Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra

Songs from the Hispanic Diaspora II

Sunday, August 24, 2025 | 7:30 PMTimucua Arts Foundation

Join us for an evening of rich language, expressive music, and vibrant cross-cultural collaboration, where poetry and composition meet in a shared celebration of the Hispanic diaspora.

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The Central Florida Composers Forum (CF2) and Open Scene Orlando return to Timucua Arts Foundation for Songs of the Hispanic Diaspora II: a powerful continuation of last season’s collaborative celebration of Latin American poetry and contemporary music, in collaboration with musicians from the Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra (OCCO) and VoxO, and presented by Timucua Arts Foundation and Performing Arts Matter.

This second installment features all newly penned works by local composers setting iconic poems by remarkable poets from Nicaragua, Cuba, Argentina, Peru, and Chile. Featuring texts by Rubén Darío, Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda, José Martí, Alfonsina Storni, César Vallejo, Gabriela Mistral, and Vicente Huidobro, the concert pairs expressive new music with readings and cultural commentary, creating a rich, bilingual artistic experience.

Composers:
Troy Gifford · James Hall · Eric Heumann · Gerald Law II · Keith Lay · Mark Piszczek · Paul Austin Sanders · Bob Walker, Jr.

Performers from OCCO, VoxO, and CF2:
Keri Lee Pierson (soprano)
Emily Heumann (mezzo-soprano)
Julia Gessinger (violin)
Hannah Sun (piano)
Troy Gifford (guitar)

Poems will be recited in both Spanish and English by Charlie Griffin (OCCO/CF2) and Thamara Bejarano, with cultural context provided by Bejarano (Open Scene Orlando).

The evening’s program brings to life the words of celebrated Latin American poets, each reimagined in new musical settings by composers from Central Florida. These vivid, contemporary interpretations, featuring combinations of voice, piano, guitar, and violin, create an intimate and expressive tapestry of sound and verse.

NICARAGUA
Rubén Darío’s Sonatina, set by Gerald Law II for mezzo-soprano and guitar, opens the program with a dreamlike portrait of a young princess longing for a life beyond her royal surroundings.

CUBA
Al partir by Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda is a poignant farewell to Cuba, filled with longing and sorrow, and is set by James Hall for soprano and piano. Orlando maverick composer Keith Lay offers a bold setting for soprano and piano of José Martí’s iconic Yo soy un hombre sincero, a powerful declaration of honesty, openness, and personal resolve.

ARGENTINA
Alfonsina Storni’s Dulce tortura is a stirring depiction of conflicted desire and emotional complexity. Eric Heumann sets this poem for mezzo-soprano and piano, revealing both its sensuality and its quiet anguish.

PERÚ
In Los Heraldos Negros, César Vallejo gives voice to deep spiritual and existential pain. Paul Austin Sanders’s setting for mezzo-soprano and piano draws out the poem’s dark gravity and unanswered questions of suffering.

CHILE
Gabriela Mistral’s Hallazgo, a lyrical discovery of love, is set by Bob Walker Jr. for soprano, mezzo, and guitar, striving to capture the poem’s brief, luminous intimacy. Two works by Vicente Huidobro close the program: Días y noches te he buscado…, a symbolic search for truth and selfhood, set by Mark Piszczek for mezzo-soprano and piano; and Altazor, Canto I (fragment), an excerpt from Huidobro’s avant-garde masterpiece, set by Troy Gifford for soprano and guitar, evoking themes of flight, dislocation, and transcendence.

CF2 champions the creation and performance of new music by Central Florida composers, while Open Scene fosters artistic exchange across cultures and disciplines, amplifying the voices of Latin America. This shared vision makes Songs of the Hispanic Diaspora II a resonant and meaningful artistic gathering.

By Charlie Griffin, ago

Between Islands: New Music for Chamber Orchestra and Voices – Saturday, July 19, 2025

Blue Bamboo Center for the Arts – Winter Park, FL

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WINTER PARK, FL – The Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra (OCCO), led by Music Director Todd Craven, joins forces with Claire Hodge and the vocal ensemble VoxO for Between Islands, a compelling evening of new music for chamber orchestra and voices. The concert will be held on Saturday, July 19, 2025, at 8:00 PM at the Blue Bamboo Center for the Arts in Winter Park, Florida.

This performance marks one of the first concerts in the newly opened Blue Bamboo venue and features works by nine living composers, including several based in Central Florida. The program centers on themes of loss, renewal, community, and connection.

Ethan Soledad’s Legacy Songs of Unity is the centerpiece—a sweeping, lyrical choral work written in 2024 that celebrates resilience, community, and the power of music to unite and heal.

Central Florida Composers Forum members offer deeply personal contributions:

  • Charles Griffin’s Between Islands (2025) reimagines his 2016 trumpet‑and‑audio work with meditative winds and ritualistic percussion, tracing grief’s transformation into memory and peace.
  • Troy Gifford’s The Night is based on the poem The Night Has a Thousand Eyes by Francis William Bourdillon.
  • Alan Gerber’s sensitive setting of the traditional Irish blessing May the Road Rise to Meet You.

This program also includes:

  • Erich Barganier – Speaking in Tongues: Inspired by glossolalia and spiritual ecstasy, this piece explores fluid vocal expression and layered ensemble textures.
  • Saman Shahi – I HEARD A FLY BUZZ: A poignant SATB setting of Emily Dickinson’s poem emphasizing the fly’s “buzz” motif, silence, and stillness in death.
  • Maciej Bałenkowski – Comets: An early work (age 18) focused on expression, melody, and emotion, reflecting the composer’s fascination with the universe.
  • Robert Cohen – Connecticut Autumn: A choral‑orchestral setting of Hyam Plutzik’s poem, using autumnal imagery to explore aging, mortality, and passage of time.
  • Gerson de Sousa Batista – Babalon: A tribute to life, nature, and birth, inspired by the mother figure and celebrating creative origins.

