Ben Morris is a composer and jazz pianist known for blending genres and telling unconventional stories through music. Influenced by his Norwegian heritage, he explored folk music's impact on Norwegian jazz during a Fulbright Grant in Oslo. His debut album, Pocket Guides, received critical acclaim and multiple awards. Beyond jazz, Ben is a versatile composer for film, theatre, and opera, with works performed by top ensembles. He currently serves as Assistant Professor of Composition at Stephen F. Austin State University and holds advanced degrees from the University of Colorado Boulder, Rice University, and the University of Miami. This show includes excerpts of the following compositions: Ymir’s Bones, for jazz band. Longleaf, for chamber ensemble. The Fall of Man and Other Tales, an opera. ➡️ Your next step is to join my free course community for composers by signing up here (for FREE) ➡️ https://www.skool.com/composersbrainlite

Patrick O’Malley is an award-winning composer of symphonic, chamber, and film music. Whether writing for an orchestra or electronic textures, his music embraces abstract worlds and emotions with the goal of igniting listeners’ imaginations. His classical works have been performed across the United States and Europe, and his film music has been heard in several American film festivals. O’Malley has been recognized or performed by organizations including the Albany, Minnesota, Ft. Wayne, and Milwaukee Symphonies, the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s National Composer Intensive, The ASCAP Morton Gould Award, and The Aaron Copland House Residency. He was named Composer of the Year by the Sioux City Symphony in 2018, and made his Carnegie Hall debut with the New York Youth Symphony in 2021. O’Malley also serves as the arranger and a conductor for the video game concert series Journey LIVE with Grammy-nominated composer Austin Wintory. O’Malley completed his masters and doctoral degrees in music at the University of Southern California where he studied with Andrew Norman and Sean Friar. He divides his time between living in Los Angeles California, and Lake Charlevoix, Michigan. 🌐 https://www.musicbypatrickomalley.com/ 💿 All of the works featured on this podcast can be heard on the composer's debut orchestral album, "The Horizons": https://www.orchidclassics.com/releases/orc100303-patrick-omalley-the-horizons/ 📺 Saad’s main channel: https://www.youtube.com/@saadhaddadmusic 📰 NEWSLETTER: https://saadnhaddad.us9.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=d52b653fc543f4ca604265d53&id=70d2af18c6 📘 SHOP for composition-related resources: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/saadhaddad/extras 🕒 Timestamps 00:38 "Obliviana," for orchestra 15:48 "Rest and Restless," for orchestra 33:40 "Concerto for viola and orchestra, 'The Horizons'"

Alex Paxton is an award-winning composer and jazz trombonist known for his highly innovative compositions and dynamic performances. His scores, published by Ricordi Berlin, have garnered praise from esteemed sources such as the BBC Magazine and the Financial Times, describing his work as packed with life force and hyperkinetic rainbow-hued joy. Recipient of numerous awards including the Ivor Novello, Paul Hindemith Prize, and Ernst von Siemens Composer Prize, Alex defies genre boundaries with his modern and future-oriented style. His music has been performed internationally by renowned orchestras and ensembles, and he has released critically acclaimed albums like "MUSIC for BOSCH PEOPLE" and "HAPPY MUSIC for ORCHESTRA." In addition to his compositional work, Alex is an accomplished jazz trombone soloist and founder of the Dreammusics ensemble. He is also dedicated to music education, teaching composition and improvisation at prestigious institutions like Trinity Laban Conservatoire. Alex's vision for new music aims to transform classical music into a truly global phenomenon. 🌐 https://alexpaxtonmusic.com/ 💿 All of the works featured on this podcast will be released in 2025. Follow Alex via his instagram page "dreammmusics" to stay up-to-date with his fantastical sound world. 💿 In the meantime, check out his other albums: https://alexpaxtonmusic.com/DISCOGRAPHY 📺 Saad’s main channel: https://www.youtube.com/@saadhaddadmusic 👨🏻‍🏫 BOOK a virtual lesson with me here: https://www.saadnhaddad.com/lessons.html 📰 NEWSLETTER: https://saadnhaddad.us9.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=d52b653fc543f4ca604265d53&id=70d2af18c6 📘 SHOP for composition-related resources: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/saadhaddad/extras 🕒 Timestamps 01:20 "Spit Crystal Yeast-Rack Dripping (à l’orange)," for 6 players & electronics 14:40 "Shrimp BIT Babyface," for 10 players & electronics 34:45 "Blue Chew Cheerio Earpiece," for 11 players, jazz/improvising soloist & electronics

