The 16-voice ensemble VoxO, directed by Claire Hodge and joined by pianist Libby Chippeaux, violinist Julia Gessinger, cellist Jamie Clark, and harpist Haley Rhodeside, presents a first-of-its-kind program ever heard in Orlando: regional or world premieres of choral works written entirely by living Central Florida composers.
The works in this program explore the depths of the emotional and spiritual human experience, from the Korean lullaby Jajang-ga by ChanJiKim to Alex Burtzos’s setting of Shakespeare’s Come Away, Death. New spiritual works set in Latin, like Brandon Martin’s Ave Maris Stella, Stan Cording’s Exaudi Me, and Alan Gerber’s Ubi Caritas, complement the secular deeply poetic expression found in works like Troy Gifford’s Like Water, Chaz Underriner’s Forget Sleep, and Charlie Griffin’s In After Time.
Altos: Ashley Duvé, Alice Fortunato, Jennifer Hunt, Corrie Shaw
Tenors: William Ayers, Michael Clossey, Larry Fortunato, Enrique Ynaty
Basses: Michael Andrew Creighton, Jason Ernst, Linden Gould, Andrew V Smith
Many, many thanks to The Awesome Foundation for their support of this project, along with Full Sail University, University of Central Florida, Valencia College, Track Shack, and Tom Dyer.
Experience the adventurous spirit and wide-eyed wonder of childhood through music as Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra partners with 16-voice sensation VoxO for “Through a Child’s Eyes.” This exciting concert features five world premieres that contemplate life’s joys and sorrows from a youthful perspective.
Let William Blake’s poetic ode “A Cradle Song” transport you to a place of innocence shielded from life’s harshness. Feel the liminal space between dreaming and waking in Ella Higginson’s mystical “Dawn.” Learn music’s magic alongside Robert Louis Stevenson’s whimsical verses. Marvel at the child-like visual poetry of e.e. cummings’ imaginary world where effortless love reigns in Charlie Griffin’s setting of who knows if the moon’s a balloon, rearranged specifically for VoxO at the request of their director, Claire Hodge. Grieve a child taken too soon yet find resilience in his spirit with Abby Henkel’s setting of Mary Craig’s elegiac “Perigee.” Dance with shorebirds on sandy shores through the playful lens of “Gymnopedie.” And wander in awe through a meadow’s symphony of shimmering lights.
Under the direction of Todd Craven (OCCO) and Claire Hodge (VoxO), this imaginative program will be performed on September 9 at 8 p.m. at the Alexis and Jim Pugh Theater of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. Experience choral music anew as “Through a Child’s Eyes” offers a kaleidoscope of perspectives, allowing you to reconnect to life’s beauty.
Experience contemporary chamber music at its finest when Performing Arts Matter presents the Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra and Central Florida Composer Forum in “OCCO Deconstructed: Landscapes of Shadow and Light.” Hear music by award-winning composers performed by small ensembles of OCCO’s outstanding musicians.
The program includes Alex Burtzos‘ “King | Cawdor,” depicting the emotional turmoil of political power; Sharon Omens‘ “Thoroughfare,” contrasting urban loneliness and natural connectedness; Troy Gifford‘s energetic string quartet works “Lumina” and “Lacerta”; Dan Crozier’s haunting “Nocturne” for cello and piano; and Christian Yom’s “Sansori,” merging traditional Korean music and lush strings. The evening concludes with Charlie Griffin‘s “Cambiando Paisajes,” a piano trio work inspired by Latin rhythms.
With passionate performances and thought-provoking new music, this evening of shadow and light is not to be missed. Experience contemporary music as it was meant to be heard – live on stage.
The performers for this event are: Jamie Clark – Cello Nora Lee Garcia – Flute Julia Gessinger – Violin Elliot May – Bass Haley Rhodeside – Harp Jazmin Skipper – Bassoon Jessica Speak – Clarinet Hannah Sun – Piano Anabel Tejada – Viola Andreas Volmer – Violin
Don’t miss “Homages,” the inaugural concert of our 2023 summer series
Experience an electrifying night of contemporary classical music performed by the acclaimed Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra at Harriet’s Orlando Ballet Center on July 29th at 7 pm. The program features exhilarating performances by some of today’s most exciting local and national composers that confront generational tensions, pay homage to tango masters, and wrestle with life’s uncertainties.
