ten dead species for sinfonietta
Australian Youth Orchestra Momentum Ensemble; Christoph Altstaedt, conductor

VIII. March Of The Vombatomorphs (Giant Wombat)

I. Prehistory

IX. Protohistory III

IV. Protohistory I.

II. A Pouch Lion Ponders (Marsupial Lion)

III. Ravenous Rainbow (Giant Serpent)

XV. Nuggety Chicken Runs (Giant Malleefowl)

[https://jareddestro.com/portfolio-large-ensemble#sinfonietta]

Sinfonietta, for concert band - III

Sinfonietta, for concert band - II

Sinfonietta, for concert band - I

Ensemble Rotterdam Conseratorium, conducted by Hans Leenders
Hal 4, Rotterdam, 1998

God Liet Toe Dat Ik Lachte, IV

The title of this piece is a play on the Spanish word for hard liquor: aguardiente. The literal translation is water that burns. The piece is scored for sinfonietta and classical guitar soloist.

Burning Water

"To Be or Not To Be?!" for sinfonietta: flute, oboe, bass clarinet, bassoon, Alto saxophone, French horn, trumpet, trombone, F tuba, percussion (2), harp, piano, and 1,1,1,1,1
Date: 2024/03/07
Performers: IU NME (IU New Music Ensemble); conducted by Jae Hwan Lee, directed by Dr. David Dzubay
Venue: Auer Concert Hall, Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University
PROGRAM NOTES:
"To be, or not to be?!" is a piece that reflects current events, specifically towards Hate Crimes related to shootings.  There were more than 300 school shootings in US in 2022, plus countless of other shootings relate to hate crimes, such as LA Taiwanese Presbyterian Church shooting (pro-China shooter with strong political discrepancy and hatred toward to Taiwanese,) Dallas salon shooting by hatred toward to Asian Americans in Koreatown, the Buffalo mass shooting by hatred toward to African Americans, the Ukraine vs. Russia war, all of these unfortunate events are all willfully attempted by using firearms to cause bodily injury to others.
What makes one have any right to (deadly) harm others?   In the US, the biggest problem is the gun regulations and the lack of gun control.  Texas has released the news that mass shooting at Robb Elementary School on May 24 was the 199th shootings in 2022, which caused 19 ten years old students’ lives.  Why does this keep happening?  What is the purpose of the legislation and second amendment when we cannot even protect our children?   Do we still live in the middle age where we need to bear arms to hunt for our daily meals?  Take a look at Russia's invasion, there were more than 200,000 military casualties and at least 40,000 Ukrainian civilians were killed. 
None of these are justified killing.   One wonders “To be, or not to be?” Not only for the people who are in the midst of these events, but also for the ones who are making selfish decisions, choices and arguments to further the tragedies.  
The piece To be, or not to be?! centralize on the following events: 1) School shootings; 2) Anti-Asian Hate Crimes; 3) Anti-African American Hate Crimes; and 4) Russia-Ukraine war.  
Some motivic ideas will be inspired by the natives (original heritages) and nations.  Many techniques from traditional instruments of each related nation are adapted to the western instruments in the chamber orchestra to represent native heritage. Moreover, the extended techniques are used prominently in the piece to describe certain sceneries.

To Be or Not To Be?!

"Butterfly Hunt" composed by Kacper Madejek (Jun, 2024).

Chamber concerto written for solo soprano and sinfonietta. Premiere performance at 'New Music New Haven' by ‪Elizaveta Kozlova‬ and members of the Yale Philharmonia under the baton of Stefano Boccacci on Nov 7th, 2024.

2nd Prize at Euregio Klassika International Composition Competition 2024. 

::: TEXT :::

last words in a mist of sighs,
time’s forgotten we were born,
I prayed the rainbow sheen of skies 
would set us free, so we may fly 
above the burning stakes and thorns.

on the trampled grass we bid farewell,
their empty nets flung in defeat alike deathly rings, 
as borne aloft these hunting grounds we dwell
and flutter towards the blossom, waiting for the spell 
that dying flowers cast on our pair of wings.

like the fleeting butterflies,
we’ll soon bring the lingering morn
and the sparkling dew’d bear witness to our yester cries, 
spurring gardens into bloom, from the chrysaline disguise 
we’ll emerge again, transformed.

lyrics by Kacper Madejek (2024)

::: ABOUT THE WORK :::

This plaintive chamber concerto for soprano serves as a vector of my feelings about the violations of belonging and self-expression. Upon reading Walter Benjamin’s eponymous essay, I was taken aback by the striking resemblance between his reckless butterfly hunt and violent human persecution. Such unprovoked cruelty continues to claim lives of people stigmatized simply for daring to be themselves, like innocuous butterflies fluttering in the garden before being captured. Set to my introspective poem in three stanzas, my music symbolically demarginalizes the individual voice by making it a catalyst for the ensemble, and reflects on its audacious strife in vulnerability.

