May 2024 – I have been holding this news for awhile but I am finally able to make an official announcement – I will be writing a new concerto for string quartet and orchestra, co-commissioned by the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music (GLFCAM) and the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra for the esteemed Dali Quartet! The 23-minute piece will premiere on the Annapolis Symphony’s 2024/25 season on April 4-5, 2025 at Maryland Hall under the direction of Maestro José-Luis Novo.
It is an incredible honor to be entrusted to compose a substantial work for the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra and the Dali Quartet. This project came from a longstanding partnership between Gabriela Lena Frank and the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, resulting in commissions for three alumni composers from GLFCAM to-date. In addition to a workshop and premiere, the work will be recorded for the London based Toccata label for future release. I look forward to sharing the fruits of the commission in 2025!
Dalí Quartet
The Dalí Quartet is acclaimed for bringing Latin American string quartet repertoire to an equal standing alongside the Classical and Romantic canon. The Dalí Quartet is Chamber Music America’s 2024 Ensemble of the Year, recipient of the 2023 ACMP Foundation’s Susan McIntosh Lloyd Award for Excellence and Diversity in Chamber Music, 2021 recipient of Chamber Music America’s Guarneri String Quartet Residency, funded by the Sewell Family Foundation, and the 2021 Silver Medal at the inaugural Piazzolla Music Competition. The Quartet is also the 2019 recipient of the Atlanta Symphony’s esteemed Aspire Award for accomplished African American and Latino Musicians. The quartet’s latest CD is Voces Latinas, and is now available on Centaur Records.
Annapolis Symphony Orchestra
The Annapolis Symphony Orchestra is now entering its 62nd year as the leading performing arts organization in Maryland’s capital city. Featuring 70 professional union musicians who perform for audiences of all ages. An anchor among Annapolis arts and culture organizations for 62 years, the Symphony provides memorable cultural experiences to residents of the region. The Symphony contributes to a vibrant cultural community and generates economic impact for the region.
Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music
Founded in 2017 by internationally acclaimed composer and pianist Gabriela Lena Frank, GLFCAM helps composers of any aesthetic and demographic, and from emerging through mid-career levels, to develop self-determined 21st century lives. GLFCAM’s mission centers on the creative habit, community, and eco-citizenship, forming years-long relationships with composers. As a result, composers are provided a rich array of opportunities such as collaborating on new works with renowned performer-mentors; taking online classes and practicums; composing large scale symphonies under fair commission rates with readings of the work-in-progress; teaching in youth music programs in underserved rural areas; participating in a multi-year peer-supported study group on climate intelligence and the arts; and becoming skilled communicators – cultural witnesses – in both spoken and written word. GLFCAM alumni are leading composers in the international music fields as well as teachers and professors, non-profit administrators, therapists, hospice workers, and civic volunteers.
Roydon Tse 