Commissioning Music/USA 2007 participants announced
Dan Becker
Commissioning Organization:
Ives String Quartet • Palo Alto, CA
 |
Becker’s new work for the Ives Quartet will be a continuation and expansion of the type of collaborative work that he has been deeply involved in over the last several years. The composer and quartet will utilize a workshop approach in Fall 2008, in which players and composer are equally involved in the creative process. The new work will premiere in May 2009 at a variety of San Francisco Bay Area venues.
Listen: Dan Becker's' Tamper Resistant
Links:
Dan Becker
Ives String Quartet
Kelvyn Bell
Commissioning Organization:
The Harlem School of the Arts • New York, NY
 |
Ancestral Memory (working title) will evoke the emotion and depth of the African-American experience. Infusing both guttural and choral vocal sounds with strings, horns and percussion instruments, Bell will develop a new work based on traditional and ancient West African sounds which have become hallmarks of contemporary African-American musical expression. Ancestral Memory will premiere in June 2008 during Black Music Month at The Harlem School of the Arts.
Listen: Kelvyn Bell's 2 Pank Chopra
Links:
The Harlem School of the Arts
James Emery
Commissioning Organization:
Sound Directions, Inc. • Warwick, NY
This new work for the String Trio of New York will be a large-scale piece of approximately 60 minutes. Established means of notation will be used as well as alternative graphic and verbal methods. Divided into ten movements, the work will explore ways in which composition and improvisation can co-exist as well as be mutually inspirational.
 |
Traditionally notated melodic and rhythmic material will be used as background source material for improvisers to respond to, comment upon or perform oppositional improvisations. The premiere will be in April 2008 as part of the Interpretations Series in New York City with follow up performances in Buffalo, Baltimore and Erie, PA.
Listen: James Emery's Transformations (mvt II)
Links:
James Emery
String Trio of New York
David First
Commissioning Organization:
Flux Quartet • Brooklyn, NY
 |
Elegies for the Afterland for string quartet and computer will place 3D tuning (based on a formula derived from calculating the harmonics of a sphere) in a larger context and will attempt to resolve the differences between relationships found within it and in the more traditional “linear” overtone series. This will be done through various methods of superimposition, inter-modulations and by creating a continuum of values that will span the two systems and be processed over the internet and in real-time. Elegies for the Afterland is scheduled to premiere in April 2008 at Merkin Hall before moving on to Princeton University, Bard College and Williams College.
Listen: David First's Separation Dance from the
Manhattan Book of the Dead
Links:
David First
Flux Quartet
Annie Gosfield
Commissioning Soloist:
Lisa Moore • New York, NY
 |
This three-movement solo work for piano and electronics will be tailored to Lisa Moore’s ferocious technique and lyrical expression. She will perform on
the acoustic piano and the sampler at the same time,
so the electronic sounds can enhance, contrast, and blend with the sounds of the acoustic piano. Both the acoustic and electronically altered piano will be played live, which will allow Ms. Moore to interpret and perform the work pianistically, without being tied to pre-recorded electronics. The premiere will be during the Bang on a Can Marathon in June 2008 with subsequent performances in New Haven, CT, Syracuse, NY, Valencia, CA, as well as in Australia and Ireland.
Listen: Annie Gosfield 's Manufacture of Tangled Ivory
Links:
Annie Gosfield
Lisa Moore
Jennifer Higdon
Commissioning Organization:
Wheeling Symphony Orchestra • Wheeling, WV
 |
Concerto 4-Three will be a 25-minute concerto for the group Time for Three and orchestra which will premiere in January 2008 at Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, PA and in March 2008 at the Capitol Music Hall in Wheeling, WV.
Listen: Jennifer Higdon 's Percussion Concerto
Links:
Jennifer Higdon
Wheeling Symphony
Time for Three
Keeril Makan
Commissioning Organization:
California EAR Unit • Castic, CA
 |
This new work for the California EAR Unit will be a substantial piece which takes full advantage of the ensemble’s resources and unique strengths. It will draw its inspiration from Makan’s own physical and kinetic relationship to the instruments themselves as well as his musical materials. Premiere performances will be in March 2008 at REDCAT in Los Angeles and in April 2008 in Valencia, CA.
Listen: Keeril Makan 's Bleed Through
Links:
Keeril Makan
California EAR Unit
Lansing McLoskey
Commissioning Organization:
Composers in Red Sneakers • Cambridge, MA
 |
The Madding Crowd (working title) will be a work for the brass quintet, Triton Brass. The idea of the piece is to have each instrument emerge as a soloist from the tumult of the ensemble (the “madding crowd”), resulting in a sort of hybrid mini-concerto. The Madding Crowd will be premiered in July 2007 at the Tanglewood Music Festival before moving on to performances at Boston College and the Longy School of Music.