Butterfly Hunt

Performers: Vestards Shimkus (piano), Normunds Sne (conductor), Sinfonietta Riga.  May 11, 2024. https://www.universaledition.com/en/Works/Piano-Concert-No.3/P0295492
The Piano Concert No.3 has three movements, playing without interruption and two main musical themes - bravura and gentle - weave through all three movements, interacting with each other, changing and complementing. 
I Allegro con bravura. Meno mosso. Molto energico e brilliante.
II Libero e espressivo. Poco a poco agitato. Misterioso. Passionato. Lamentando. 
III Espressivo e cantabile. Impetuoso. Allegro con bravura. Meno mosso.

Piano Concert No.3 by Ilona Brege

 BEMBÉ A OBBATALÁ Y ODDÚA   (2002/2017)
In loving memory of Harold Gramatges, mentor, professor and friend.
solo percussion: David Hildebrandt. Athelas Sinfonietta Copenhagen.
Live recording of the premiere in KBH, February 25, 2018.


BEMBÉ a OBBATALÁ y ODDÚA (2002-2017)

N.O.P.I.G. (A.O.)

Vivaria (2025)

Contemporary classical composer
Check out www.nicholasvines.com for more information; CD available from http://www.navonarecords.com/catalog/nv5915/

Nicholas Vines’s compositional approach is firmly rooted in the technical resources of the Western classical canon, from plainsong and sixteenth-century counterpoint to recent advances in instrumental technique and electroacoustic technology. At the same time, every opportunity is taken to embrace sounds and ideas from an array of popular, experimental, Australian and non-Western traditions. This combination of rigour and pluralism – stemming from the composer's own heritage, his wide-ranging interests and the communities in which he lives and works - gives rise to music at once vectored and kaleidoscopic. Nostalgia, satire and farce often result from the inherent friction.

At their best, Nicholas Vines’ compositions evoke a sense of naïve idealism at loggerheads - for better or worse - with the realities of the world. Sometimes the music loses itself in innocent physicality or elaborate fantasy, doggedly avoiding the tendrils of cold, hard fact. Often, however, it can’t escape, leading to various states of self-denial, self-mockery, decay and decadence. This on occasion can make the listening experience uncomfortable, even frustrating. Nevertheless, it is hoped through such intellectual and psychological challenge, the music's essential moral and visceral beauty becomes all the more poignant.

https://louisaguirre.cargo.site/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpHP3DQe90w6q6uD_kY-UAw/featured?view_as=subscriber
Louis Aguirre (f. 1968) Cubansk komponist bosiddende i Danmark. Aguirre er uddannet som komponist i Cuba, Amsterdam, men fortsatte studierne efter han flyttede til Danmark i 2004, og afsluttede solistklassen i komposition ved Det jyske Musikkonservatorium i 2007. Aguirre er en stærk og original stemme i dansk musikliv. Hans værkliste, med mere end 200 værker, inkluderer: opera, orkester- og kammermusik, soloværker, vokalmusik, koral-, elektronisk- og didaktisk musik. Han er en aktiv del af musiklivet i Danmark og Nordjylland, bl.a. ved sit arbejde som medlem af komponistgruppen Snow Mask og som kunstnerisk leder af Snow Mask Ensemblet. En række af hans værker er inspirerede af den cubanske Santeria religion og de religiøse tekster fra området.

Thomas Adam Billings, an accomplished composer from Washington State, is renowned for blending the natural world's beauty into his musical narratives. A product of the Juilliard School and Mannes College of Music, and a current doctoral student at Boston University, Adam's work reflects his superior musical training. He gained prominence with his pioneering series of asynchronous woodwind trios during the COVID-19 pandemic and his tenure as Composer-In-Residence at Western Washington University. Internationally recognized, Adam's collaborations with esteemed ensembles and performances by notable artists amplify his influence within the music industry, making him a significant voice in contemporary music.

Composer and scholar of new acoustic and electronic music at the Yale School of Music

Composer of orchestral, vocal and chamber music.

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