An avid collaborator, Camila Agosto is an electroacoustic composer and interdisciplinary artist currently based in New York City. Camila seeks to discover intersections of her work with additional artistic fields through partnerships with other musicians, visual artists, choreographers, instrument builders, and creators. Her projects range from acoustic and electroacoustic concert works and orchestral scores to interdisciplinary projects incorporating visual media and dance, and from solo instruments and larger ensembles to fixed media works. Her music is both fully notated and improvisational and often employs extended instrumental techniques, exhibiting a particular emphasis on the exploration of different timbral and textural elements. Within her works, Camila is interested in uncovering the sonic potentialities of acoustic instruments through highlighting and exposing the human element of live performance. 🌐 https://www.camilagosto.com/ 💿 The Memory of Water: https://www.camilagosto.com/the-memory-of-water 💿 Transparent Balance: https://soundcloud.com/camilagosto/transparent-balance?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing 💿 Paracusia III.descry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzKVFxVtSkQ 📺 Saad’s main channel: https://www.youtube.com/@saadhaddadmusic 👨🏻‍🏫 BOOK a virtual lesson with me here: https://www.saadnhaddad.com/lessons.html 📰 NEWSLETTER that shares the latest news about my music and shows: https://saadnhaddad.us9.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=d52b653fc543f4ca604265d53&id=70d2af18c6 📘 SHOP for composition-related resources: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/saadhaddad/extras 🕒 Timestamps 06:50 "The Memory of Water," for solo viola and electronics 25:40 "Transparent Balance," for solo piano 37:38 "Paracusia III.descry," for saxophone and electronics

Mary Kouyoumdjian is a composer and documentarian with projects ranging from concert works to multimedia collaborations and film scores. As a first generation Armenian-American and having come from a family directly affected by the Lebanese Civil War and Armenian Genocide, her compositional work often integrates recorded testimonies with resilient individuals and field recordings of place to invite empathy by humanizing complex experiences around social and political conflict. She has received commissions from such organizations as the Kronos Quartet, New York Philharmonic, Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Alarm Will Sound, Beth Morrison Projects, and Bang on a Can. Kouyoumdjian is a cofounder of the annual new music conference New Music Gathering, is on faculty at the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University and The New School, is proud to have her music published on Schott’s PSNY, and is based in Brooklyn, NY. 🌐 www.marykouyoumdjian.com 💿 Bombs of Beirut: https://youtu.be/pNegch1_dyU?si=hwHmZzPgqPIQq_ST 💿 Paper Pianos: https://youtu.be/Llxtb_0HNt0?si=OMY0aR1bT-bDhKvh 💿 Adoration: https://youtu.be/70YnbYCyu0I?si=M1MXJeRcTRLbJB82 📺 Saad’s main channel: https://www.youtube.com/@saadhaddadmusic 👨🏻‍🏫 BOOK a virtual lesson with me here: https://www.saadnhaddad.com/lessons.html 📰 NEWSLETTER that shares the latest news about my music and shows: https://saadnhaddad.us9.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=d52b653fc543f4ca604265d53&id=70d2af18c6 📘 SHOP for composition-related resources: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/saadhaddad/extras 🕒 Timestamps 05:26 "Bombs of Beirut," for string quartet and electronics 17:30 "Paper Pianos," for chamber orchestra and electronics 30:55 "Adoration," an opera for voices, string quartet and electronics

Carrie Frey is a New York City-based violist, teacher, improviser, and composer focused on inquisitive collaborations and encouraging creativity in her students. An enthusiastic proponent of new music, she has premiered over 250 pieces. Frey is the violist of the Rhythm Method (“a group of individuals with distinct compositional voices and a collective vision for the future of the string quartet” - I Care If You Listen) and a founding member of string trio Chartreuse and string quartet Desdemona. She has performed with many of New York City’s notable contemporary ensembles, including Wet Ink Large Ensemble, AMOC*, Talea Ensemble, Wavefield, Cantata Profana, and the International Contemporary Ensemble. Frey improvises as a member of Simone Baron’s genre-bending Arco Belo ensemble and with electroacoustic trio Hierophant (with Alex van Gils and Alec Goldfarb). Her compositions, described as “a moldering compost heap” (I Care if You Listen), have been performed by the Rhythm Method, Arco Belo, Adrianne Munden-Dixon, and Kal Sugatski. Her debut sonata album, The Grey Light of Day, with pianist Robert Fleitz, was released in 2016, and her first solo album will be released on Gold Bolus in December 2023. Carrie is a graduate of Oberlin Conservatory and the Manhattan School of Music Contemporary Performance Program, and is currently pursuing a doctorate at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.

🌐 https://freyaviol.tumblr.com/

💿 a chorus like distant screaming: https://youtu.be/paNHWcMPlvQ?si=dKhr80sRBL-XYrq2

💿 Seaglass/Pebble: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeVIT8mKhTM

💿 Gone / Back: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1661SnhWKvk

📺 Saad’s main channel: https://www.youtube.com/@saadhaddadmusic

👨🏻‍🏫 BOOK a lesson with me here: https://www.saadnhaddad.com/lessons.html

📰 NEWSLETTER that shares the latest news about my music and shows:  https://saadnhaddad.us9.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=d52b653fc543f4ca604265d53&id=70d2af18c6

📘 SHOP for composition-related resources: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/saadhaddad/extras

🕒 Timestamps 

02:18 “a chorus like distant screaming,” for string quartet

14:35 “Gone / Back,” for string quartet

25:16 “Seaglass/Pebble,” for string quartet

Christian Quiñones is a Puerto Rican composer who explores personal and vulnerable stories through the lens of cultural identity. From sampling to auto-tune, and to interactive multimedia, Christian is interested in interacting with existing music to create intertextual narratives.

Recently Christian was selected as a composer in residence at the Copland House, and as a fellow for the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra Workshop, Cabrillo Festival, and the Bang on a Can Summer Festival. In 2020 he was selected for the Earshot Underwood Orchestra Readings where he worked with the American Composers Orchestra. 