These works span cosmic wonder, mystical ritual, personal reflection, and communal affirmation, offering a profoundly moving and varied evening of contemporary music.

Tickets are $30 and include an intermission.
Location: Blue Bamboo Center for the Arts, 460 E. New England Ave., Winter Park, FL
More Information: occo.music | voxomusic.org

By Charlie Griffin, ago

Bending Lightward: New Music for Chamber Orchestra – Friday, June 27, 2025

Blue Bamboo Center for the Arts – Winter Park, FL

Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra, directed by Todd Craven

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WINTER PARK, FL – The Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra (OCCO), led by Music Director Todd Craven, will present Bending Lightward, a program of new music for chamber orchestra, on Friday, June 27, 2025, at 8:00 PM at Blue Bamboo Center for the Arts in Winter Park, Florida.

The concert features recent works by six living composers, each offering a distinct musical voice and approach:

  • Michael Olson – Prisms
  • Oleksandr Shymko – Ecstatics
  • Alex Burtzos – The F-Word, featuring guest electric guitarist, Thomas Harrison
  • XY Mike Zhou – Roundabout
  • Rebekah Todia – Golden Harvest
  • Han Xu – A Few Practices of Chinese Acoustic Justice

Among the highlights of the program is The F-Word by Alex Burtzos, a piece originally composed for ShoutHouse and premiered in New York City in 2016. Written during a difficult creative period, the work explores themes of artistic struggle and is performed here with electric guitar soloist Thomas Harrison.

Rebekah Todia’s Golden Harvest reflects on seasonal change and personal growth. As the composer notes, “Golden Harvest has less to do with crops, and more about our personal experiences… It’s a time to reconnect with loved ones and to share our journey of self-discovery.”

Other works on the program include Olson’s Prisms, which examines light and texture through sound; Shymko’s Ecstatics, a piece full of energy and motion; Zhou’s Roundabout, with intricate rhythmic interplay; and Xu’s A Few Practices of Chinese Acoustic Justice, which draws on cultural perspectives in sound and form.

By Charlie Griffin, ago

Songs from the Hispanic Diaspora – August 17 @ Timucua Arts Foundation

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.

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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. 

By Charlie Griffin, ago

From the Ashes: Unforgettable Night of Music | Orlando OCCO & VoxO, July 27

Join Orlando’s premier chamber orchestra, OCCO, and the sensational VoxO for an unforgettable night of music focused on transformation and renewal inspired by the Phoenix. Experience world and regional premieres by composers from around the globe, including local talents from CF2. Don’t miss this powerful performance celebrating victory, beauty, and grace.

Featuring music by Barbara Kaszuba, Erik Branch, Bill Freas, Loren Loiacono, Eric Heumann, Jeremy Umlauf, Ayan Desai, Richard Rather, Anthony Mosakowski, and Derek Weagle.

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CONCERT PROGRAM

On the Mountain Glade
Barbara Kaszuba

Heaven
Erik Branch

Love’s Embrace
Bill Freas

The Awakening
Loren Loiacono

Agnus dei
Eric Heumann

Conduit
Jeremy Umlauf

Non Nobis Solum
Ayan Desai

Where I Live
Richard Ratner

The Mending
Anthony Mosakowski

Assembly
Derek Weagle

By Charlie Griffin, ago

HEROES & VILLAINS: A COMIC CON(CERT)! @ Harriet’s Orlando Ballet Center, June 1, 7 pm

Orlando, FL. This summer, the stage is set for an epic collision of music, visual art, and storytelling. On Saturday, June 1st at 7 pm, the Harriet’s Orlando Ballet Center will host “Heroes and Villains: A Comic Con(cert),” an extraordinary collaborative concert bridging the creative worlds of contemporary classical music and comic book artistry.

Presented by the Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra (OCCO) in collaboration with Central Florida Composers Forum and Silverline Comics, this first-of-its-kind event will immerse audiences in compelling musical narratives of heroism and villainy written by a fascinating array of exciting compositional voices from Florida, the U.S., and abroad. 

The evening’s program features an eclectic array of contemporary compositions by ascending artists such as Matt Browne, Jason Capehart Jr., Alexandros Darna, Inna Onofrei, and Erik Valdemar Sköld, among others, including a premiere by Orlando’s own Jeremy Umlauf. Visual projections featuring the work of local comic book publishing house Silverline Comics will enhance the musical experience.

Prior to the concert and during intermission, concertgoers will have the opportunity to meet comic book creators, who will display, sell, and sign their original works. Get your tickets now! BAM!

Silverline Comics Covers
By Charlie Griffin, ago

OCCO & VoxO premiere two CF2 works along with several others on September 9 @ Pugh Theater

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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. 

By Charlie Griffin, ago

OCCO-Deconstructed: LANDSCAPES OF SHADOW AND LIGHT at Blue Bamboo Center for the Arts, August 19 at 8 pm

Blue Bamboo Center For The Arts — 1905 Kentucky Ave, Winter Park, FL. Saturday, August 19, 2023 @ 8PM. Tickets are $25.

Get your tickets now, from the Blue Bamboo website

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

By Charlie Griffin, ago

HOMAGES: CF2 and OCCO at Harriet’s Orlando Ballet Center – July 29 at 7 pm

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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

By Charlie Griffin, ago