Listen: Lansing McLoskey's OK-OK
Links:
Lansing McLoskey
Triton Brass
Composers in Red Sneakers
Dafnis Prieto
Commissioning Organization:
The Jazz Bakery Performance Space • Beverly Hills, CA
 |
5 pieces pieces pieces 5 will be a major work for quintet that will develop new complex rhythms and harmonies. This multi-movement work will consist of contrasting passages, each with its own distinctive style, changing the tempos, rhythms, textures and dynamics. The set of pieces will challenge the technique of each instrumentalist, and challenge the soloist to improvise, reaching specific points into the solos where they develop the imagination, creativity and interpretation of the pieces. Premiere performances of 5 pieces pieces pieces 5 will occur during the Fall of 2007 at The Jazz Bakery.
Listen: Dafnis Prieto's Renew the Elephant
Links:
Dafnis Prieto
The Jazz Bakery Performance Space
David Stock
Commissioning Organizations:
*South West Michigan Symphony Orchestra • St. Joseph, MI Asheville Symphony • Asheville, NC
Fargo-Moorhead Symphony • Moorhead, MN
Louisiana Philharmonic • New Orleans, LA
McKeesport Symphony • McKeesport, PA
Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic • Avoca, PA
Williamsport Symphony Orchestra • Williamsport, PA
 |
Percussion Concerto will be a new work written for percussionist Lisa Pegher and a consortium of orchestras led by the South West Michigan Symphony Orchestra. This three-movement concerto will receive its premiere performance November 18, 2007 on the Mendel Mainstage at Lake Michigan College in Benton Harbor, MI.
Listen: David Stock's Violin Concerto
Links:
David Stock
Lisa Pegher
The South West Michigan Symphony Orchestra
Melinda Wagner
Commissioning Organizations:
*The Left Coast Chamber Ensemble • San Francisco, CA
Empyrean Ensemble • Davis, CA
 |
Quintet will be a single movement work using the same instrumentation as Schubert’s “Trout” quintet for piano and strings and will be performed alongside this work in concert. The premiere performances will be in May 2009 at the The Green Room (San Francisco, CA) and The Throckmorton Theatre (Mill Valley, CA) by The Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, and at the Mondavi Theatre
(University of California at Davis) by The Empyrean Ensemble on their 2009 season.
Listen: Melinda Wagner 's Wick
Links:
Melinda Wagner
The Left Coast Chamber Ensemble
Empyrean Ensemble
Howard Wiley
Commissioning Organization:
Intersection for the Arts • San Francisco, CA
 |
Twelve Gates to the City will be a suite of twelve compositions that continues to build upon the musical and historical investigations of African-American prison spirituals. The work of noted researchers and musicologists Alan Lomax and Dr. Harry Oster as well as Wiley’s own musical research into this field will serve as the historical basis on the piece. Twelve Gates to the City will be premiered in February 2008 at Intersection for the Arts in San Francisco, CA.
Listen: Howard Wiley's Angola
Links:
Howard Wiley
Intersection for the Arts
Christian Wolff
Commissioning Organization:
Callithumpian Consort • Brooklyn, NY
 |
Brecht Songs will be a set of the nine songs in Bertolt Brecht’s short play The Exception and the Rule for two voices and chamber ensemble. The work is scheduled to premiere on February 10, 2010 in Jordan Hall in Boston, MA before traveling to New Hampshire, California and North Carolina.
Listen: Christian Wolff 's Berlin Exercises
Links:
Callithumpian Consort
Charles Wuorinen
Commissioning Organization:
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra • New York, NY
 |
The work will be a four movement concerto grosso for solo oboe, clarinet, horn, double bass, and orchestra. Each instrument will be featured as a soloist in one movement. Premiere performances will be held at the State Theater in New Brunswick, NJ on May 9, 2008 and Carnegie Hall on May 10, 2008.
Listen: Charles Wuorinen's Flying to Kahani
Links:
Charles Wuorinen
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
Yehudi Wyner
Commissioning Organization:
The Cantata Singers • Cambridge, MA
 |
The new work will be for chorus and orchestra and will be a setting of Biblical narratives from the Book of Ruth or the Book of Esther. The premiere performance will be in January 2009 at the New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall in Boston, MA.
Listen: Yehudi Wyner 's
Piano Concerto, Chiavi in mano
Links:
Yehudi Wyner
The Cantata Singers
Zhou Long
Commissioning Organization:
PRISM Saxophone Quartet • Philadelphia, PA
 |
This new work for saxophone quartet and traditional Chinese instruments (erhu, dizi, and percussion) will utilize a multifaceted and layered language forged from western and eastern musical traditions. The work will premiere in November 2008 in New York City and receive subsequent performances at venues throughout Pennsylvania.
Listen: Zhou Long 's Five Elements
Links:
Zhou Long
PRISM Saxophone Quartet
Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon
Commissioning Organization:
Society for New Music • Syracuse, NY
 |
Pluck will be a chamber concerto for harpsichord and plucked instruments (guitars, harps, banjo, mandolin, violin, viola, cello, double bass) and percussion. The premiere will occur in April 2008 in Syracuse University’s Setnor Auditorium in Syracuse, NY.
Listen: Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon's Candelabra III
Links:
Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon
Society for New Music
*Denotes Lead Organization in a Consortium
