Tuesday, March 19, 2019

Where We Lost Our Shadows - Performer Portrait: Ali Sethi

Ali Sethi is a renowned Pakistani author and musician. Having grown up in Lahore, Pakistan, Sethi graduated from Harvard College and authored the critically acclaimed novel The Wish Maker. He is also a trained vocalist in the Indo-Pakistani classical traditions of Khayal and Ghazal. A regular on the popular Coke Studio program, he is known for combining live music with historical narrative and critical analysis. He lives between Lahore and New York City.

Ali Sethi is a featured soloist in Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Du Yun and Palestinian artist Khaled Jarrar’s new multimedia work Where We Lost Our Shadows, which explores the timeless story of human migration and the resilient human spirit.


American Composers Orchestra presents the New York premiere on Thursday, April 11, 7:30pm at Carnegie Hall, Zankel Hall. Click here for tickets and more information.

Thursday, March 14, 2019

EarShot Sarasota Orchestra - Composer Spotlight: Sam Wu

The music of Sam Wu 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.

Sam's piece Wind Map was selected for the EarShot Sarasota Orchestra New Music Readings, where it will be rehearsed and performed under the direction of conductor Christopher Rountree. A reading session on Saturday, March 16, 8PM is open to the public at Holley Hall. Click here for more information.

We spoke with Sam about his piece and the EarShot program.

Composer Sam Wu

American Composers Orchestra: What was your reaction to finding out your piece had been selected for the Sarasota Orchestra EarShot New Music Readings?

Sam Wu: I was thrilled! It is a rare opportunity for young composers to hear their orchestral music played live, particularly by an ensemble of as high a caliber as the Sarasota Orchestra. I also really look forward to meeting my amazing peer composers and our esteemed mentor composers!

ACO: You write that Wind Map was composed with inspiration from a graphic visualization of global wind patterns, in which empirical data results in aesthetic beauty. Are there any examples in your piece of this same process, in which the input (pitches, note-lengths, or dynamics, for example) came from rigid, empirical data, but resulted in something much more artistic?

SW: Not really! I did not think as much of producing direct musical "analogies" of the empirical data. Rather, I wanted to perhaps "reinterpret" the swirls and colors of the wind map in musical form; in general, once I feel that I have a source of inspiration I want to explore throughout an entire piece, I keep it in the back of my mind as I think more abstractly / in musical terms as I start writing.

View the live graphic visualization of global wind patterns at earth.nullschool.net

ACO: What are you doing to prepare for the readings? Are there any changes you have made to your piece?


SW: Besides some minor instrumentation changes, I also shortened a few bars, and played with some harmonies in the climactic session. I was lucky to hear this piece read by the Juilliard Orchestra last fall, so I based my edits off of that reading recording.

ACO: What are you looking forward to about the workshops and readings? What do you hope to learn from the experience?

SW: I really look forward to hearing and studying the other pieces being read! I feel that, in addition to lessons with teachers, I also learn so much from my friends and peers (both their works, and how they contribute in rehearsal settings). I'm sure that I will feel the same way when I'm in Sarasota. I also am excited to learn more about the "behind-the-scenes" work of a professional American orchestra -- ACO and Sarasota organized various career development Q&A sessions with the Sarasota staff in addition to the readings and feedback sessions themselves.

Words cannot describe how grateful I am to be able to participate in EarShot; a HUGE thank you to everyone at ACO and the wonderful Sarasota Orchestra for making all this possible for us!

Sam Wu's piece Wind Map will be performed by the Sarasota Orchestra, led by conductor Christopher Rountree, on Saturday, March 16, 8PM at Holley Hall. Click here for more information.

Learn more about Sam Wu at www.samwumusic.com

Wednesday, March 13, 2019

EarShot Sarasota Orchestra - Composer Spotlight: Kitty Xiao

Kitty Xiao ​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​. 

Kitty Xiao's piece Ink and Wash was selected for the EarShot Sarasota Orchestra New Music Readings, where it will be rehearsed and performed under the direction of conductor Christopher Rountree. A reading session on Saturday, March 16, 8PM is open to the public at Holley Hall. Click here for more information.

We spoke with Kitty about her piece and the EarShot program.

Composer and pianist Kitty Xiao

American Composers Orchestra: What was your reaction to finding out your piece had been selected for the Sarasota Orchestra EarShot New Music Readings?

Kitty Xiao: Excitement to work with and meet everyone!

ACO: You write that your piece Ink and Wash is inspired by Chinese calligraphy and the work of New York-based artist Gu Wenda. Can you talk about any particular works of his that inspired the piece? How does the meaning of the characters, in addition to how they look, fit into the inspiration you take from these works?

KX: I am interested in the energy, gesture, and intent in the practice of the tradition. His works Negative and Positive Characters and Tranquility comes from Meditation liberate themselves from traditional technical and aesthetic structures, and often rearranges Chinese characters over surreal splashed ink landscapes. I was drawn to the way in which Wenda works with a past tradition to create new ways in questioning the present and the future.

