek to write for the symphony orchestra, opportunities for hands-on experience are few. JCOI aims to provide new resources for both jazz and classical music, promoting the emergence of composers trained in both jazz and new orchestral techniques. James Newton directs the Institute.
Listen online here Read the Wall Street Journal feature here
Read Howard Mandel’s Essay and Interview “Jazz and the Future of the Symphony Orchestra” here
The composers selected for the JCOI Readings are:
Amina Figarova (b. 1965), an Azerbaijan-born, New York-based pianist and composer who studied classical piano performance at the Baku Conservatory as well as jazz performance at the Rotterdam Conservatory, Netherlands, and attended the Thelonious Monk Institute’s summer jazz colony in Aspen;
Jonathan Finlayson (b. 1982), a New York-based, disciple of the saxophonist/composer Steve Coleman who has performed alongside notables including Mary Halvorson, Henry Threadgill, Von Freeman, Jason Moran, Dafnis Prieto and Vijay Iyer;
Brian Friedland (b. 1982), a Boston-based whose music is rooted in jazz piano traditions but also shows his love of genres ranging from Balkan Folk to classical minimalism
Gene Knific (b. 1992) a pianist, composer, and arranger based in Kalamazoo, Michigan who has performed all over the world including at The St. Petersburg Conservatory, Copenhagen Opera House, Montmartre Jazzhus, Amelia Island Jazz Festival, Mozambique International Festival of Music, and more and has won seven Down Beat Music Awards for his performances and compositions
Ethan Helm (b. 1990), a New York-based saxophonist and composer, who co-leads the jazz quintet Cowboys & Frenchmen and whose latest quartet album, The Spoon, was released last summer
Robin Holcomb (b. 1954), a Seattle-based composer and singer/songwriter recording for Nonesuch, Songlines, and Tzadik, whose music draws on both her childhood in Georgia and her stints working among avant-garde musicians in New York and California
Yvette Jackson (b. 1973), a composer, sound designer and installation artist focused on radio opera and narrative soundscape composition from La Solla, California who holds degrees from Columbia University and the Colburn School for the Performing Arts
Sonia Jacobsen (b. 1967), a much-awarded composer, jazz saxophonist, and founding director of the New York Symphonic Jazz Orchestra who grew up splitting her time between Australia and Denmark and is now based in Chapin, South Carolina
John La Barbera (b. 1945) who is a renowned composer/arranger working in the jazz world for over four decades whose music has been performed by Buddy Rich, Woody Herman, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Mel Torme’, Chaka Khan, Harry James, Bill Watrous, Phil Woods, and many more
Guy Mintus (b. 1991), Israeli-born, New York-based jazz pianist and composer, who focuses on music as a gateway to cross-cultural understanding and has collaborated with master musicians from Turkey, Greece, Iran, Morocco, Azerbaijan, Cuba, India and Mali
Ben Morris (b. 1993) who graduated from the University of Miami, who is currently pursuing his masters’ at Rice University and has won the ASCAP Morton Gould Award, two Klezmer Company Orchestra Composers’ Prizes, and three Festival Miami Composers’ Awards
Dawn Norfleet (b. 1965) a jazz flutist, vocalist, and composer residing in Los Angeles, who is on the faculty at the Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County and the Colburn School of Performing Arts
Hitomi Oba (b. 1984), a Los Angeles-based saxophonist and composer, who holds an MA from UCLA in Music Composition and whose second jazz album, Negai, released on the Japanese label M&I received a prestigious Swing Journal 42nd Annual Jazz Disc Award
Nathan Smith (b. 1983), a Brooklyn-based performer and composer who leads the Nathan Parker Smith Large Ensemble which performs throughout New York City
Emilio Solla (b. 1962), a Buenos Aires-born, Brooklyn-based artist, who has recorded more than 40 albums performing with Paquito D’Rivera, Arturo O’Farrill, Cristina Pato, Billy Hart, Ryan Keberle and many more, and whose latest album, Second Half (2014), was nominated for a 2015 Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album
Anthony Tidd (b. 1972) who was born in London but is based in Philadelphia, and has performed with Steve Coleman, The Roots, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Wayne Krantz, Meshell Ndegeocello, Common, Jill Scott, and many more and has produced albums by such well-known artists such as The Roots, Macy Grey, Zap Mama, The Black Eyed Peas, and more.
The Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute is a program of American Composers Orchestra in partnership with the Center for Jazz Studies at Columbia University and the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. The program is made possible by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation’s Continuing Innovation Program, and the Herb Alpert Foundation, with additional funding provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Fromm Music Foundation and with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts. The Buffalo Philharmonic and Naples Philharmonic are members of EarShot, the national orchestral composition discovery network, a partnership with the League of American Orchestras, New Music USA, and American Composers Forum, made possible with the support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music and with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional support of women composers provided by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.
EarShot – Columbus Symphony New Music Reading
October 27-29, 2015, Columbus, OH
New Orchestral Works by Four Emerging Composers: Rosalie Burrell, Saad Haddad, Patrick O’Malley & Ivan Rodriguez will be featured in as part of the Columbus Symphony Happy Hour Concerts Series presented Thursday, October 29, 2015 at 6:30pm.
An opportunity for emerging composers to develop their works with a professional orchestra, EarShot participants for the Columbus Symphony Readings were chosen from a national candidate pool selected from 150 applications received from composers nationwide. Over the course of the three days of the program, the composers works will be workshopped and rehearsed, and the composers will receive critical insights and feedback from CSO Musicians, Maestro Milanov, and mentor composers Robert Beaser, (ACO Artistic Director Laureate), Margaret Brouwer, Donald Harris, and Clint Needham. The CSO will perform the chosen composers’ compositions and ask the audience to vote for their favorite before a professional jury selects an official winner.
Rosalie Burrell: Paved with Gold
Of Paved with Gold Rosalie says, “I was taking long walks through New York City; grime and glitter, glass and iron, duality at every turn. I drew a landscape of New York, not as it exists in any physical sense, but in a sweeping, sensory summary. Lines and rectangles colliding, each a duplicate of the last. Between angular clusters I drew the curved shapes of birds, untethered in the air, sometimes spilling out between blocks, or soaring right over the building clusters. I put a pin in that drawing, right above my desk, and began to compose the shape of that abstract skyline. An orchestral landscape, loud and unbridled, paved with gold.”
photo by Michael Lenahan
Saad Haddad: Kaman Fantasy
Saad’s Kaman Fantasy takes its name from ‘kamanjah,’ the Arabic word for ‘violin.’ The piece is an exploration of the Arabic ‘maqamat’ (sets of scales) and rhythms in a Western classical context. The music embraces both traditions, often swaying back and forth between Arabic and Western idioms. Saad says, “As a first-generation Arab-American, I have often found myself shifting between both cultures in the way that I think and act, sometimes voluntarily, most times not. Kaman Fantasy is a reflection on those experiences.”
SnoStudio Photography
Patrick O’Malley: Even in Paradise
Of his new work, Patrick says, “The Latin phrase ‘Et in Arcadia Ego’ is a wonderful little line that nobody seems to know the actual meaning of. The words essentially translate, ‘I am also in Arcadia,’ and are most famously known as the subject of two paintings by Nicolas Poussin from the seventeenth century. I first encountered the subject when reading an essay by the art historian Erwin Panofsky, in which he traces the evolution of interpretation of the phrase by artists. The main point of his thesis is that the phrase originally was seen as a memento mori, conveying the warning that even in paradise, there is also death. Over time this meaning was gradually reversed: even in death, one may find paradise. Panofsky’s analysis, as well as the various artistic interpretations of the phrase, immediately struck me as a source for musical elaboration. The resulting piece is an abstract reaction to the Latin subject and its various artistic guises. While nothing in the piece is a literal depiction, there are two ideas that stem directly from the life and death images associated with the subject. The piece opens with atmospheric sounds made by the strings playing unpitched material behind the bridge (a well-known technique for representing death in music thanks to Bernard Herrmann, though I do not use it in the same way as he). Against that, simple triadic gestures (the ‘life-blood’ of tonal harmony) begin to pop out of the murk. Eventually, the music breaks into a fast, playful mood completely opposite to the introduction, exploring a variety of moods and colors.”
