Prepare to be captivated by the sheer expanse of expression as classical stylings intertwine with innovative multimedia, rock fusions, jazz improvisations, and audacious new tonal territories. Three consummate guitarist-composers — Nate Chivers, Nick Scout, and Troy Gifford — converge on one stage, united by their passion for the guitar, but each charting a unique creative cosmos.
Special guests include drummer Jaysen Rosario, guitarists Michael van Gelder and Allen Nicholas Kooken, multi-instrumentalist Nathan Taylor, and cellist/bassist Elliot May.
Guest composers include Alex Burtzos and Benoit Glazer.
Special pricing is available for members, students, teachers, frontline workers, veterans, and seniors.
In-person and livestream tickets are available. This event is part of Timucua’s International Guitar Festival 2024.
The concert will open with Troy Gifford performing his own solo works Cherith, Woodbury, Danza Triste, Valsera, and Evocacion y Furia. Nick Scout will play his A Toast to the Old Us followed by his La Danse de Rats, performed by Troy Gifford and Allen Nicholas Kooken on guitar. The program continues with Scout’s Loss of a Child, performed by Michael Van Gelder and Nathan Taylor on guitar, along with Elliot May on cello. Troy Gifford and Nick Scout will then team up for Benoit Glazer’s MaraTanVal. Alex Burtzos’s Atoms will be performed by Nate Chivers on guitar and Jaysen Rosario on drum kit. Finally, Nate Chivers will close the concert with Flower, Getting Better, Slink, and Simplicity.
These pioneering artists will explore cherished guitar traditions with bold new visions for the future, promising a transcendent evening of expansive guitar odysseys that will make you see the guitar in a new light.
On Saturday, August 17, 2024, at 7:30 p.m., Timucua Arts Foundation hosts “Songs from the Hispanic Diaspora” — an intimate musical exploration of the resonating experiences of exile, displacement, and the dreamlike impermanence of existence through the poetic lens of the Spanish-speaking world. This powerful concert by the Central Florida Composers Forum (CF2) features six newly commissioned works bringing to life poetry by pillars of Hispanic literature meticulously curated by Thamara Bejarano from Open Scene.
From Spain, Alex Burtzos sets Pedro Calderón de la Barca’s famed “La vida es sueño” in English, while Rebekah Todia captures Juan Ramón Jiménez’s “Yo no volveré” – both grappling with life’s illusory nature. Colombian poet Eduardo Carranza’s vivid imagery of the dead catalyzes a new work by Nate Chivers. Sorjuanista Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz’s amorous “Amor empieza por desasosiego” inspires Erik Branch’s musical perspectives on love’s ephemeral passions. The sensual longing of Puerto Rican writer Luis Llorens Torres’ poetry fuels Brandon Martin‘s latest work. And Jeremy Umlauf captures the Venezuelan poet Vicente Gerbasi’s mystical ode to nature “Bosque de música.”
Performed by an intimate ensemble of Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra musicians (flute, cello, piano) and singers from the vocal ensemble VoxO, these arresting musical offerings immerse the audience in the nostalgic dreamscapes and metaphysical reckonings born of the diasporic experience. Contextual insights by Open Scene’s Thamara Bejarano intersperse the performances, guiding a transcendent exploration of Hispanic literary and musical consciousness.
This performance represents a 5-way collaboration between Central Florida Composers Forum, Open Scene, Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra, VoxO and the Timucua Arts Foundation. OCCO and VoxO appear under the auspices of Performing Arts Matter.
The Lyric Arts Trio of Kansas City (Elena Lence Talley, clarinet; Daniel Velicer, piano; and Sarah Tannehill Anderson, soprano) have delighted audiences throughout the Midwest with their technical and artistic abilities and wonderful musicianship. They project a warmth and pleasure in performing concerts crafted around a central theme, complemented by informal remarks about the music that enlighten and entertain audiences. In this concert, they will be performing:
Stella Sung — Three Songs on Poems by Robert Frost Charlie Griffin — When Great Trees Fall Alex Burtzos — The Explosion, and Other Tales, Mvt. III.Dublinesque Troy Gifford — Night Voices Mark Piszczek— Star Fell Alan Gerber — Mvts. 1 & 4 from Love’s Paradox Seunghee Lee — Selected movements from Dancheong
Event Venue
Timucua Arts Foundation 2000 S Summerlin Ave Orlando, FL 32806
Discounted tickets are available for members, students, teachers, frontline workers, veterans, and seniors. In-person and livestream tickets are available. Please bring a bottle of wine or non-alcoholic beverage to share.
