Happy New Year!! It has been a luxury having a couple of weeks to reflect over the past year. Though it has been a crisis for so many of us who have seen our entire professional life be put on hold, it has also been a time of reflection and introspection. For me, it has been a time to delve into passion projects and organize.
Last year gave me the opportunity to explore music of many musicians that were new to me and it is humbling to see the vast array of talent out there. As I listen to various composers, it is a thrill to hear such unique and individual voices. Some compositions resonate strongly with me and other compositions offer different perspectives of sound and timbre that make me want to hear more whether a beautiful melody, interesting crunchy chords, a new musical texture, or clear musical thumbprint that I find interesting. It has been a gift to get to know some outstanding composers and musicians in a chaotic and frustrating year.
As a violinist who ventured towards conducting, I am especially excited about the music I am sharing today as String Orchestra music is at the root of my love for music. As a reminder, I choose composers for my 10 x 10 series from my growing list of 126 composers that identify themselves as either female or a composer of color. From this list, I have reached out to all living composers who have offered their email addresses to send me their choices for compositions that would fit into a specific category. For example, so far, I have requested music that would fit into these categories: Holiday (particularly December compositions), classical orchestra sized, concertos, music for spring, and string orchestra.
Once I receive composer’s music, I put their information on my database and then proceed to listen to their music. My intention is to present a diverse compilation of composers with respect to gender and race – though my primary interest is to offer compositions that I find compelling. Please note that these are my personal opinions and I do not consider myself a music critic for these lists. My goal is to offer examples that may interest Music and Artistic Directors from a variety of ensembles from the top tier symphony orchestras to community orchestras as we should all be in this together.
My very best to each of you as we adventure into 2021. Though we are not quite to the point where we can gather “normally” in public, I hope these are some compositions to get you excited for when we can.
I hope you enjoy!
Entries will follow the following format:
Composer Name (hyperlink to additional info about the composer)
Titles hyperlink to a recording
Length of composition
Link to rental information via publisher or composer website
Shuo (1994)
Check out more terrific String Compositions by these composers!!! (list is random)