photo by Mary Kouw
Iván Enrique Rodríguez Mercado: Luminis
Of his new work Iván says, “Luminis is a set of fantasy variations on original musical motifs. The Latin term “luminis” represents the possession of Light. Throughout piece, the original motifs remain relatively unchanged. However, the surrounding musical environment changes constantly. As the variations develop, they progressively describe the encirclement of light by darkness. Even when describing musically what could be total darkness, the original motifs remain relatively untouched. This is intended to give Light a ubiquitous quality to state that regardless of the conditions surrounding it, the energy emanating from this point – whatever it may symbolize for us individually – reinforces an inextinguishable radiance and omnipresence. As the two elements of light and darkness are opposite in that one is the absence of the other, the effect of no change on the original motifs despite the constant change of the musical variations might suggest that, although opposite in nature, they conceive their existence within the same vertex.
About EarShot
As the nation’s first ongoing, systematic program for identifying emerging orchestral composers, EarShot provides professional-level working experience with orchestras from every region of the country and increases awareness of these composers and access to their music throughout the industry. The program is administered by the American Composers Orchestra (ACO) with partner organizations the American Composers Forum, League of American Orchestras, and New Music USA.
EarShot is made possible with the support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music and with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts. Funding for the women composers initiative is provided by the League of American Orchestras with the generous support of the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.
Applicants must be either a U.S. citizen or non-citizen lawfully and permanently residing or studying full-time in the United States.
There are no age restrictions however, applicants should be composers at the early stages of their professional careers.
Only works that will not have been performed or read by a professional orchestra prior to the reading date (October 29, 2015) are eligible.
Each composer may submit only one composition for consideration.
Only works completed after December 31, 2010, will be considered.
Compositions must be no more than 15 minutes in length. A portion or movement from a longer work is also eligible
Emerging American composers who have applied previously for an EarShot or Under Construction Reading are eligible and must submit a new and complete application, including score and all required background information.
Instrumentation should not exceed the CSO’s standard symphonic complement: 2 flutes; 2 oboes; 2 clarinets; 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, 1 tuba, timpani + 2 percussion, piano/celeste, and strings: 8, 7, 6, 5, 3. (The following doubles are permitted: piccolo, English horn, and bass trombone) Works with instrumentation that exceed the above limitation will be considered only with advance approval.
Compositions may not include soloists, electronics, MIDI, digital technology, and/or sound reinforcement.
Do not submit recordings.
The quality of the score submitted is the primary evaluation criterion. It is therefore in the applicant’s best interest that the score be clear, accurate, and the best representation of the composer’s work. The additional background and educational information is for eligibility and documentation purposes; these materials are not considered in the general review of scores.
Incomplete, illegible, or late applications will not be considered.
If Selected
Composers will be notified in writing.
Composers must attend reading sessions, feedback meetings and professional development workshops in Columbus, OH on October 27-29, 2015.
Composers must provide professional, legible orchestral parts and scores prepared according to guidelines established by the Major Orchestral Librarians Association. Materials for the first reading session must be delivered no later than 5:00 PM, September 18, 2015.
Composers agree to submit photos and sound clips for web use and a short biography for media purposes to participate in blogging and social media to be videotaped/recorded for archival and promotional purposes and to have their music recorded for archival and study purposes.
How to Apply
Before submitting an application, carefully review the eligibility & submission guidelines above. A complete submission must include the following:
A completed online submission form.
You will be asked to upload the following information here:
A pdf of the score clearly labeled with the composer’s name and title of the work on the cover page.
A current resume including educational background, major teachers, awards, and professional affiliations.
A list of works, including title, year composed, instrumentation, duration, and performance history.
One letter of recommendation from an established composer or other music professional attesting to the applicant’s accomplishments and potential as an orchestral composer. The recommendation must be on letterhead and must include a signature. Recommendations may be scanned and uploaded, or mailed under separate cover to EarShot – Attn: Columbus Symphony, American Composers Orchestra, 244 West 54th Street, Suite 805, New York, NY 10019-5515.