STELLA SUNG
As a national and international award-winning composer, the music of Stella Sung has been performed throughout the United States and abroad. She served as the first Composer-in-Residence for the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra (2008-2011), and was one of the five composers nationally selected for a “Music Alive” award, a three-year award that allowed Dr. Sung to serve as Composer-In-Residence for the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance (2013-16), sponsored by New Music USA, the League of American Orchestras, ASCAP, the Aaron Copland Fund, and the Andrew Mellon Foundation. Dr. Sung is Composer-in-Residence for Dance Alive National Ballet (Gainesville, FL).
Stella Sung is the recipient of numerous awards, including a 2020-21 “Commissioning Grant for Female Composers” from Opera America and a 2021-22 NEA grant for her opera The Secret River (with Pulitzer Prize-winning librettist Mark Campbell commissioned and produced by Opera Orlando). She is the recipient of a Phi Kappa Phi National Artists Award, Florida Individual Artists Fellowships, a fellowship at the prestigious MacDowell Colony, and awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP).
Premieres, performances, and commissions of Dr. Sung’s work have included compositions for world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma, the German Ministry of Culture (Rhineland-Pfalz), the National Symphony Orchestra, the Houston Symphony Orchestra, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the Cincinnati Pops, the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance, the Boston Landmarks Orchestra, the Monterey (CA) Symphony, the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra, the Akron Symphony Orchestra, the Sarasota Symphony Orchestra, the Jacksonville (FL) Symphony Orchestra, and other university and regional orchestras, chamber music ensembles, and soloists.
Several documentary films have been made about Sung’s work, including a film by award-winning documentary filmmaker Lisa Mills, which captures the world premiere performance of Sung’s large orchestral work, The Circle Closes (2010). This film has garnered a Silver Medal Award from the 2011 Park City Film Music Festival (Park City, Utah) and a 2011 Bronze Telly Award. Sung’s highly acclaimed composition for orchestra, Rockwell Reflections, was excerpted and made into a five-minute film by Lisa Mills and was selected for the Cultural Arts Award at the 2009 International MOFILM short film festival.
Another award-winning documentary film about Sung’s Concerto for Two Violins and Orchestra by filmmaker Aaron Hosé was selected for two Telly Awards (2007).
The music of Stella Sung is published by the Theodore Presser Music Publishers (USA), Editions Henry Lemoine (France), Southern Music Company (Keiser, USA), and Sonic Star Music Productions (USA), and is currently available on Koch International Recordings, Naxos, Cambria Master Recordings, Sinfonica (Italy), Eroica Master Recordings, MSR, and Albany Records. Sung’s compositions have been broadcast on radio stations worldwide, including WGBH-Boston, WBUR-Boston, WNYC-New York, KING FM radio (Seattle, WA), the Bavarian Radio (Munich, Germany), the Swedish National Radio, and Radio Vaticana (Rome, Italy).
Sung holds a Bachelor of Music degree (piano performance) from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), a Master of Fine Arts degree (Composition) from the University of Florida, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree (piano performance) from the University of Texas at Austin. The University of Florida has recognized Dr. Sung as a Distinguished Alumna, an Alumna of Outstanding Achievement, and she has also received a Distinguished Achievement Award from UF.
Dr. Sung is the director of the Center for Research and Education in Arts, Technology, and Entertainment (CREATE) at the University of Central Florida, College of Arts and Humanities. Dr. Sung holds a “Pegasus” Professorship, the highest honor awarded to distinguished faculty members at the University of Central Florida, and is also an endowed “University Trustees Chair” professor.
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 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
Wednesday, January 29. The Abbey – 100 S. Eola Drive, Suite 100, Orlando FL Show starts at 7:30pm, doors open at 7:00pm $15 in advance, $20 at the door
What happens when six composers from the Central Florida Composers Forum collaborate with six storytellers from the Orlando Weekly “Best of 2019” Orlando Story Club on a predetermined theme? The result is “Joyland,” a one-of-a-kind and first-of-its kind event in Central Florida, produced by the Downtown Arts District. Storytellers will perform compelling personal experiences accompanied by original scores by local composers. The stories and styles are as diverse as our city, they have been in wonderful places performing and learning at Muse Mantra School of Music & Arts for next shows.
The pairs are as follows: Bobby Wesley with Mark Piszczek; Jesse James with Charlie Griffin; Logan Anderson with Erik Branch; Madeline Potts with Paul Austin Sanders; Daniele Ziss with Alex Burtzos; and Aquanza Cadogan with Holly Cordero.
The storytellers will perform with live music by players drawn from the local Alterity Chamber Orchestra, a group known for its dedication to performing contemporary music at the highest levels: Tina Edelstein, flute; Beatriz Ramirez, oboe; Jessica Speak, clarinet; Kathy Thomas, horn; and Christian Eberle, bassoon.
