Ensemble For These Times Reveals Winners of its 2024 Call For Scores For Solo Piano To Be Performed By E4TT Emerita Pianist Dale Tsang

Award-winning SF contemporary chamber group Ensemble for These Times has announced the winners of its 2024 Call for Scores for Solo Piano. The works chosen will be performed by E4TT emerita pianist extraordinaire, Dale Tsang on a solo recital in the group's 17th Home Season, the second such solo piano Call for Scores.

Says Tsang, "We are deeply grateful to our wonderful composer community for entrusting us with their musical projects. We were overwhelmed by the quality and quantity of submissions from around the world, from students to established composers to professionals in other fields who were all equally eager to share their musical passion and creativity. After a thorough exploration of every score and recording, we chose a varied program that is full of originality, intelligence, enthusiasm and beauty. E4TT received roughly 110 scores from 50 composers and chose 11: Alexa Canales, Michael Coleman, Albert de la Fuente, Lilyanne Dorilas, George N. Gianapoulos, Dorothy Hindman, Ye-Chong Jeon, Evans Kocja, Jon Grier Kian Ravaei, Judith Shatin. Tsang will perform their music on Saturday, February 22, 2025, at 7:30 p.m. PT for the E4TT's second program of music by Solo Piano Call for Scores winners, "Call for Scores: Solo Piano, Vol 2." The concert can be attended online (free, donations welcome) and in-person ($5-30, no one turned away for lack of ability to pay) at the Berkeley Piano Club, with tickets/RSVPs available through Eventbrite.

ABOUT THE CALL FOR SCORES

Following her wildly successful first solo piano Call for Scores for Ensemble for These Times in 2022, E4TT emerita pianist extraordinaire Dale Tsang will return in 2025 to perform eleven works chosen from the group's second Call for Scores for solo piano. This time, the group received double the number of scores from its prior Call for Scores for solo piano, with roughly 110 scores from 50 composers arriving in the official two-week submission window. Scores came from composers in 12 countries (Argentina, Belgium, Canada, China, Iceland, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, and the US) and 18 states in the U.S., and the composers ranged from students to established composers to professionals in non-musical fields. The quality and variety of the submissions made choosing the winners exceedingly difficult. The eleven works chosen for performance are: "(un)ravel" (2023) by Alexa Canales (b. 1992), "Eastern Shore Rag" (2002, ed. 2019) by Michael Coleman (b. 1955), "Black Amber" (2024) by Lilyanne Dorilas(b. 2002), "Sonata, Movement 1" (2020-21) by Albert de la Fuente (b. 1989), "Fughetta on Monk's 'Well You Needn't" from "Five Pieces for Solo Piano, Op. 15" (2009-2013) by George Gianopoulos (b. 1984), "Quantum Entanglement" (2024) for speaking pianist by Jon Grier (b. 1953), "Wanting - Night Music" from "Forward Looking Back (1992) by Dorothy Hindman (b. 1966), "Drum of Creation" from Shiva Nataraja Suite (2022) by Ye-Chong Jeon (b. 1999), Prelude No. 1 for Piano (2021) by Evans Kocja (b. 1991), "The Sea Serpent" from "Marvels of Creatures and Strange Things Existing" (2021) by Kian Ravaei (b. 1999) and "Scirocco" (1985) by Judith Shatin (b. 1949). Tsang will perform these works on February 22, 2025, at 7:30 p.m. in a program that can be viewed in-person at the Berkeley Piano Club and also online on E4TT's YouTube channel.