He has received commissions from the New York Youth Symphony, Dogs of Desire (Albany Symphony), Transient Canvas, the icarus Quartet, the Bergamot String Quartet, Chromic Duo and the Victory Players where Christian was the 2018-2019 composer in residence. 

His music has been performed by leading ensembles and performers such as Alarm Will Sound, Dal Niente, Hub New Music, Loadbang, Charlotte Mundy, Dither Quartet, Bergamot Quartet, Yarn/Wire, Onix Ensemble, Chromic Duo, Unheard-of Ensemble, Trio Sanromá, Victory Players, Chromic Duo, the American Composers Orchestra, and René Izquierdo.

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 studied with Carlos Carrillo and Reynold Tharp. Currently, Christian is a Ph.D. President’s fellow at Princeton University where he studies with Steve Mackey, Donnacha Dennehy, Nathalie Joachim, Juri Seo, and Tyondai Braxton.

🌐 https://christianquinonesmusic.com/

💿 “Hasta que no pueda,” for amplified sinfonietta and sampler: https://on.soundcloud.com/mDPSC

💿 “My voice is a broken chorus,” for amplified soprano and electronics https://youtu.be/RJwd4_F42NI?si=35zzgDTRZeqgfPLj

📺 Saad’s main channel: https://www.youtube.com/@saadhaddadmusic

👨🏻‍🏫 BOOK a lesson with me here: https://www.saadnhaddad.com/lessons.html

📰 NEWSLETTER that shares the latest news about my music and shows:  https://saadnhaddad.us9.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=d52b653fc543f4ca604265d53&id=70d2af18c6

📘 SHOP for composition-related resources: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/saadhaddad/extras

Touch Designer: https://derivative.ca/

🕒 Timestamps 

01:45 “Hasta que no pueda,” for amplified sinfonietta and sampler

21:55 “Artifacts,” for laptop, keyboard, live electronics, and visuals

40:30 “My voice is a broken chorus,” for amplified soprano and electronics [II. waning crescent]

Since his solo debut with the legendary Philadelphia Orchestra at age nine, violinist Timothy Schwarz has had a brilliant career as a soloist, chamber musician, and pedagogue. His many accomplishments include solo and chamber music CD’s under the Naxos, Albany, Centaur and IBM labels. Schwarz served as an Artistic Ambassador for the United States from 1996 – 2001, bringing American music throughout the Middle East, North Africa, and Southeast Asia. These tours started a decades-long dedication to performing American compositions, with an emphasis on female and minority composers. An avid educator, Schwarz is currently Associate Professor and Head of Strings at Rowan University, President of the New Jersey chapter of the America String Teachers Association, Artistic Director and Founder of Techne Music, and Visiting Professor of Performance at the London College of Music. He owns several fine violins and bows, including a J. B. Vuillaume, a Carlo Antonio Testore, and a Dominique Peccatte.

🌐 https://cpa.rowan.edu/_bios/schwarz-timothy.html

💿 “Fantasia on Lama badaa yatasana,” by Steven Sametz: https://youtu.be/c_K8YBX2JUY?si=O-QJatdCprv1fMCr

💿 “Rhapsody No. 2,” by Jessie Montgomery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IArdVEniFQ

💿 “Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano,” by Avner Dorman: https://youtu.be/T0_Td4yi554?si=EuX5Ul6dbqdW2pTY

💿 “Darshan,” by Reena Esmail: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrAs8W5eV1E

📺 Saad’s main channel: https://www.youtube.com/@saadhaddadmusic

👨🏻‍🏫 BOOK a lesson with me here: https://www.saadnhaddad.com/lessons.html

📰 NEWSLETTER that shares the latest news about my music and shows:  https://saadnhaddad.us9.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=d52b653fc543f4ca604265d53&id=70d2af18c6

📘 SHOP for composition-related resources: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/saadhaddad/extras

🕒 Timestamps 

08:54 “Fantasia on Lama badaa yatasana,” by Steven Sametz

18:00 “Rhapsody No. 2,” by Jessie Montgomery

29:50 “Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano,” by Avner Dorman