There is no application fee.
The application process must be completed by 5:00 pm (EST), August 1, 2015. Late submissions will not be considered.
EarShot – Columbus Symphony Composer Competition
October 27-29, 2015, Columbus, OH
Application deadline: THIS DEADLINE HAS PASSED
Photo credit: Randall L. Schieber
The Columbus Symphony, Rossen Milanov, Music Director, and EarShot, the National Orchestral Composition Discovery Network, announce Columbus Symphony Orchestra/EarShot Composer Competition to be held on October 27, 28 & 29, 2015 in Columbus, Ohio. The Composer Competition will provide three emerging composers the opportunity to work closely with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Music Director Rossen Milanov. Composers will be selected for the Composer Competition on a competitive basis and the experience will include feedback from principal Columbus Symphony musicians, Maestro Milanov, and mentor composers Robert Beaser, Margaret Brouwer, and Clint Needham. Donald Harris serves as honorary guest composer.
Two intensive reading sessions/rehearsals will take place on October 27th and 28th accompanied by feedback sessions with Columbus Symphony musicians, mentor composers and Maestro Milanov. On the 29th, the orchestra will hold a final dress-rehearsal, then perform all three works on a one-hour program that evening at the Southern Theatre.
Composers selected are responsible for delivering professional-quality score and parts. Composers will receive a recording of their work for archival and study purposes. Travel and accommodations will be provided.
Applicants must submit an electronic submission form, the orchestral score, a resume, works list, and letter of recommendation. Incomplete, illegible, or late applications will not be considered.
About Columbus Symphony & Rossen Milanov
Founded in 1951, the Columbus Symphony is Central Ohio’s oldest professional orchestra. Through an array of innovative artistic, educational, and community outreach programming, the Columbus Symphony is reaching a growing and diverse audience with great music. The Columbus Symphony shares great music with over a quarter million people in central Ohio each season through concerts, radio broadcasts, and special programming.
Rossen Milanov, Music Director of Columbus Symphony, is also Music Director of the Princeton Symphony Orchestra, Music Director of the nationally recognized training orchestra Symphony in C (New Jersey), and Principal Conductor of Orquesta Sinfo´nica del Principado de Asturias (Spain). Milanov has collaborated with some of the world’s preeminent artists, including Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Joshua Bell, Midori, Christian Tetzlaff, and Andre´ Watts, as well as with such internationally esteemed vocalists as Nicolai Ghiaurov, Vesselina Kasarova, Angela Meade, Measha Brueggergosman, Anne Schwanewilms, and Krassimira Stoyanova. During his 11-year tenure with The Philadelphia Orchestra, he conducted more than 200 performances as associate conductor and artistic director of the orchestra’s summer home at The Mann Center for the Performing Arts. A well-known figure in North America, Milanov has appeared with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and the symphony orchestras of Baltimore, Indianapolis, Calgary, Alabama, Florida, New Jersey, North Carolina, Seattle, and Oregon, among others. His festival appearances include Aspen, Chautauqua, the Bravo! Vail Valley Festival, Grand Teton, and the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. Internationally, he has collaborated with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Komische Oper Berlin, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Residentie Orkest, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and the symphony orchestras of Lucerne, Mexico, Colombia, Sao Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Auckland, and New Zealand. On his regular tours to the Far East, he has appeared with the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, China Philharmonic, and Singapore Symphony. Milanov’s passion for new music has resulted in numerous world premieres of works by composers including Richard Danielpour, Paul Moravec, Nicolas Maw, and Gabriel Prokofiev.
About Earshot
EarShot is a program of the American Composers Orchestra in collaboration with the American Composers Forum, League of American Orchestras, and New Music USA. EarShot helps orchestras around the country to identify and support promising composers in the early stages of their careers. EarShot advises organizations on the programs that would best suit their new-composer needs — from new-music readings to composer residencies and competitions — and assists with planning, identifying composers through its extensive nationwide calls, and program design and execution.
