The renowned American composer Daniel Asia will be in residence at UTC, November 1 through 3. These events are free and open to the public:
- Breath in a Ram’s Horn: the Jewish Spirit in Classical Music, on Sunday November 1 at 7:30 p.m. in Cadek Recital Hall, including ‘live’ performances.
- Aesthetics, Beauty, and Music, a lecture on Nov. 2 at 5:30 p.m. in Roland Hayes Concert Hall, with a reception to follow in the lobby.
- The Music of Daniel Asia, a concert on Tuesday, Nov. 3, at 7:30 p.m. in Roland Hayes Concert Hall. Following the concert will be an opportunity to talk with the composer about his music.
Asia will also make a presentation to students on “The Act of Composing,” Monday, Nov. 2 at 1:00 p.m. in room 210 of the Fine Arts Center.
“This residency with Daniel Asia is a unique opportunity to hear from and interact with a creative individual of international stature; a person who has earned numerous honors and awards; who has an extensive list of professional recordings and publications in circulation; and who is also a person who is very much in touch with what it is to be human,” said Dr. Jonathan B. McNair, Coordinator of Music Theory and Composition in the UTC Department of Music.
You can listen to an interview with Asia at WUTC.org.
Asia’s music has been commissioned, performed and recorded by prominent orchestras and soloists around the USA, Europe, and New Zealand. His music is recorded on the Summit, New World, Albany, Babel, Innova, and Mushkatweek labels featuring artists as diverse as New Zealand Symphony, Pilsen Philharmonic (release pending), American Brass Quintet, Dorian Wind Quintet, and Cypress String Quartet, among others.
“Daniel Asia’s music is approachable and colorful, and has rhythmic verve as well as lyricism. One can hear some clear connections to the line of great composers in the United States throughout the past 100 years or so, as well as the occasional sense of the influence of jazz or rock (especially in a piece like ‘Miles Mix’ which incorporates samples from Miles Davis and the group Weather Report),” said McNair. “His music is also challenging at times, in the sense that one cannot put one’s ears to sleep while listening.”
Asia has done renowned work in both the realms of professional performance and academia. As testament to this he is a 2010 recipient of a major American Academy of Arts and Letters award. He has been the recipient of the most important grants and fellowships in music including a Meet The Composer/ Reader’s Digest Consortium Commission, United Kingdom Fulbright Arts Award Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, four NEA Composers Grants, and several others. From 1991-1994, Asia was the Composer-in-Residence with the Phoenix Symphony.
A graduate of Hampshire College and the Yale School of Music, Asia is presently Professor of Composition, and head of the Composition Department, at The University of Arizona, Tucson. Asia’s music is published by Theodore Presser Co., and he is represented by Stanton Consulting & Management of Astoria, New York.
“Daniel Asia’s stature as an award-winning composer makes him a great choice for a residency. In addition, his work as a professor at the University of Arizona adds interest for students, faculty and the community. A teacher is a builder of the future. We look forward to constructing a deeper understanding of the role of the arts in contemporary culture through the insights Mr. Asia shares with us,” said Dr. Lee Harris, Department Head of the UTC Department of Music
Daniel Asia’s residency at UTC is presented through a multi-department collaboration including the Chair of Excellence in Judaic Studies (Dr. Irven Resnick), the Honors College, the departments of Theater, Art, Philosophy, and Music, and coordinated by the Ruth S. Holmberg Professor of American Music (Dr. Jonathan McNair). Additional funding for these events is provided by a ThinkAchieve Grant through UTC.