49:40 “Darshan,” by Reena Esmail

The music of award-winning composer Polina Nazaykinskaya is performed regularly in the United States, Russia, and Europe. Her first symphonic poem, "Winter Bells," is in high demand every season by orchestras such as the Minnesota Orchestra and the Russian National Orchestra, among others. ‍ In the 2023-2024 concert season, Polina's orchestral music will be performed by the Utah Symphony, Portland Youth Philharmonic, Grays Harbor Symphony Orchestra, and Maryland Classic Youth Orchestra. In April 2024, Ms. Nazaykinskaya's new ballet for MorDance will be premiered at the Chelsea Factory in New York. In May 2024, Ms. Nazaykinskaya's chamber opera, "Her New Home" will performed at the Garth Newel Center. The 2022-2023 season highlights included the premiere of two new ballets, "The Rising" and "Emily," performed by the San Francisco Ballet and MorDance in New York City. ‍ Polina's collaborators include internationally renowned choreographers Pascal Rioult, Yuri Possokhov, Jonah Bokaer, Morgan McEwen, and Ulyana Bochernikova. Polina works closely with the world's leading conductors, such as Osmo Vänskä, Teodor Currentzis, Fabio Mastrangelo, Sarah Hicks, Toshiyuki Shimada, Lawrence Loh, Hannu Lintu and David Hattner. Polina's compositions are actively performed by internationally acclaimed soloists such as trombonist R. Douglas Wright, violinist Elena Korzhenevich, and pianist Anton Nel. Polina's musical language embodies the diversity of multi-cultural education. She graduated from the Tchaikovsky Conservatory College in Moscow as a composition/violin double major, studying with Konstantin Batashov and Vladimir Ivanov. Polina earned her Masters' and Artist Diploma in composition at the Yale School of Music with Christopher Theofanidis and Ezra Laderman. Currently, Polina is a Doctorate Candidate at The Graduate Center CUNY under the mentorship of Tania León. Polina is an Adjunct Lecturer of Composition at Brooklyn College Conservatory and a Teaching Artist at the Educational Center for the Arts in New Haven. 🌐 https://polinacomposer.com/ 💿 “Invocation on Lel,” for chorus and chamber ensemble: https://on.soundcloud.com/nkKok 💿 “Songs for Tasya,” for piano trio: https://youtu.be/blEazGtHNqY?si=9axeCuRLtsfjXGJu 💿 “Fenix,” for orchestra: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uWXDsQxAhA 💿 “Nostalghia,” for ballet: https://youtu.be/amEfi7Q1aoA?si=4uWz46vjwCKahes0 📺 Saad’s main channel: https://www.youtube.com/@saadhaddadmusic 👨🏻‍🏫 BOOK a lesson with me here: https://www.saadnhaddad.com/lessons.html 📰 NEWSLETTER that shares the latest news about my music and shows: https://saadnhaddad.us9.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=d52b653fc543f4ca604265d53&id=70d2af18c6 📘 SHOP for composition-related resources: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/saadhaddad/extras 🕒 Timestamps 00:00 Yale, CUNY Graduate Center, and Tania León 01:27 “Invocation on Lel,” for chorus and chamber ensemble 07:35 “Songs for Tasya,” for piano trio 20:21 “Fenix,” for orchestra 30:53 “Nostalghia,” for ballet

Composer and clarinetist Derek Bermel has been internationally recognized for his creativity, theatricality, and virtuosity. Bermel is acclaimed for music that is “intricate, witty, clear-spoken, tender, and extraordinarily beautiful [and] covers an amazing amount of ground, from the West African rhythms of Dust Dances to the Bulgarian folk strains of Thracian Echoes, to the shimmering harmonic splendor of Elixir. In the hands of a composer less assured, all that globe-trotting would seem like affectation; Bermel makes it an artistic imperative."  (Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle). Bermel and his works have received the Alpert Award in the Arts, Rome Prize, Guggenheim and Fulbright Fellowships, the Trailblazer Award from the American Music Center, and the Academy Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Formerly the Artistic Director of the American Composers Orchestra, Bermel is also curator of the Gamper Festival at the Bowdoin International Music Festival. He recently enjoyed a four-year tenure as artist-in-residence at the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) in Princeton, and a year as Composer in Residence with the Seattle Symphony. An avid educator, Bermel mentors young composers through ACO’s many educational programs, including Earshot and the Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute, and directs the Copland House's CULTIVATE emerging composers institute. He also founded the New York Youth Symphony’s Composition Program, formerly known as Making Score. He has given masterclasses at conservatories and musical institutions around the world, and has led several workshops alongside frequent collaborators Wendy S. Walters and S. Ama Wray.

Bermel holds B.A. and D.M.A. degrees from Yale University and the University of Michigan. Notable among his composition teachers are William Albright, Louis Andriessen, William Bolcom, Henri Dutilleux, and Michael Tenzer. His music is published by Peermusic Classical (Americas, Asia) and Faber Music (Europe, Australia).

🌐 https://www.derekbermel.com/

💿 “Intonations,” for string quartet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HIPlvYV98Q&list=PLQbBZhbfWFNm3YMztsuR6yWfIvDllBmNe

💿 “Migration series,” for jazz band and orchestra: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3b2V2MY1Mc&list=PLQbBZhbfWFNlfuCERWth0jc4PfTvhkoMs

💿 “Mar de setembro,” for vocalist and chamber orchestra: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KW6bl8g5bvc&list=PLQbBZhbfWFNn-iyTkM8AT0I-YcZIuu4xA

📺 Saad’s main channel: https://www.youtube.com/@saadhaddadmusic

👨🏻‍🏫 BOOK a lesson with me here: https://www.saadnhaddad.com/lessons.html

📰 NEWSLETTER that shares the latest news about my music and shows:  https://saadnhaddad.us9.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=d52b653fc543f4ca604265d53&id=70d2af18c6

📘 SHOP for composition-related resources: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/saadhaddad/extras

🕒 Timestamps 

00:00 American Composers Orchestra 

04:06 Driving Penderecki: https://www.derekbermel.com/blog/2013/9/22/driving-mr-krzysztof

10:27 “Hustle” from “Intonations”

18:54 “Migration series,” for jazz band and orchestra

35:30 “Mar de setembro,” for vocalist and chamber orchestra

A sound artist and composer from Philadelphia, Pa, Dani Dobkin received a BA in Experimental Music and the Electronic Arts from Bard College where she studied under Bob Bielecki, Marina Rosenfeld and Richard Teitelbaum. Always in search of new ways to engage and interact with sound, she works with installation, modular synthesis, handmade circuits, live electronic improvisation, and interdisciplinary projects with dancers, musicians, poets, and visual artists.  Dobkin recently received her MFA in Sound Arts from Columbia University and is pursuing her Doctorate in music composition at Columbia.  