ELEVEN WORKS BY ELEVEN OUTSTANDING COMPOSERS

ALEXA CANALES (b. 1992) is a composer, pianist, and educator who is deeply interested in explorations of color, rhythm, and texture in her work. Her compositions have been performed by musicians and ensembles across the United States and in Europe. This includes performances by the Brightwork Ensemble, the Helix! New Music Ensemble, the New Brunswick Chamber Orchestra, and the Boston Percussion Group. She is the recipient of numerous grants and commissions in support of her work. Recent commissions include the Wellesley Symphony Orchestra and the Impulse New Music Festival, where she was a fellow. The Wellesley Symphony Orchestra commissioned her to write an orchestral work in honor of conductor Max Hobart's retirement after 28 years of serving as Music Director. She has participated in various summer music festivals and programs, including the New York New Music Intensive, highSCORE, and the Atlantic Music Festival. Canales holds degrees from Rutgers University (Ph.D. and M.A. in Music Composition) and Boston College (B.A.) where she studied composition with Robert Aldridge, Tarik O'Regan, Steven Kemper, and Thomas Oboe Lee.

Michael Coleman (b. 1955) has participated as composer/pianist in numerous new music programs and festivals in the U.S and Russia and has also had works performed in Central America, Europe, Eurasia, and Vietnam. He has also had multiple online performances of his works which include Festival Osmose (Brussels, Belgium) and "Fifteen Minutes of Fame" (Vox Novus, Manhattan, NY). Recent awards include being named Winner of the III Leopold Auer International Composition Competition (2023) and other recent awards include the An Art Artistry Prize (Athens, Greece), Second Prize in the She Lives Budapest Competition, and being awarded three First Diplomas one Third Diploma in the Golden Key Piano Composition Competition. He received his doctorate from the University of Maryland and holds degrees from the University of New Orleans and the University of South Alabama, studying with Lawrence Moss, Jerry Sieg, and Carl Alette. Dr. Coleman is on the faculties of Pensacola State College and the University of West Florida, and is the organist/music director at Zion Lutheran Church in Silverhill, Alabama. He is on the composer rosters of RMN Music (London, UK) and Phasma (Athens, Greece), and he is a member of the Birmingham Art Music Alliance and BMI.

ALBERT DE LA FUENTE (b. 1989) is a Catalan composer based in Barcelona (Spain). Despite growing up in a family with no musical background, he pursued his passion for music and is completely self-taught in composition. His musical style is based on classical forms and proportions, while using a contemporary harmonic palette. His language borrows from French impressionism, Russian Neo-primitivism, and Jazz. He places a strong emphasis on melody and counterpoint, and is not afraid of humor and of combining "high" and "low" arts. Influences include Schubert, Ravel, Bartók, Prokofiev, Poulenc, and Kapustin. He has won several composition competitions and his music has been performed in Europe and the USA. In 2024 he became a composer fellow at the Premiere Project Festival (California).

LILYANNE DORILAS (b. 2002) is a violinist and composer based in Boston, Massachusetts. She is a 2024 graduate of Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), earning Bachelor's Degrees in Cognitive Science and Music (Violin Performance). She studied violin with Dr. Stephen Sims and composition with Kristian Schembri (CIM). In February 2024, she was the first CWRU Concerto Competition winner in the school's history to compose, perform, and premiere a movement of her Violin Concerto No. 1 with CWRU's Symphony Orchestra. She was the soloist on her big band "Old World" (2023), and her neoclassical string quintet "4 1⁄2 Stages of Grief" (2022) was performed by the Cleveland Chamber Collective in 2023. Dorilas' versatile style is evident in every ensemble she writes for, from her instrumental rock-infused solo piano pieces to her string orchestra works. She incorporates the harmonic language of modal jazz, blues, and Post-Romantic classical music. Her current projects include a collection of modal pieces for all violin levels, a piano quartet, and large-scale orchestral works. She is a passionate advocate for expanding classical pedagogy and repertoire, performing works by historical and contemporary composers of color alongside her own. Aside from music, she enjoys studying Mandarin and writing her historical fiction novel.