Alex Burtzos‘ fierce “RAGE” channels the pent-up frustration of youth through driving metal rhythms. Troy Gifford‘s sensuous “Milonga Abandonada” lovingly embraces the spirit of Argentine tango. Ryan Homsey’s meditative “Music and Life Mingle” pays tribute to legendary film composer Richard Robbins. Cole Reyes’ kinetic “Sprint” is a frenetic tour de force. Jeremy Umlauf‘s poignant “Sisyphus” immortalizes the mythic Greek hero in music. And Jamie Wehr’s unforgettable “Where is John Galt?” featuring rising-star guest pianist Caroline Owen pays homage to Leonard Bernstein via the iconoclastic work of author Ayn Rand.
Don’t miss this one chance to hear some of the best musicians in Orlando tackle these bold new works for the chamber orchestra. Claim your seat today for a concert that will linger in your mind long afterward.
The ever-passionate and always-prepared Maestro Todd Craven will conduct the Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra.
This series represents a cooperative effort between Performing Arts Matter, Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra, and Central Florida Composers Forum.
OCCO’s amazing performers are:
Concertmaster: Julia Gessinger Violin 2: Galen Kaup Viola: Marla Morgan Cello: Paul Fleury Bass: Elliot MayFlute and Piccolo: Tammara Phillips Flute, Alto Flute, Piccolo: Tina Edelstein Oboe: Charles McGee Clarinet: Jessica Speak Bass Clarinet: Keith Koons Bassoon: Jazmin Skipper Trumpet: Griffin Weber Trombones: Joseph Vascik, Laurie Penpraze, Alex Regazzi Percussion: Bryant Bernal, Madison Schafer, Paul Yorke
CF2 composer mentor Alex Burtzos and his FSYO composer mentee Victor Acuna will receive back-to-back premieres of freshly written works for the FSYO Jazz Ensemble on Saturday, May 6 at 11:00 AM.
This double premiere represents the first of four mentor/mentee pairings that were created as part of Central Florida Composers Forum’s ongoing collaboration with the Florida Symphony Youth Orchestras, and we could not be more excited.
Alex’s piece is entitled Sin City and Victor’s is Cavalcade (inspired by the classic Caravan).
Stan Cording is an Orlando native and Rollins College graduate who writes music in a style called New Lyricism. He writes music in a wide range of genres and forms, from art song to choral, chamber, orchestral and Christmas music. His album, Christmas Carols Old and New, is available from Amazon.
This is the premier performance of Fête, which was written especially for the Confetti Trio.
It has 4 short movements, depicting the moods created by various decorations at a party: Streamers, Banners, Lanterns and Tinsel.
A composer and writer, Charlie Griffin was born and raised in New York. Active in the Orlando area since 2010, he teaches in Full Sail University’s Bachelor of Science in Music Production degree program, is the founder and director of the Central Florida Composers Forum, and has been a large budget panelist for United Arts of Central Florida. His original music has been performed in 20 countries in venues like Washington DC’s Kennedy Center, New York’s Merkin and Weill recital halls, the American Cathedral in Paris, festivals such as Aspen, SpoletoUSA, and Mexico’s International Cervantino, and conferences such as the WPPC (World Piano Pedagogy Conference), PASIC (Percussive Arts Society), ACDA (American Choral Directors Association) and NFA (National Flute Association). Recent commissions include works for the Bay Area choral ensemble 21V and the Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra. His non-fiction children’s picture book, Indy and Jenny, is available on Amazon and all major outlets.
Samba Variations was originally commissioned and recorded by guitarist Robert Phillips as part of a multi-composer project for a CD release called Orange Blossom Dances. The title, I hope, is self-explanatory. I since revised and rearranged it for two of my dearest friends, guitarist and composer Troy Gifford and clarinetist Jessica Hall-Speak. This version adds substantially new melodic material.