🌐 https://danidobkin.com/

💿 “Weavings,” for the Serge modular: https://issueprojectroom.org/video/serge-modular-50th-anniversary-dani-dobkin

📺 Saad’s main channel: https://www.youtube.com/@saadhaddadmusic

👨🏻‍🏫 BOOK a lesson with me here: https://www.saadnhaddad.com/lessons.html

📰 NEWSLETTER that shares the latest news about my music and shows:  https://saadnhaddad.us9.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=d52b653fc543f4ca604265d53&id=70d2af18c6

📘 SHOP for composition-related resources: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/saadhaddad/extras

🕒 Timestamps 

00:35 “Weavings,” for the Serge modular 

15:25 “Magnolias in Boom,” for chamber ensemble, excerpt 1

31:08 “Magnolias in Boom,” for chamber ensemble, excerpt 2

French-Lebanese-American violist Noémie Chemali received her Bachelor’s degree from McGill  University’s Schulich School of Music, her Artist Diploma from the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University, and her Master’s Degree from The Juilliard School. Her principal teachers include Becca Albers, Hsin-Yun Huang, and Carol Rodland.

During her time at Juilliard, she made her Carnegie Weill Hall solo debut in the UN Chamber Music Society’s Arabic Language Day concert and collaborated with dancers of the New York City Ballet.  During her time at the McDuffie Center for Strings, she performed alongside faculty members of the Cavani and Ehnes String Quartets. In 2019, she also performed in “A Night of Georgia Music,” a tour the American South with violinist Robert McDuffie,  guitarist Mike Mills of the band R.E.M., and pianist Chuck Leavell of the Allman Brothers Band/Rolling Stones.  Some performance highlights from McGill include playing a concert with clarinetist David Krakauer in a program of Klezmer music, being selected to perform a chamber work by John Rea in a concert presented by the Société de musique contemporaine du Québec (SMCQ) alongside Schulich faculty and students, and participating in the 2018 Musical Chairs Chamber Music Festival, where she collaborated with students from the Mozarteum (Austria) and the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music (Singapore).

🌐https://www.noemiechemali.com/

💿“The Mouraba' Dance,” by Wajdi Abou Diab: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTSapqWxOdU

💿“Tasalsul IV,” by Saad Haddad: https://youtu.be/JuUrwUrnzCQ?si=IGij9mEv04pMrkFX

📺 Saad’s main channel: https://www.youtube.com/@saadhaddadmusic

👨🏻‍🏫 BOOK a lesson with me here: https://www.saadnhaddad.com/lessons.html

📰 NEWSLETTER that shares the latest news about my music and shows:  https://saadnhaddad.us9.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=d52b653fc543f4ca604265d53&id=70d2af18c6

📘 SHOP for composition-related resources: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/saadhaddad/extras

Inside Arabic Music: https://www.amazon.com/Inside-Arabic-Music-Performance-Century/dp/0190658355

🕒 Timestamps 

00:00 Ensemble Phoenicia 

04:00 LinkedIn

06:58 Conservatory

09:35 Cadenza from “The Brown Texts,” by Layale Chaker

11:30 Concert protocol

12:45 Why play Middle Eastern-inspired music? 

19:50 “The Mouraba' Dance,” by Wajdi Abou Diab

29:68 “Tasalsul IV,” by Saad Haddad

38:20 Playing in orchestra

Matthew Ricketts (b. 1986, British Columbia) is a Canadian composer based in New York City. His music moves from extremes of presence and absence, from clamor to quietude, at once reticent and flamboyant. Matthew’s music has been called “lyrical, contrapuntal, rhythmically complex and highly nuanced” (The American Academy of Arts and Letters) and is noted for his “effervescent and at times prickly sounds,” “hypnotically churning exploration of melody” (ICareIfYouListen) as well as its “tart harmonies and perky sputterings” (The New York Times). He is a 2019 Guggenheim Fellow.

His works have been performed internationally by JACK Quartet, Mivos Quartet, Flux Quartet, the Fromm Players, Quatuor Bozzini, the Chiara String Quartet; vocalists Tony Arnold, Sharon Harms, Lauren Worsham, Karim Sulayman and Ekmeles; Collage New Music, Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, Stony Brook Contemporary Chamber Players, Ensemble Paramirabo, Argento and Talea Ensemble; soloists Jean-Willy Kunz, Nathaniel LaNasa, Sara Laimon and Julia Den Boer; and orchestras including the Aspen Philharmonic (Robert Spano, cond.), Esprit Orchestra (Alex Pauk, cond.), the Minnesota Orchestra (Osmo Vänskä, cond.), the Montreal Symphony Orchestra (Kent Nagano, cond.), the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg. Matthew was Composer-Collaborator-In-Residence at East Carolina University from 2016-2018.

Active as a writer as well as a composer, Matthew has published articles, reviews, poetry and libretti, and has worked closely with authors and poets Lauren J. Rogener, Paul Legault, Christian Schlegel, Mark Campbell, Royce Vavrek, Klara du Plessis and Tomson Highway on multiple collaborative projects. Other collaborative endeavors include scoring the feature-length film Glob Lessons (Tribeca Film Festival premiere, 2021) and recent projects with dancer-choreographers Brendan Drake and Jennifer Nichols.