The compositions of GEORGE GIANAPOULOS (b. 1984) are rooted in his background as a pianist. Gianopoulos' music has been performed throughout Europe and America, including performances in China, Israel, Spain, England and Greece and regular performances in Southern California. George's commissions include the Long Beach Opera, Santa Barbara Symphony, Piano Spheres, The Glendale Philharmonic, The Chamber Opera Players of Los Angeles, Winchester Orchestra, Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts, Tala Rasa, Symbiosis Ensemble, The Helix Collective and the Malkin-Trybeck Duo. He has been awarded by the American Viola Society, One Ounce Opera, Boston Metro Opera, Aurora Borealis Duo and was the Composer-in-Residence for the Los Angeles based Symbiosis Ensemble and the Alumni-in-Residence (AIR) for the State University of New York at Oswego, where he worked with students and faculty. His music has been performed by members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Opera, Pacific Symphony, Los Angeles Master Chorale, along with musicians Dr. Robert Auler, Kathleen Roland-Silverstein, Lynn Vartan, James Beauton, Maksim Velichkin, Michele Fiala (IDRS 2018), Rong-Huey Liu, and Kate Kayaian. More at www.georgengianopoulos.com

JON JEFFREY GRIER (b. 1953) holds a B.A. from Kalamazoo College, an M.M. in Composition from Western Michigan University, and an M.M. in Theory and a D.M.A. in Composition from the University of South Carolina, where he studied with Dick Goodwin, Sam Douglas, and Jerry Curry. He was Instructor of Music Theory, History, and Composer in Residence at the Greenville Fine Arts Center, a magnet high school of the arts in Greenville, South Carolina, from 1988 to 2019. He continues as a substitute instructor at the FAC and as a board member of the Sigal Music Museum. Jon was the winner of the 2024 Renee Fisher Piano Composition Competition, the 2016 South Carolina Arts Commission Fellowship in Music Composition, the 2016 Composer Commission from the South Carolina Music Teachers Association, the 2014 Carl Blair Award for Excellence in Arts Education from the Metropolitan
Arts Council, and winner of the 2009 Rapido! Composition Contest sponsored by the Atlanta Chamber Players. He has composed commissions for the Greenville Symphony, the Kandinksy Trio, October Sky Ensemble, and Virginia Tech pianist Rick Masters, among others. Jon continues composing chamber music, songs, and jazz in Greenville, where he lives with wife Marion and rescue dog Roxanne.

Fusing a punk/grunge background with spectral techniques and classical refinement, Miami composer DOROTHY HINDMAN (b. 1966) pushes the boundaries of the technically possible with unique, visceral elegance. Timbre is a structural element; form arises from the material and a fascination with entropy. Driving rhythms contribute surface impact, inviting discovery of the levels beneath on successive hearings. Critics call the music "bright with energy and a lilting lyricism" (New York Classical Review), "dramatic, highly strung" (Fanfare), "varied, utterly rich with purpose and heart" (Huffington Post), and "highly recommended for rockers wishing to get their proverbial feet wet in post-20th century classical music" (ICON). Hindman's works have been performed globally in venues including Carnegie Hall, the United Nations, the American Academy in Rome, the Muziekgebouw, Berlin's BKA-Theater, Havana Contemporary Music Festival, Australian Flute Festival, and Nuovi Spazi Musicali by contemporary luminaries including Ex-Sentia, [Switch~ Ensemble], Splinter Reeds, CAMP, Quince, Bent Frequency, and more. Recent awards and recognition include Finalist in the 2023 "Città di Udine" International Composition Competition 14th Edition, NODUS 2022 Fundacio Caixa Castello, a 2019 Mellon Foundation CREATE grant, and ISCM/New Music Miami. Her recordings appear on innova, Albany, and Capstone. Hindman is on the composition faculty at the University of Miami.

A composer from South Korea, YE-CHONG JEON (b. 1999) is pursuing a Master of Music in Composition at Indiana University, Jacobs School of Music, where she is working with P.Q. Phan. She completed her Bachelor of Music Degree at Seoul National University in South Korea, studying composition with Shinuh Lee, Uzong Choe, and Sebastian Claren. Her compositions have been featured in She Scores, RED NOTE New Music Workshop, and New Voices in Michiana, Vienna Contemporary Composers Festival, and Zodiac Music Festival by Ensemble Dal Niente, Ensemble PHACE, and Ensemble CONCEPT/21. She has composed not only for classical music, but also for Korean traditional instruments, juvenile dramas, musical theatre, monodrama, and short film. As a leader and composer of creative ensemble 'Ongojisin,' she designed new music concerts with subjects of 'Coexistence & Symbiosis,' 'Landscape and Music,' and 'Four Seasons.' Additionally, she was the regional artist working with the Bucheon Cultural Foundation, Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation, and Incheon Foundation for Arts & Culture. She draws inspiration diverse music, cultures, and phenomena.