EarShot is made possible with the support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music and with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York State Council on the Arts. Additional funding provided by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation for suport of the women composers initiative.
On May 6 and 7, American Composers Orchestra will hold its 24th annual Underwood New Music Readings conducted by Music Director George Manahan at The DiMenna Center for Classical Music. Seven emerging composers were chosen from an international pool of more than 400 applicants from seven countries and 37 states ranging in age from 9 to 84. ACO’s Readings include two public events – a working rehearsal on May 6 at 10:30am, and a run-through performance on May 7 at 7:30pm. Both events are free and open to the public, giving audiences a chance to look behind the scenes at the process involved in bringing brand new orchestral music to life. The 24th Annual Underwood New Music Readings are under the direction of ACO’s Artistic Director, composer Derek Bermel, with mentor composers Gabriela Lena Frank,and Kevin Puts.
The conductors, mentor composers, and principal players from ACO provide critical feedback to each of the participants during and after the sessions, which will be professionally recorded. One composer from the Underwood New Music Readings will be chosen to receive a $15,000 commission to write a new piece for ACO, to be premiered during the orchestra’s 2016-2017 season. In addition, on both May 6 and 7, audience members will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite pieces, and the composer chosen as the “Audience Choice” winner will be commissioned to compose an original mobile phone ringtone. The ringtone will be available free of charge to everyone who voted.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS:
The Underwood New Music Readings also offer composers, students, or anyone interested in learning more about the business of being a composer a Career Development Workshop on Thursday, May 7 from 10am-4pm at the DiMenna Center. These invaluable talks, led by leaders in the industry, provide information ranging from copyright and commission agreements, to music preparation, to promotion, and fundraising.
The workshops are a practical guide for any composer wishing to gain a better understanding of these critical aspects to success as a composer today. Previously only available to participants in the Readings, ACO has made a limited number of spaces available to aspiring composers from the community for a small registration fee.
The cost for the Seminar is $30, which includes lunch. Reservations required.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP Thursday May 7, 2015 from 10-4
Cary Hall @ The DiMenna Center
topics include:
Copyright and Commissioning Basics James Kendrick, Esq. (Alter & Kendrick) LLP
Be Prepared: Introduction to professional score and parts production Bill Holab, Principal & Owner, Bill Holab Music Services
Support Structures for Composers Ed Harsh, President and CEO, New Music USA
John Nuechterlein, President and CEO, American Composers Forum
Publicity and Promotion Christina Jensen, principal, Christina Jensen PR
Jessica Lustig, managing director, 21C Media Group
Steven Swartz, founder and partner, dotdotdotmusic
Frank J. Oteri, Composer Advocate, New Music USA, moderator
Getting It Out There: What’s Going on in the Recording Industry Anyway?Programming Yourself in Today’s Market – panel discussion Sean Hickey, NAXOS USA
Frank J. Oteri, New Music USA
John Nuechterlein, American Composers Forum
Support for the Underwood New Music Readings comes from Paul Underwood, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Fromm Music Foundation and the Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University. The project also receives public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and New York State Council on the Arts. Additional funding provided by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.
For the sixth year, audience members at the Underwood New Music Readings had a chance to make their voices heard through the Audience Choice Award. The winner this year is composer Carl Schimmel, for his piece Two Variations on Ascent into the Empyrean. As the winner, Carl has been commissioned to compose an original mobile phone ringtone which will be available to everyone who voted, free of charge.
“Bravo, Carl–I thought your piece was quite a ride and I am glad the audience thought so too!”
-Kevin Puts
“Yay, Carl! Yay, audience! Great choice as Carl’s piece was appealing and beautifully colorful.”
-Gabriela Lena Frank
“Carl Schimmel is a masterful orchestrator and it was very exciting for the musicians to perform his work at the Underwood Readings”
-George Manahan
Carl Schimmel is a composer based in Iowa and Illinois. Praised by The New York Times as “vivid and dramatic,” his recent music is dense with literary and musical references, often humorous, and combines intensity of expression with a structural rigor which draws upon his mathematics background. In infusing his music with extra-musical influences such as poetry, art, and even unusual words, he strives to construct nexuses of experience which reflect both the inner life of emotions and the outer physical world which shapes us and is shaped by us.