Matthew holds degrees in music composition and theory from McGill University’s Schulich School of Music (B.Mus. 2009) and Columbia University (DMA 2017). Matthew’s principal mentors include Brian Cherney, John Rea, Chris Paul Harman, George Lewis and Fred Lerdahl. He was a Core Lecturer at Columbia University from 2017-2020.

🌐 https://matthewricketts.com/

📺 Saad’s main channel: https://www.youtube.com/@saadhaddadmusic

👨🏻‍🏫 BOOK a lesson with me here: https://www.saadnhaddad.com/lessons.html

📰 NEWSLETTER that shares the latest news about my music and shows:  https://saadnhaddad.us9.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=d52b653fc543f4ca604265d53&id=70d2af18c6

📘 RESOURCES (these will be continued to be updated) https://www.buymeacoffee.com/saadhaddad/extras

🕒 Timestamps 

00:00 “Swivel,” from Outtake (a song cycle-in-progress with Royce Vavrek)

16:12 “Munch Blur,” from Outtake 

35:46 “Fast Backward,” from Unruly Sun 

42:21 Humor in music?

50:30 “Then as now,” from Unruly Sun

A.J. McCaffrey is a songwriter and composer of instrumental, vocal and electronic music. With a background in theater, fine arts and literature, and an upbringing that has fostered a love for a wide variety of musical styles, A.J. writes music that strives to tell a story. His works are theatrical in nature, employing harmonically rich and lyrically striking sound worlds to create moving, dramatic narratives.

Hailed by the American Academy of Arts and Letters as a composer of music “imbued with an extraordinary wit and intelligence”, A.J. received the Academy’s 2014 Goddard Lieberson Fellowship. He has been commissioned to write music for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Tanglewood Music Center and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. A.J.’s music has been performed by the American Composers Orchestra, the New Fromm Players, the Radius Ensemble, the Atlantic Chamber Ensemble and by members of the Chiara Quartet, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Alarm Will Sound, Boston's Firebird Ensemble and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. A fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center and Aspen Music Festival and School, A.J. has been a featured composer on BMOP's The Next Next series, Tanglewood's Festival of Contemporary Music and the New Gallery Concert Series. His orchestral work Thank You for Waiting was chosen for the American Composers Orchestra Underwood New Music Readings, and he was subsequently awarded the 2013 Underwood Emerging Composers Commission.  Recent collaborations include works for violist Jonah Sirota, HOCKET piano duo, clarinetist Julia Heinen, Project Fusion saxophone quartet, and the Light Matter Trio.

A.J. holds degrees in music from Rice University, The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and the University of Southern California. He has studied composition with Richard Lavenda, James MacMillan, Donald Crockett and Stephen Hartke. A passionate educator, A.J. was one of the founding instructors for the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s groundbreaking Composer Fellowship Program.  He is currently an Associate Professor of Music at California State University Northridge. A native of the Boston area, A.J. lives in Los Angeles with his wife and their two children.

🌐http://www.ajmccaffrey.com/

💿“Our Options Have Changed,” for string quartet and video: https://youtu.be/gCvj80FciZ8?si=CyY6GJGpTswii0tT

Saad’s main channel: https://www.youtube.com/@saadhaddadmusic

👨🏻‍🏫 BOOK a lesson with me here: https://www.saadnhaddad.com/lessons.html

📰 NEWSLETTER that shares the latest news about my music and shows:  https://saadnhaddad.us9.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=d52b653fc543f4ca604265d53&id=70d2af18c6

📘SHOP for composition-related resources: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/saadhaddad/extras

🕒Timestamps 

00:00 Los Angeles Philharmonic Composer Fellowship Program

13:17 “Implied Airs over an Imaginary-Drone,” for solo cello

23:09 “Our Options Have Changed,” for string quartet and video

37:04 “Here Come the Waterworks,” for viola and piano

Christopher Cerrone (b. 1984) is internationally acclaimed for compositions characterized by a subtle handling of timbre and resonance, a deep literary fluency, and a flair for multimedia collaborations. Recent commissions include In a Grove, a new opera co-produced by LA Opera and Pittsburgh Opera, a violin concerto for Jennifer Koh and the Detroit Symphony, an antiphonal brass concerto for the Cincinnati Symphony, a piano concerto for Shai Wosner and the Phoenix and Albany Symphonies, a percussion concerto for Third Coast Percussion, and four works for the LA Philharmonic. His first opera, Invisible Cities, based on Italo Calvino’s novel, was a finalist for the 2014 Pulitzer Prize and he is the recipient of multiple GRAMMY nominations. He is the winner of the 2015–2016 Rome Prize and was a resident at the Laurenz Haus Foundation in Basel, Switzerland from 2022–2023. Christopher Cerrone holds degrees from Yale and the Manhattan School of Music and is published by Schott NY. He is on the composition faculty at Mannes School of Music and lives in Jersey City with his wife 🌐 https://christophercerrone.com/ 💿 Excerpt from “In a Grove”: https://youtu.be/MrUYcrlEDW0?si=xNqtSLP7BTQMxeKJ 💿 ”Hoyt-Schermerhorn”: https://youtu.be/5ow8q6OEwkY?si=Mj2twqGQYldJthaO 💿 ”Don’t Look Down”: https://youtu.be/7CeMaDGaoxs?si=UArCQ889wheIzfbS Saad’s main channel: https://www.youtube.com/@saadhaddadmusic 👨🏻‍🏫 BOOK a lesson with me here: https://www.saadnhaddad.com/lessons.html 📰 NEWSLETTER that shares the latest news about my music and shows: https://saadnhaddad.us9.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=d52b653fc543f4ca604265d53&id=70d2af18c6 🕒 Timestamps 00:00 YouTube is underrated 06:45 Languages 08:30 Opera 10:40 Excerpt from the opera, “In a Grove” 12:40 Electronics 19:55 “Hoyt–Schermerhorn,” for piano and electronics 28:45 Aesthetics 34:20 Saad’s Saariaho story 38:27 “Don’t Look Down,” for percussion quartet 42:30 Rhythm 47:50 David Bruce 50:20 Professor Cerrone