ORLANDO, FL – In partnership with Florida Symphony Youth Orchestras (FSYO), the Central Florida Composers Forum invited current members to apply for one of five composer residencies with ensembles within the FSYO organization. Residencies will take place during FSYOs 63rd concert season with the unifying theme for all residences being PULSE. Each composer was left to interpret that theme in any meaningful and appropriate way.
Overture Strings will premiere a commissioned piece by composer Ryan McQuinn during the POPs in the Garden concert on Sunday, February 9, 2020, at The Grove at Mead Botanical Garden. “My piece for the young children in Overture Strings embraces unity while celebrating diversity,” says McQuinn. “It’s wonderful to witness the youngest musicians learning to walk. I hope that my piece helps them feel more sure-footed and inspires confidence that bolsters their journey.”
The Prelude Orchestra will premiere a commissioned piece by Timothy Stulman during the Spring Classics concert on Sunday, March 8, 2020 at Edgewater High School. “It’s an honor to have the chance to work with such talented young musicians,” says Stulman. “Young players are often times even more creative and receptive than seasoned professionals, since the world is newer for them.” Also premiering a piece during the Spring Classics alongside the Philharmonia Orchestra is composer Alex Burtzos. Burtzos notes, “My piece for the Philharmonia Orchestra addresses the word PULSE according to its musical, biological, and historical meanings; it’s an emotional work that will demand a virtuosic response from these talented young performers.”
The Jazz 1 Orchestra will premiere a commissioned piece by composer Scott Dickinson during the Jazz at Blue Bamboo concert on Sunday, April 19, 2020 at Blue Bamboo Center for the Arts. “I’m thrilled to get the chance to compose for the gifted young musicians that comprise the FSYO Jazz Orchestra,” says Dicksinon. “There are few experiences that can invigorate a future composer like performing a new piece written specifically for you! I’ll be creating a piece that’s both tailored to the strengths of the musicians, and also inspired by our shared theme of PULSE.”
The Symphonic Orchestra, led by Music Director Hanrich Claassen, will premiere a commissioned piece by composer Brandon Martin during FSYO’s 63rd Season Finale concert on Sunday, May 3, 2020 at Calvary Orlando. “I seek to write a piece that addresses the Pulse Shooting: not only exploring the grief and sadness in its aftermath, but also the healing, the affirmation of self, and the celebration of being alive,” says Martin. “I am excited to work with an organization such as FSYO that is passionate about educating the next generation of musicians.”
Tickets for each of the concerts may be purchased online at www.fsyo.org with special pricing for children, student, senior, and military. Florida academic and private teachers receive free admission to all FSYO season subscription concerts with proof of I.D.
About the Composers:
Ryan McQuinn – Ryan has worked on various video games and podcasts such as Interstellar Space: Genesis, Lotia, Dungeons & Doritos, Call of Cthulu Mystery Program, Liberty: Vigilance, and Dark Dice. He is currently creating sfx for Axe Cop, scoring and doing sound design for the Lightning Dogs short film, and writing orchestral versions of Johnny Cash music for Cash & Friends.
Timothy Stulmam – Timothy has received numerous honors and awards at both national and international levels. As the winner of the First Music Commission, he was commissioned to compose an orchestral piece for the New York Youth Symphony that was premiered in Carnegie Hall on March 7, 2010. His music has been selected for performance by the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, Toledo Youth Orchestra, the International Tribuna Sax-Ensemble in Madrid, and the BGSU Philharmonia. He was a featured composer at University of Central Missouri’s New Music Festival, Electronic Music Midwest, the 1st Annual Huntsville New Music Festival, and Juventas New Music Ensemble’s Murmurs from Limbo concert series.
Alex Burtzos – Alex is an American composer and conductor based in New York City and Orlando, FL. His work has been performed across four continents, and released on New Amsterdam and Sono Luminus record labels. Alex has collaborated with some of the world’s foremost contemporary musicians and ensembles, including JACK Quartet, Yarn/Wire, Contemporaneous, ETHEL, loadbang, Jenny Lin, RighteousGIRLS, and many others. He is the founder and artistic director of ICEBERG New Music, a New York-based composers’ collective, and the conductor of the hip-hop/classical chamber orchestra ShoutHouse.
Scott Dickinson – Scott has won multiple awards for big band arrangement and professional and collegiate jazz ensembles across the country have played his compositions and arrangements. He was recognized as the honorable mention in the Doc Severinsen International Orchestral Composition Contest. He has been commissioned to write for jazz ensembles, choir, and orchestra. Scott is the Course Director for Musical Arrangement in the Music Production Department at Full Sail University and is a member of the Dr. Phillips Jazz Orchestra.