Negative and Positive Characters by Gu Wenda

Tranquility comes from Meditation by Gu Wenda

ACO: What are you doing to prepare for the readings? Are there any changes you have made to your piece?

KX: I am currently familiarizing myself with my piece again, as I finished composing it in November! There's a part of me that wants to keep it completely fresh for the first time I hear the orchestra read it, but I also want to be there and being able to address any part of the score. I expect the first reading will reveal much of any changes that will be required for the performance. I think the feedback will be extremely valuable for developing my orchestral writing whether I choose to further develop this piece or any future projects.

ACO: What are you looking forward to about the workshops and readings? What do you hope to learn from the experience?

KX: I think the workshops and readings will open up great discussions about topics of orchestration and also challenges and solutions for composers working with orchestras. It's going to be wonderful receiving the support and conversation with the mentor composers.

Kitty Xiao's piece Ink and Wash will be performed by the Sarasota Orchestra, led by conductor Christopher Rountree, on Saturday, March 16, 8PM at Holley Hall. Click here for more information.

Learn more about Kitty Xiao at www.kittyxiaomusic.com


EarShot Sarasota Orchestra - Composer Spotlight: Nicky Sohn

From ballet to opera to Korean traditional-orchestra, the wide-ranging talent of composer Nicky Sohn 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.

Nicky's piece Bird Up was selected for the EarShot Sarasota Orchestra New Music Readings, where it will be rehearsed and performed under the direction of conductor Christopher Rountree. A reading session on Saturday, March 16, 8PM is open to the public at Holley Hall. Click here for more information.

We spoke with Nicky about her piece and the EarShot program.

Composer Nicky Sohn

American Composers Orchestra: What was your reaction to finding out your piece had been selected for the Sarasota Orchestra EarShot New Music Readings?

Nicky Sohn: I was absolutely thrilled! Bird Up is the first orchestra piece I have written since being out of school, so it meant extra special to me that the piece was selected for this wonderful program. It is always nerve-wracking, but the most exciting experience is to have my orchestra music in front of each member of the orchestra. So, to be given this opportunity to hear my piece played by the Sarasota Orchestra with the great mentors next to me, I felt extremely excited and honored.

I was also really happy to be able to edit and give my piece another go. The piece was read at the Aspen Music Festival in the prior summer, and there were sections I wanted to edit and fix to make the piece better. It is rare to receive a second chance with an orchestra piece as a young composer, and I was sincerely grateful for this opportunity.

ACO: Your piece Bird Up is inspired by the chaos of New York City, as seen through the lens of Adult Swim's bizarre "anti-talk show" The Eric Andre Show. Do you have any personal experiences with chaos/absurdity in NYC that inspired the piece? Was writing this piece a way to help cope with this aspect of living in NYC, which many people find to be stressful, or are these chaotic moments something that you savor?

NS: Definitely! I lived in New York for 9 years, from the age 15 to 24. Everyday was filled with excitement, but also so much stress and chaos. Now that I look back, I have no idea how I survived through those years. Living in New York gave me so much inspiration and energy, but everyday was also a struggle. Even in my own apartment, which was never really affordable, and extremely tiny, I always felt restless and unsettled. When I moved to Los Angeles, I finally realized laundry and grocery shopping did not have to be such a battle.

Bird Up encapsulates my perspective on the nature of New York City, as seen through the lens of the bizarre humor in The Eric Andre Show. The show reflects the extreme end of the chaos that New Yorkers sometimes encounter with a humorous twist—Eric Andre dresses up in a neon green morph suit and confronts strangers on the street. When planning this work, my goal was to create an orchestra piece that reflect The Eric Andre Show’s prominent attributes—lively, energetic, and most importantly, loud. I wanted to keep the energy up throughout the whole piece, but still have a lot of different orchestral colors and textures. My music tends to be pulse driven and quite rhythmic, and I intended to emphasize and magnify the rhythmic aspect. New York was always dynamic, and full of sounds no matter what time it may have been. I also placed several police whistles and siren in different sections of the orchestra to show the chaotic street scenes of New York.

ACO: What are you doing to prepare for the readings? Are there any changes you have made to your piece?

NS: During the preparation for the readings with the Sarasota Orchestra, I have been learning so much about how many layers of work one needs to put in in order to get an orchestra piece done. This was the first time someone looked through my parts in depth and gave me constructive criticism in part preparation especially on layouts, fonts, and spacing. I have edited my score and parts a lot appearance-wise. I had to reformat the score and the entire set of parts which brought me many sleepless nights, but I am honestly really happy with the result. Moreover, last I heard the piece read at the Aspen Music Festival, I felt the ending needed a little more build up. I added and extended some of the parts. I also adjusted and re-orchestrated a few sections to try different colors and timbres.

ACO: What are you looking forward to about the workshops and readings? What do you hope to learn from the experience?

NS: Collaborating is one of my favorite aspects of being a composer. Composing tends to be very solitary, and oftentimes I feel limited with what I know, what I feel, what I can hear, and what I can express. Having another brain, set of ears, and heart always has been the best part of my work. I admire the music of the mentor composers very much, and of course, Maestro Christopher Rountree is one of the most exciting and inspiring conductors and I am absolutely thrilled to work with them and hear their reaction and ideas on the piece.