KOH Cheng Jin is a Singaporean composer, Yang Qin and violin performer currently based in New York. Her music is eclectic and diverse in personalities. As a Chinese and Western trained musician, her works incorporate various influences from these worlds and reflect her passionate enthusiasm in unifying colorful music idioms.

Recently, her work Before Daybreak was premiered at the semifinal rounds of the 2022 Singapore International Violin Competition as the commissioned piece, and her interdisciplinary work Mountain of Echoing Halls for Yangqin and the Ohio-based Verona Quartet and dance, commissioned by Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art, was premiered at their centennial celebrations Spring 2023. She was the youngest composer to be commissioned by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) and has also worked with members of the Paris-based, world-renowned Ensemble InterContemporain, New York’s Metropolis Ensemble, New Thread Quartet, Imani Winds, Society of New Music, Mirror Visions Ensemble, and the Juilliard Orchestra; in Singapore, the Singapore Chinese Orchestra (SCO), Ding Yi Music Company, K 口 U Musik, Morse Percussion, T’ang Quartet, School of the Arts Singapore (SOTA) Chinese Music Ensemble, The Purple Symphony, ACS Barker Road Chinese Plucked Strings Ensemble and others. Her multiple accolades also include Mirror Visions Ensemble Prize, Society of New Music 2020 New York Federation of Music Clubs’ Brian Israel Prize, the Palmer Dixon and Gena Raps Chamber Music Prizes from the Juilliard School, as well as the Margaret Blackburn, John Eaton Memorial and Boston New Music Initiative Prizes. Her works have been performed at Singapore International Festival of Arts, Lincoln Center, National Sawdust, Yale-Norfolk New Music Workshop, Bowdoin International Music Festival, the National Flute Association Convention in San Diego, Australia Woodend Winter Arts Music Festival, Sidney Chapel (Cambridge, UK), China Conservatory Concert Hall, and the Esplanade, Victoria Concert and Singapore Conference Halls in Singapore. As a proficient Yang Qin musician who won the Singapore Chinese Music Competition (Open Category) with a solo debut with the Singapore Chinese Orchestra, Cheng Jin is indebted to her teachers Miss Qu Jian Qing and Miss Seah Poh Chun, as well as Dr. Kelly Tang, who was her first mentor in Composition at School of the Arts Singapore (SOTA). She is also grateful to her pedagogues at The Juilliard School, Robert Beaser and Melinda Wagner, both who were instrumental in her pursuit of Bachelor’s (Hons) and Master’s degrees in Music Composition generously supported by Singapore’s Loke Cheng Kim Foundation. She was also honored to be the Teaching Fellow for Juilliard’s Music Advancement Program (Composition) for two years and its Evening Division (Music Theory). She is currently a member of the Composers’ Society of Singapore (CSS) and developing her musical, research and educational interests as a MacCracken PhD Fellow and Teaching Assistant at New York University (College of Arts and Science).

🌐https://www.kohchengjin.com/

💿”Before Daybreak,” for solo violin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-P38953dGE

💿”Mountain of Echoing Halls,” for yangqin and string quartet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b60DRDRYvk

💿”醉荡步,” for gaunzi/sunoa, erhu, ruan, and guzheng: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aq-cMUbNEVA

Saad’s main channel: https://www.youtube.com/@saadhaddadmusic

👨🏻‍🏫 BOOK a lesson with me here: https://www.saadnhaddad.com/lessons.html

📰 NEWSLETTER that shares the latest news about my music and shows:  https://saadnhaddad.us9.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=d52b653fc543f4ca604265d53&id=70d2af18c6

🕒Timestamps 

00:55 Juilliard

06:25 “Before Daybreak,” for solo violin

12:18 Notation in “Before Daybreak”

19:30 NYU

27:40 “Mountain of Echoing Halls,” for yangqin and string quartet

38:30 Non-Western instruments 

49:43 ”醉荡步,” for gaunzi/sunoa, erhu, ruan, and guzheng

Phillip Golub is a composer and pianist based in New York. His musical practice centers around rethinking the rehearsal process as a site of musical sociality and collective creation.