In 2004 The New York Times named Keith Lay (b.1958 Barberton, OH) “a composer to watch for.” Gramophone magazine described his music as “unapologetically emotional ” (2005). The Orlando Weekly called him “Orlando’s most inventive composer.”
“My goal is to inspire reverent wonder about the world of sound and the science, perceptions, and emotions that connect us to nature and each other. A life of curiosity, working, music-making, teaching, and growing with Vipassana, Deep Listening, and experimenting help me achieve it.”
To pay respect to James Brown, I cataloged the riffs in his 1972 “Funky Drummer” to create “Funky Tubes for Tuba Trio,” commissioned by the FMTNA, premiering at their convention in 2018.
I met Bob after hearing about his search into lost metallurgic processes that produced superior tubas in the 19th Century and his sons at “Distance Music at Lake Eola” playing monstrous instruments. As his first call for studio sessions, drummer Gerald Law came to my attention through producer Darren Schneider.
The extreme range of “Funky Tubas” is FIENDISHLY DIFFICULT, which just made the Carpenters love it more. I’ve rewritten it many times to make it easier, but they will have none of it! Because of their long wavelengths, tuba notes take longer to speak, dragging the tempo without constant vigilance. I’ve added the immediate sound of the drums to help maintain funk’s necessary precision.
Seunghee Lee (b.1980) is a Korean-American composer/pianist/educator. Born and raised in Seoul, South Korea, Lee moved to the United States in 2003 and has been on the music faculty at Ave Maria University in Ave Maria, FL since 2015.
Performances of her composition have taken place in notable venues and festivals worldwide, including concert halls in Germany, Finland, Italy, Hong Kong, Columbia, South Korea and across the United States. Her music has won several competitions, residencies, and commissions, including the 2019 Judith Lang Zaimont Prize of International Alliance for Women in Music, McCormick Percussion Group Commission, Florida Youth Symphony Orchestra Composer Residency, and Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra Commission. www.seungheeleemusic.com
Heung, for Piano (Merriment for Piano, 2022), is a piece I wrote for Pianist Chee Hyeon Choi. Her interest in contemporary piano repertoires representing Korean traditional tunes and beats were the main compositional inspiration for this project. This piece is my own interpretation of traditional Korean music, keeping the fundamental impression of tunes and beats (i.e. half-step grace notes for pitch-bending, quasi-whole tone scales, mimicking the performance style of Janggu drum, etc.). I’ve written four short movements to represent four emotions (happiness, anger, sadness, and joy), which are the main emotions frequently referred in East Asian cultures as Hee, Roh, Ae, and Rack (희로애락, 喜怒哀樂). In the midst of going through these emotions over four thousand years, Korean people have kept merriment alive with them to this day.
Brandon Martin is an Orlando-based vocalist and composer. While he regularly performs at EPCOT with The Voices of Liberty, he has also performed as soloist with the Orlando Philharmonic and has been an actor in or music director for various local theatre productions. As a composer/arranger, Brandon has been commissioned by Florida Symphony Youth Orchestras for its 2019-20 and 2022-23 seasons and is published by Excelcia Music.
Program Notes:
“Confession Drops” and “Full of Life Now” come from a song cycle called Calamus, sharing the name of a collection of Walt Whitman poems. These poems have been interpreted as homophilic, conjuring scenes of “manly, adhesive love” between comrades: at times celebrating the platonic love and camaraderie between men, but sometimes, in a quieter tone, celebrating the romantic love between men. As a fan of Whitman’s poetry, it seems some of his most intimate writing. As a gay man, it feels like a “coming out”, an illuminating and celebrating of love that too often, throughout history, is shrouded in shadow.
Paul Austin Sanders has been with Central Florida Composers forum since 2018 …so far, since then he has had the opportunity to premier 6 original soundscapes at the CF2 Salon concerts in 2018 and 2019 at Timucua Arts Foundation ..And Compose an original Wind Quintet score for the Joint project with Orlando Story ..where each composer wrote original music to go with each story teller.Paul Moved here from Seattle ,Washington originally to work in entertainment at Disney and later Universal..Since then he has been evolved in the arts community in a variety of ways in Music, Theatre, Film and Visual Art..He Was a Voice Major at Western Washing University in Bellingham ,Washington , with additional Studies in Composition,jazz bass and Actors Studio….
