2015 Koussevitzky Commissions Announced
Lei Liang, Dan Visconti, and Nina C. Young are among the recipients of commissions that have just been announced by the Serge Koussevitzky Music Foundation in the Library of Congress. The Foundation has announced that it will award a total of five commissions for the creation of new musical works. The commissions, awarded to both American and international composers, are granted jointly by the foundation and the performing organizations (also both American and international) that will present performances of the newly composed works. In addition, a special commission was awarded this past year to renowned composer Gunther Schuller, who completed the song-cycle Singing Poems, co-commissioned by the Boston ensemble Collage New Music, shortly before his death in June 2015.
The five award winners and the groups co-sponsoring their commissions are:
- Lei Liang and Art of Élan for the Formosa Quartet (all San Diego)
- Colin Matthews and the London Sinfonietta (both U.K.)
- Bent Sørensen (Denmark) and Quattro Mani (Colorado Springs)
- Dan Visconti (Chicago) and the California Symphony Orchestra (San Francisco Bay Area)
- Nina C. Young and The Nouveau Classical Project (both New York City)
Serge Koussevitzky, conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1924 to 1949, was a champion of contemporary music. Throughout his distinguished career, he played a vital role in the creation of new works by commissioning such composers as Béla Bartók, Leonard Bernstein, and Igor Stravinsky. He established the Koussevitzky Foundation in the Library to continue his lifelong commitment to composers and new music. Applications for commissions are accepted annually. The Koussevitzky commissioning program is designed primarily for established composers who have demonstrated considerable merit through their works and for orchestras and chamber groups that have a record of excellence in the performance of contemporary music. For more information, visit the Foundation’s website.
(—from the press release)