Phillip has released music in numerous formations. He is the co-founder of the collective band Tropos (Axioms // 75ab, Biophilia Records (2020) and Shadow Music, Endectomorph Music (2023)). His solo piano debut Filters (2022), came out to critical acclaim on Greyfade. Phillip is also a member of Layale Chaker’s Sarafand Ensemble (Inner Rhyme, In a Circle Records (2019)). He also has performed numerous times with the Cecil McBee Quartet. He is an active performer in numerous music scenes in New York with frequent appearances at leading jazz, improvised music, and contemporary concert music venues and series, such as Roulette Intermedium, National Sawdust, and The Stone. His compositions have been performed at venues such as Merkin Hall (NYC), The Broad Stage (Santa Monica, CA), and on festivals such as Tribeca New Music (NYC), Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival, and the Hear Now Music Festival (Los Angeles).

Phillip was also the musical dramaturg and music coordinator for … (Iphigenia), a new opera born out of a collaboration by Wayne Shorter and esperanza spalding. He has studied composition with Michael Finnissy and Julian Anderson and piano and improvisation with Jason Moran, Bruce Brubaker, Joe Morris, and Ran Blake. He holds degrees from Harvard University (B.A. English), The Guildhall School of Music & Drama (M.Mus. Composition), and The New England Conservatory (M.M. Jazz Performance).  Phillip is also an advocate for independent music artists’ labor rights as a member and organizer for Music Workers Alliance.

🌐 https://www.phillipgolubmusic.com/

💿 “Rag Out!” on Bandcamp (supports artists directly): https://phillipgolub.bandcamp.com/track/rag-out

💿 “Filters” on Bandcamp (supports artists directly):

https://phillipgolub.bandcamp.com/album/filters

Saad’s main channel: https://www.youtube.com/@saadhaddadmusic

👨🏻‍🏫 BOOK a lesson with me here: https://www.saadnhaddad.com/lessons.html

📰 NEWSLETTER that shares the latest news about my music and shows:  https://saadnhaddad.us9.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=d52b653fc543f4ca604265d53&id=70d2af18c6

🕒 Timestamps 

00:39 Wayne Shorter

08:22 “Abiding Memory,” for electric guitar, cello, piano, bass, and drums

15:13 Graffiti composing

16:00 Phillip’s “original rag”

18:18 “Rag Out!,” for solo piano

21:52 Band-leading as composing 

28:05 Composing as a pianist

29:15 “Filters,” for solo piano

31:28 Notating rubato

35:30 “Filters,” for “piano+”

39:45 What happened to composer-performer virtuosos?

44:10 Thinking like a pianist

49:20 Saad has a rhythm problem

Brandon Patrick George is a leading flute soloist and Grammy®-nominated chamber musician whose repertoire extends from the Baroque era to today. He is the flutist of Imani Winds and has appeared as a soloist with the Atlanta, Baltimore, and Albany symphonies, American Composers Orchestra, and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, among others. He has been praised as “elegant” by The New York Times, as a“virtuoso” by The Washington Post, and as a “knockout musician with a gorgeous sound” by The Philadelphia Inquirer. His debut album was released by Haenssler Classics in September 2020; The New York Times has described it as “a program that showcases the flute in all its wit, warmth and brilliance.” 🌐 https://www.brandonpatrickgeorge.com/ 💿 “TWOFOLD” album on Bandcamp (supports artists directly): https://brandonpatrickgeorge.bandcamp.com/album/twofold-icr029 💿 “TWOFOLD” album on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/38iOCqOLGc6gMBAQv9Ddbg?si=_Q9cMe-JQrOtxKi60YcGNw 💿 “TWOFOLD” album on Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/twofold/1701806946

Timo Andres (b. 1985, Palo Alto, CA) is a composer and pianist who grew up in rural Connecticut and lives in Brooklyn, NY. Notable works include Everything Happens So Much for the Boston Symphony; Strong Language for the Takács Quartet, commissioned by Carnegie Hall and the Shriver Hall Concert Series; Steady Hand, a two-piano concerto commissioned by the Britten Sinfonia premiered at the Barbican by Andres and David Kaplan; and The Blind Banister, a concerto for Jonathan Biss, which was a 2016 Pulitzer Prize Finalist. As a pianist, Timo Andres has appeared with the LA Phil, North Carolina Symphony, the Albany Symphony, New World Symphony, and in many collaborations with Andrew Cyr and Metropolis Ensemble. He has performed solo recitals for Lincoln Center, Wigmore Hall, San Francisco Performances, the Phillips Collection, and (le) Poisson Rouge. During the “quiet” season of 2020/21, Timo Andres built an impressive library of gorgeous music films, featuring a deep range of repertoire which he performed, recorded, engineered, directed, and edited from home. He shares these films with an engaged international subscriber audience on his YouTube channel.

https://www.andres.com/

Described as a “rising star” by MusicWorks magazine, JUNO-Nominated composer Jared Miller has collaborated with the American Composers Orchestra, the Nashville Symphony, the symphony orchestras of Vancouver, Toronto, Detroit and New Jersey, The Attacca Quartet, Latitude 49, the New York City Ballet’s Choreographic Institute and Standing Wave. His music has been presented in the New York Philharmonic Biennial, the ISCM World Music Days, Vancouver’s Queer Arts Festival and the Festival Internacional de Jóvenes Orquestas. Since Fall 2022, he has served as an Assistant Professor of Composition at the University of North Carolina School for the Arts.

🌐 https://jaredmillermusic.wordpress.com/