- David T. Little
-
David T. Little is an American composer and drummer known for his orchestral and operatic works, including his theatrical cantata "Soldier Songs" which was included in New York City Opera's VOX Contemporary American Opera Lab in 2008. Scenes from his new opera, Dog Days, were premiered at Carnegie Hall on May 9, 2009,[1] followed by a presentation as part of New York City Opera's VOX Contemporary Opera Lab on April 30, 2010.[2] The opera will be presented in a world premiere staging in Fall 2012 by famed American director Robert Woodruff. In September 2011 Baltimore Symphony will present the world premiere of a commission entitled "Charm".[3] He is currently the executive director of New York's MATA Festival[4] and the artistic director of Newspeak, an eight-piece amplified ensemble that explores the boundaries between rock and classical music.[5]
Biography
David T. Little's music has been performed throughout the world—including in Dresden, London, Edinburgh, LA, Montreal, and at the Tanglewood, Aspen, MATA and Cabrillo Festivals—by such performers as the London Sinfonietta, eighth blackbird, So Percussion, ensemble courage, Dither, NOW Ensemble, PRISM Quartet, the New World Symphony, American Opera Projects, the New York City Opera, the Grand Rapids Symphony and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra under Marin Alsop. He has received awards and recognition from The American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, Meet The Composer, the American Music Center, the Harvey Gaul Competition, BMI, and ASCAP, and has received commissions from Carnegie Hall, the Baltimore Symphony, the Albany Symphony, the New World Symphony, Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, the University of Michigan, and Dawn Upshaw’s Vocal Arts program at the Bard Conservatory.
Recent and upcoming projects include the opera Dog Days (Robert Woodruff, director; Royce Vavrek, librettist),[6] Haunt of Last Nightfall for Third Coast Percussion, RADIANT CHiLD for the New World Symphony, Conspiracy Theory for Darcy James Argue’e Secret Society–a new music big band–and new works for Nadia Sirota, Kathleen Supové, Lisa Moore/Ashley Bathgate, and the Baltimore Symphony under Marin Alsop. His and the sky was still there was recently released Todd Reynold’s Outerborough, on Innova records.
In 2004, Little founded the amplified octet Newspeak, for which he is also the drummer and artistic director. Hailed as “potent” (TheRestIsNoise.com), “innovative” (New York Magazine), and “fierce” (Time Out New York), Newspeak explores the relationship of music and politics, while confronting head-on the boundaries between the classical and the rock traditions. A New Amsterdam Records artist, Newspeak released its first CD of commissioned works in November 2010, to critical acclaim. “You could call this punk classical,” one critic proclaimed, noting that the disc is “fearlessly aware, insightfully political (and) resolutely defiant.”
Little holds degrees from Susquehanna University (2001), The University of Michigan (2002) and Princeton University (2006, PhD expected spring 2011), and his primary teachers have included Osvaldo Golijov, Paul Lansky, Steven Mackey, William Bolcom, and Michael Daugherty. He has taught music in New York City through Carnegie Hall’s Musical Connections program, served as the inaugural Digital Composer-in-Residence for the UK-based DilettanteMusic.com, and was recently appointed as the Executive Director of New York’s MATA Festival.[7]
References
- ^ https://www.newamsterdamrecords.com/#Event/David_T_Little_scene_from_Dog_Days
- ^ http://www.nycopera.com/calendar/view.aspx?id=12652
- ^ http://www.bsomusic.org/main.taf?p=5,9,1,1&prid=20110910_1&type=event&season=1112
- ^ http://matafestival.org/about-mata/staff-board/david-t-little/
- ^ http://www.newspeakmusic.org/about/
- ^ http://www.bethmorrisonprojects.org/index.php/site/projects/category/in_development/
- ^ http://davidtlittle.com/about/
Categories:- 1980 births
- American composers
- Opera composers
- Living people
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