Winner of Columbia University’s Joseph Bearns Prize and the Lee Ettelson Award, Schimmel has received honors and awards from many organizations, including the MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, Copland House, New Music USA, and ASCAP. His works have been performed in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Hall, Merkin Hall in New York, Severance Hall in Cleveland, the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London, Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, and at other venues throughout North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. He has received performances and commissions from the California EAR Unit, the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, the Minnesota Orchestra, North/South Consonance, saxophonist Taimur Sullivan, the Da Capo Chamber Players, Lucy Shelton, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, and many others. A graduate of Duke University (Ph.D.), the Yale School of Music (M.M.), and Case Western Reserve University (B.A. Mathematics and Music), he is currently Assistant Professor of Music Theory and Composition at Illinois State University in Normal, IL.
Two Variations on Ascent into the Empyrean – Rocketship:
In the Composer’s Own Words: Two Variations on Ascent into the Empyrean is a pair of short orchestral movements inspired by my children’s artwork. The drawings, for me, reflect the children’s fascination with the immensity of our world and provide a glimpse into the immensity of the worlds inside their minds. Both transport us into the heavens – the Empyrean – and beyond. But while Thora enters this realm via a small golden portal, Otto is propelled skyward by the colossal power of a rocket, leaving in his wake a spectacular rush of fire and smoke. Two Variations on Ascent into the Empyrean was composed for and premiered by conductor Glenn Block and the Illinois State University Symphony Orchestra.
“Rainbow for Mama, with Door” (Thora, at age 3 yrs. 9 mos.)
“Rocketship and Blast-off Fire” (Otto, at age 3 yrs. 11 mos.)
Michael Laurello is an American composer and pianist. He has written for ensembles and soloists such as Sō Percussion (Brooklyn, NY), Sandbox Percussion (Brooklyn, NY), the Yale Percussion Group, the Yale Philharmonia, Sound Icon (Boston, MA), the 15.19ensemble (Pavia, Italy), NotaRiotous/The Boston Microtonal Society, guitarist Flavio Virzì, soprano Sarah Pelletier, pianist/composer John McDonald, and clarinetist and linguist/music theorist Ray Jackendoff. Upcoming collaborations include an evening-length work for the Triplepoint Trio (New Haven, CT), made possible through an artist residency at the Avaloch Farm Music Institute (Summer 2015).
Laurello is an Artist Diploma candidate in composition at the Yale School of Music, where he received the Jacob Druckman Scholarship and the Rena Greenwald Memorial Scholarship for 2014-15. His primary composition teachers at Yale are David Lang, Martin Bresnick, and Christopher Theofanidis. He holds an M.A. in composition from Tufts University, where he studied under John McDonald, and a B.Mus. in music synthesis (electronic production and design) from the Berklee College of Music. Recent honors include a commission from the American Composers Forum and an Emerging Artist Award from the St. Botolph Club Foundation (Boston, MA). He has attended composition festivals at highSCORE (Pavia, Italy) and Etchings (Auvillar, France).
In addition to his work as a composer and performer, Laurello is a recording engineer and a teaching fellow at Yale.
Big Things – excerpt:
In the Composer’s Own Words:
When I started writing Promises in September of 2014, I imagined the orchestra as an enormous machine relentlessly chugging away to accomplish some sort of task, or moving towards a goal of some kind. But, even as I got a little deeper into composing the piece, I still wasn’t sure what the goal was. Should the music grow bigger? Should it get smaller and smaller? Should it push so hard that it breaks apart? Eventually one of my teachers said to me: “This music seems like it’s promising something. You just have to decide whether or not it’s going to break its promise.” This made me think not only about the concept of a musical promise, but also about some of the promises that I’ve kept and those that I’ve broken in my life. The music started to represent something more personal and profound, and I composed the bulk of the piece with these thoughts in mind. In the end, I don’t know whether the piece keeps its promise, but I like to think it does.
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