Anytime I hear an orchestra play my music, I always get surprised by the energy and the wide range of expression and intensity that gets delivered through an orchestra. I can only use my imagination to estimate the sound and color of each passage when I’m writing the work, but hearing it live has always made me more curious of the possibilities. Orchestra is, of course, the most effective, compelling, and charming tool for composers to expand their music and themselves. Hearing my piece played live helps me so much to grow my imagination and open up and I always end up having hundreds of things I would like to try in the next orchestra piece.

Nicky Sohn's piece Bird Up will be performed by the Sarasota Orchestra, led by conductor Christopher Rountree, on Saturday, March 16, 8PM at Holley Hall. Click here for more information.

Learn more about Nicky Sohn at www.nickysohn.com

EarShot Sarasota Orchestra - Composer Spotlight: Krists Auznieks

Currently pursuing doctorate at Yale School of Music with Aaron Jay Kernis and David Lang, Krists Auznieks’ 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.

Krists Auznieks' piece Crossing was selected for the EarShot Sarasota Orchestra New Music Readings, where it will be rehearsed and performed under the direction of conductor Christopher Rountree. A reading session on Saturday, March 16, 8PM is open to the public at Holley Hall. Click here for more information.

We spoke with Krists about his piece and the EarShot program.


Composer Krists Auznieks

American Composers Orchestra: What was your reaction to finding out your piece had been selected for the Sarasota Orchestra EarShot New Music Readings?

Krists Auznieks: I was thrilled: I received the news just a few days before New Year’s Eve and took it as an omen of a wonderful year ahead. The piece taps into something deeply personal and meaningful that I wanted to share with the world and I was hoping that the piece would have life beyond the first performance. The Earshot selection meant that the dream is gradually coming true.

ACO: Can you talk about what you experience when you hear an orchestra perform your music for the first time? What was it like to hear the Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra perform Crossing for the first time?

KA: Oh, it is very exciting: it is a culmination of endless hours of solitary work and hearing it come together in a beautiful place being surrounded by a marvelous community feels extraordinary. It is very healing. The connections that are made during and surrounding the performance — through sound, ideas, presence, and the sheer act of listening — always amaze me. You feel like there are invisible lines connecting history, being, community with something underlying and unspoken and projecting it all into the future. It is closest to time traveling I will ever get. Aspen PO was magical: the care Patrick Summers took, the attention to detail, you just could not believe it. People breathing in sync with fluid, not-having-yet-happened time.

ACO: What are you doing to prepare for the readings? Are there any changes you have made to your piece?

KA: I made plenty of revisions concerning balance, orchestration, and micro-timing; I also changed the last two minutes quite radically. The last section should subsume the rest of the piece completely and I don’t know how it can happen. Can eight minutes of mercurial shifts and crossings be eaten up by a large solid block of late Rothko?

ACO: What are you looking forward to about the workshops and readings? What do you hope to learn from the experience?

KA: I certainly want to find out the answer to my last question. I am looking forward to furthering the changes and getting to know the piece through the ears of other people: composers, musicians, the audience. I am also excited to hear pieces by fellow composers and see how they define and solve compositional problems. Sarasota Orchestra’s extensive experience with the tradition and new music alike is an asset that will contribute to rich interpretation of our pieces in unexpected ways. And what an honor it is to be working with the new music connoisseur Christopher Rountree: his energy and musical literacy are truly inspiring.

Krists Auznieks' piece Crossing will be performed by the Sarasota Orchestra, led by conductor Christopher Rountree, on Saturday, March 16, 8PM at Holley Hall. Click here for more information.

Learn more about Krists Auznieks at www.auznieks.com


Tuesday, March 12, 2019

Where We Lost Our Shadows - Performer Portrait: Helga Davis

Helga Davis is a vocalist and performance artist with feet planted on the most prestigious international stages and with firm roots in the realities and concerns of her local community whose work draws out insights that illuminate how artistic leaps for an individual can offer connection among audiences.

Helga Davis is a featured soloist in Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Du Yun and Palestinian artist Khaled Jarrar’s new multimedia work Where We Lost Our Shadows, which explores the timeless story of human migration and the resilient human spirit.



American Composers Orchestra presents the New York premiere on Thursday, April 11, 7:30pm at Carnegie Hall, Zankel Hall. Click here for tickets and more information.

Tuesday, March 5, 2019

Where We Lost Our Shadows - Composer Spotlight: Du Yun

Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Du Yun discusses Where We Lost Our Shadows, her new collaboration with visual artist Khaled Jarrar. The new multimedia work explores the timeless story of human migration and the resilient human spirit, featuring singer Ali Sethi, singer Helga Davis, and percussionist Shayna Dunkelman.


American Composers Orchestra presents the New York premiere on Thursday, April 11, 7:30pm at Carnegie Hall, Zankel Hall. Click here for tickets and more information.