Brandon Martin – Brandon is a performer/vocalist, choral clinician/conductor, composer, and former music educator. He currently sings with The Voices of Liberty at Walt Disney World Resort. He also sings with the Tampa Spiritual Ensemble and serves on the Board of Directors for the Orlando Gay Chorus. He was commissioned by the Association of Anglican Musicians for their 2015 Annual Conference, and has written orchestrations for St. Pete Opera.
About FSYO:Florida Symphony Youth Orchestras exists to encourage children and young adults, through the practice and performance of orchestral music, to become passionate leaders, thinkers, and contributors in their local community and beyond. In its 63rd Concert Season. Today, FSYO serves almost 300 students and is comprised of seven ensembles – three symphony orchestras, one string-training orchestra, a chamber orchestra, two jazz orchestras – and two supplementary programs – Stringmania Summer Camp and Sing-Song, String-Along.
FSYO programs are carefully structured to encourage student growth with FSYO throughout their primary and secondary years. Florida Symphony Youth Orchestras full range of ensembles gives each student a place to excel with peers at a similar level, and an opportunity to collaborate with seasoned music professionals on local, national, and international levels. During summers, Symphonic Orchestra students participate in life-changing experiences of organized tours, alternating between international & national travel every other year.
Programs are sponsored in part by the Florida Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs; the Florida Council on Arts and Culture; Orlando Utilities Commission; The City of Orlando, Mayor’s Matching Grant; and United Arts of Central Florida. We thank these groups for their generous support.
Central Florida Composers Forum – 7th Annual Composers DIY Salon Concert Sunday, September 29 at the Timucua White House 2000 South Summerlin, Orlando, FL 32806. Doors: 7pm. Concert: 7:30. VIP Tickets are $30, other seating by donation.
For seven 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.
This program features Rebekah Todia’s Crossing The Bar, for piano and voice; Melody Cook’s For Two Voices, No. 2, for clarinet and piano; Holly Cordero’s Personified Bliss, for string quartet, Bob Jr.’s Conjure the Storm, for piano, guitar, bass, and drums; Paul Austin Sanders’ electronic compositions Danze Africanne, Spirit of the East, and Bop Latinesque; ChanJi Kim’s Imaginary Lines for clarinet and audio; and premieres of Alex Burtzos’ X Codes, for violin, clarinet, and piano, and also his Perforation, for solo piano.
Central Florida Composers Forum presents “Waterfalls, Forests, Coastlines, and other Musical Dreams,” a concert of works by local composers at Timucua White House, March 31.
Winter Park, Florida – The Central Florida Composers Forum will present “Waterfalls, Forests, Coastlines, and other Musical Dreams,” a showcase concert of selected works scored for Pierrot Ensemble by Full Sail University composer and Central Florida Composers Forum founder and Executive Director Charlie Griffin, University of Central Florida’s recent transplant Alex Burtzos, Orlando-based composers Erik Branch, Damien Simon, and film composer and Cocoa Beach resident Joe Gray.
The term Pierrot Ensemble refers to a specific instrumentation used by Austrian (and later Austrian-American) composer Arnold Schoenberg for his seminal and most famous work, Pierrot Lunaire. Composed in 1912 for voice, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, and percussion, this combination was subsequently taken up by many later composers such as Milton Babbitt, John Cage, and Peter Maxwell Davies.
The musicians featured in this concert will be Julie Bateman (voice), Katie Mess (flute), Erik Cole (clarinet), Pepina Dell’Ollio (violin), Abigail Collins (cello), Ammon Perry Bratt (piano), and Justin Steger (percussion).
A diverse collection of works on the program include Charlie Griffin’s Shifting Coastlines, a trio of songs whose lyrics are taken from an anthology of poetry called Verse and Universe. These songs all draw upon science and math to explore the human experience. One example from the set is “Love’s Discrete Non-linearity,” a poem set like a Gypsy tango that uses the language of Chaos Theory to understand a romantic relationship. Selections from two works by Alex Burtzos will be on the program: The Birth of Dangun, a ballet based on the Korean myth of creation, and The Impossible Object, a multi-movement work inspired by works of M.C. Escher. Four vignettes by Erik Branch will include a premiere of his Brises Dansantes. The concert will be rounded out by Joe Gray’s The Black Forest, and Damien Simon’s Change.
The concert will take place on March 31 at the Timucua White House, 2000 South Summerlin, Orlando, FL 32806. Doors open at 7pm. Concert at 7:30. Tickets are by donation.
There’s a reason you don’t see many violinists outside of the classical sphere, because it’s a hard instrument to master and apply to other genres at will. And that’s why it’s beautiful, when you pick up an amazon violin, especially for the first time, it fights back. You form a deep, unique connection with an instrument like that.