This will be his first Neo Classical composition to premier at Timucua..This Elations String Quartet 4th movement was completed during the early days of the Pandemic lock down.which became a very creative time..where a diversity of new neo classical music was begun..As well he was able to put together some new creative pages to get his music and art expressions out on to the internet
Sunday, October 23 – Timucua White House 2000 South Summerlin, Orlando, FL 32806. Doors: 7pm. Concert: 7:30. VIP Tickets are $30, other seating by donation.
For nine years, Central Florida Composers Forum (CF2) has been offering its members a first-come, first-on, get-er-done yerself opportunity to present work to the Orlando/Central Florida public. The composers themselves perform or arrange for the performers. That always means a wider variety of sonic possibilities than a more typical curated CF2 concert featuring a unified instrumentation.
Alex BurtzosStan CordingCharlie GriffinKeith LaySeunghee Lee Brandon MartinPaul Austin SandersFeatured Composers
This program features Alex Burtzos’s SEA, for Vibraphone; Stan Cording’s Fête for violin, flute, and oboe; Charlie Griffin’s Samba Variations for clarinet and guitar; Keith Lay’s Funky Tubes for three tubas and drums; Seunhee Lee’s Heung (Merriment) for solo piano, Brandon Martin’s “Confession Drops” and “Full of Life Now” from Calamus for tenor and piano; and Paul Austin Sanders’s Elations – Mvt. 4 for string quartet.
The Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra launches its 2022 summer concert season in partnership with the Central Florida Composers Forum, (CF2) with each concert featuring a premiere by a local composer member of CF2. The first concert of the series is called To There From Here, and features CF2 composer Charlie Griffin‘s Looking Up in Perfect Silence at the Stars, an 18-minute work for 18-piece chamber orchestra, along with David Wilborn‘s Rhapsody for Bass Trombone and Chamber Orchestra (featuring the composer on bass trombone), and Kyle Throw‘s Myth and Dreams.
The concert will take place at Harriet’s Orlando Ballet Centre (600 N Lake Formosa Drive in Orlando) on June 18 at 7pm. Tickets are $25 and are available here.
Friday, October 1, 2021 – Timucua Arts Foundation 2000 South Summerlin, Orlando, FL 32806. at 7:00 PM and 8:30 PM Tickets $20/$10 students, veterans, Timucua & CFCF members
Pianists Will Daniels, Rose Grace, and Barry Snyder perform a striking and stimulating program of new music by local composers. Join us for the Central Florida Composers’ Forum’s fall concert, which will present new music for piano by local composers. Pianists Will Daniels, Rose Grace, and Barry Snyder perform a striking and stimulating program of music by ChanJi Kim, Keith Lay, Troy Gifford, Stan Cording, Charlie Griffin, Jamie Wehr, Erik Branch, and Alex Burtzos.
There are two performances of this program, one at 7 PM and one at 8:30 PM.
Sunday, August 29 – Timucua White House 2000 South Summerlin, Orlando, FL 32806. Doors: 7pm. Concert: 7:30. VIP Tickets are $30, other seating by donation.
For eight years, Central Florida Composers Forum (CF2) has been offering its members a first-come, first-on, get-er-done yerself opportunity to present work to the Orlando/Central Florida public. The composers themselves perform or arrange for the performers. That always means a wider variety of sonic possibilities than a more typical, curated CF2 concert featuring a unified instrumentation, and if you’re looking for even more concerts you can use services that offer concerts near me to find more events.
This program features Erik Branch’s Late Hours, for guitar and piano; Alex Burtzos’s Atoms, for guitar and drum set, Kasey Crawford’s It’s A Game, for solo piano; Stan Cording’s Seven Wonders, for voice and piano;Chaz Underriner’s LandScape Home, for guitar, field recording, and video; Bob Walker Jr.’s Two Lane Road To Nowhere, for two guitars, bass guitar, and piano; Jeremy Umlauf’s Falling Cycle, for soprano voice and piano; and Jamie Wehr’s Vignettes for Clarinet, for two clarinets.