Composer/conductor EVANS KOCJA (b. 1991) is based in Brussels. His musical journey began as an autodidact, writing music from a young age. Initially trained as an instrumentalist, his passion for composition led him to pursue formal studies. He embarked on his musical education by studying Composition at the University of Arts in Tirana, followed by further studies at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel, where he studied Music Writing, Composition, Conducting, and Music Technology. He commenced his formal musical training on classical guitar at the age of 11, expanding his skills through self-guided exploration of other instruments, as well as composition, harmony, and orchestration. Throughout this period, he showcased his talents as a classical
guitarist, performing in concerts and festivals, while crafting his first compositions for ensembles, solo performances, orchestra, concert band, including incidental music for theatre. Although particularly drawn to the spectral music realm, his oeuvre explores various facets of the music, often blending different stylistic and aesthetic elements. His work reflects an ongoing endeavor to cultivate his unique artistic language, continually striving to unearth the artist's inner voice. This tireless quest for musical authenticity has propelled Koçja to explore myriad facets of music, culminating in the development of a distinctive personal style.

Composer KIAN RAVAEI (b. 1999) takes tone painting to a new level, synthesizing diverse inspirations into evocative musical portraits. Whether he is composing a string quartet inspired by wonders of the natural world, electronic music that evokes the pulsating energy of a nightclub, or a symphonic poem that draws from the Iranian music of his ancestral heritage, he takes listeners on a spellbinding tour of humanity's most deeply felt emotions. Ravaei has collaborated with sought-after artists such as pianist and cultural activist Lara Downes, Grammy-nominated violinist Tessa Lark, and New York Philharmonic clarinetist Anthony McGill. Chamber musicians have championed his works, leading to commissions from Chamber Music Northwest-where he was a Protégé Project Composer-in-Residence-as well as Seattle Chamber Music Society and Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival. His rapidly expanding catalog has earned him notable honors including a Copland House CULTIVATE Fellowship, a Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra Composer Teaching Artist Fellowship, a New Music USA Creator Fund Award, and a Barlow Endowment Commission. He counts celebrated composers Richard Danielpour, Derrick Skye, and Tarik O'Regan among his teachers, and holds degrees in composition from UCLA and Indiana University. This fall, Ravaei will begin a C.V. Starr Doctoral Fellowship at The Juilliard School.

A distinctive voice in American music, JUDITH SHATIN (b. 1949) is known for music that spans acoustic, electroacoustic and digital realms. Called "highly inventive on every level" by The Washington Post, her music combines an adventurous approach to timbre with dynamic narrative design. Inspirations comes from multiple sources: current events and concerns, literature, the visual arts and the sounding world. Organizations that have commissioned her music include the Barlow Endowment, Carnegie Hall, Fromm Foundation, Library of Congress, the Cassatt and Kronos Quartets as well as the American Composers Orchestra, the National, Charlottesville, Illinois, Richmond and Virginia Symphonies. Honors include four National Endowment Fellowships and grants from Meet the Composer, the Virginia Commission for the Arts and The Lila Wallace Readers Digest Arts Partners Program. She has held residencies at the Rockefeller Center at Bellagio, La Cité des Arts, MacDowell, Yaddo and the Virginia Center for Creative Arts. Her music is widely performed, ranging from the Concertgebouw and Tel Aviv Opera House to the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall. It is available on more than 30 albums. Based in Charlottesville, Shatin is William R. Kenan Jr. Professor Emerita at the University of Virginia, where she founded the Virginia Center for Computer Music. www.judithshatin.com

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