Meet our four commissioned composers for Season Eleven
/What a thrill it is to perform a piece of music for the very first time, to bring new sounds into people’s ears, minds and lives! This season we’re excited to have the means to commission FOUR new pieces of music! It’s important for us to bring new voices, stories and perspectives onto the concert stage along side time-tested masterpieces to keep this art form alive and meaningful to today’s society. Take a moment and get to know our four commissioned composers for Season 11.
Andrew Stock
Andrew Stock
We’ve known about Andrew for some time - since he was 13 and attended a composition camp that we were working with at the Community Music School of Webster University. Andrew recently graduated from one of the most prestigious music conservatories in the world and is back home here in St. Louis. After running into Andrew at a few concerts last year we were impressed by his thoughtfulness, intelligence and composure so we thought we’d ask him to write something for our concert themed MILLENNIAL.
Darwin Aquino
Darwin Aquino
Our first introduction to Darwin was through performing with Winter Opera St. Louis. We immediately felt at ease with his cheerful rehearsal style and his passion for making great music. And then we learned he was also a composer! He recently relocated to St. Louis to spend more time with Winter Opera and is also the Director of the UMSL Orchestra and the Conductor in Residence at Washington University.
We asked Darwin to write a piece for our REDISCOVERY concert. This program is all about discovering something new so we wanted a new piece of music for it! Darwin as composed a piece that reflects on his experience as an immigrant, titled Redescubrimiento: A Dominican in St. Louis.
Stephanie Berg
Stephanie Berg
This is our second time commissioning Stephanie. In 2017 she wrote a beautiful and elegant piece for us titled Nocturne. We loved it so much we wanted more from her and decided she was the perfect person to contribute a program in March we are deeply committed to: #TIMESUP which will be by both the Missouri History Museum and Southwestern Illinois College
Katherine Bodor
Katherine Bodor
This is also our second time commissioning Katherine. Her first work for us, premiered last spring, was Absent an Adjustment, was a serious work which took a wrenching look at climate change. But we know there is another side to Katherine, one that has quite a carrer going arranging pop tunes for a cappella ensembles. With a program in April titled BELOVED, which includes two vocalists and a theme about love, we’ve asked her to showcase the other side of her wide-ranging creativity. We can’t wait to see what she comes up with!