dopamine was written for the JACK Quartet. It uses scordatura (retuning) and natural harmonics on the all the instruments to obtain precise microtonal notes and chords. The title refers to a hormone and neurotransmitter which occurs in humans and some mammals. Dopamine is typically associated with the pleasure system; people with higher dopamine levels tend to seek out more pleasurable activities and vice versa. Dopamine is also associated with creativity and the generation of new ideas. I used dopamine as a metaphor for this string quartet because it was written within a short span of a few days in an unprecedented creative fervor. My motivation came from both the creative experience and from the music itself, which gave me great pleasure to listen to. Perhaps my own level of dopamine was very high as I wrote this music. I suppose I will never know.

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https://jeffmyers.bandcamp.com/track/dopamine

dopamine for string quartet

The music of Jeff Myers has been called “Striking…and harmonically rich” by the New York Times and “…brilliant and powerful…” by The Classical Voice of New England. Myers draws on preexisting musical works, styles and genres, as well as visual art and natural phenomena. Filipino kulintang music, works by M.C. Escher, overtone music, folk music and geographical narratives have been a source for inspiration. His operatic collaboration with writer and filmmaker Royce Vavrek yielded the one-act opera The Hunger Art, based on Kafka’s "The Hunger Artist" and the Adam and Eve story. Currently Myers is working on a new full length opera with Mr. Vavrek (Maren of Vardø) and a new one-act opera with writer Quincy Long (Buried Alive) As part of American Lyric Theater’s “Poe Project”.

His music has been played by Hilary Hahn on her international tour (encores project and forthcoming recording on Deutsche Grammaphon), ensembles such as L’Orchestre National de Lorraine, American Composers Orchestra, Ann Arbor Symphony, New York Youth Symphony, members of New World Symphony, University of Michigan Symphony Band, American Lyric Theater, Center City Opera, Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, Transit, PRISM Saxophone Quartet, and the JACK Quartet. He has received awards from The American Academy of Arts and Letters, BMI, as well as fellowships from the Aspen Festival, Tanglewood, Festival Acanthes, the Atlantic Center for the Arts, and grants from institutions and private funds such as the Jerome Foundation, American Music Center, Puffin Foundation, the Yvar Mikhashoff Trust, the Anna Sosenko Trust, and The Fromm Foundation. His music has been heard at Carnegie Hall, Library of Congress, Kimmel Center, Darmstadt, Gaudeamus, Symphony Space, Arsenal, Le Poisson Rouge, and the Tenri Cultural Institute to name a few. Myers holds degrees from San José State University, the Eastman School of Music and the University of Michigan. He currently resides New York as a freelance composer.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

dopamine for string quartet

Jeff Myers Composer