Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras, conducted by Music Director Allen Tinkham - Live at Orchestra Hall, May 13, 2012

If the system isn't working anymore, then do what Guy Fawkes tried and go anarchist: Blow it all up, and start again. 

Blow It Up, Start Again

Jonathan Newman composes music rich with rhythmic drive and intricate sophistication, creating broadly colored musical works that incorporate styles of pop, blues, jazz, folk, and funk into otherwise classical models. Trained as a pianist, trombonist, and singer, his work is informed by an upbringing performing in orchestras, singing in jazz choirs, playing in marching bands, and accompanying himself in talent shows. From opera to bubblegum pop, Newman delivers a new perspective on American concert music. Recent work includes MASS, a large-scale project with texts by poet Victoria Chang which premiered in 2018 with The Choir of Trinity Wall Street as part of their Mass Reimaginings commissioning program. In 2016 he was appointed Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras Composer-in-Residence; CYSO’s 2011 commission BLOW IT UP, START AGAIN has been performed by orchestras worldwide, including the Minnesota Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony, the 2015 Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the 2015 BBC Proms. He is currently working with playwright Gary Winter on an imaginary ballet suite project for the Florida State University Wind Orchestra. He resides in Virginia, where he serves as Director of Composition & Coordinator of New Music at Shenandoah Conservatory.

I’m a fan of skeletons, and team fortress 2. Simple as that, pretty much.

Blow It Up, Start Again

jonathannewman