SFIDARE
Year: 2019
Duration: Approx. 11’00”
Instrumentation: String Quartet or String Orchestra
Commissioned as part of the 2019 Commissioning Campaign
Original string quartet commissioned for the 2018 Zodiac Music Festival, France.
STRING ORCHESTRA PERFORMANCES
*World Premiere, July 15 & 16 2023 by the Fremantle Chamber Orchestra conducted by John Keene, Fremantle Town Hall & Redemptorist Monastery Western Australia, Australia
*Reading July, 2019 by the Atlantic Music Festival Orchestra, Atlantic Music Festival, Colby College, Waterville, Maine, USA.
STRING QUARTET PERFORMANCES
*WORLD PREMIERE: July, 2018 by the Zodiac Festival String Quartet at the 2018 Zodiac Festival Valdeblore, Nice, France.
*German Premiere: March, 2019 by the Dalverny String Quartet of the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra, Nuremberg, Germany.
*Australian Premiere (Private): December,2019 by the St George’s College String Quartet, St George’s College, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
AWARDS
2022 Semi-Finalist The President’s Own United States Marine Band Call for Scores Competition
2021 Joint Winner for Greater Bridgeport Symphony – Emerging Composer Competition Pioneering New Works
2019 Runner up/Honourable Mention for New York Composer’s Circle Composition Competition.
2018 Winner of Zodiac Festival Composition Award for Most Outstanding New Work.
PROGRAM NOTES
“Sfidare” is Italian for “Defy” and Romanian for “Defiance”. It’s interesting how art, whether deliberately or not, can echo undercurrents in the artist’s life during the time of its creation. At its premiere, the work bore only the name “String Quartet No.1.” It was only after I wrote this piece that I realised it was a statement of empathy and hope for individuals whom I knew to be enduring hardship, yet continued nonetheless. This work is titled as a tribute to any who must defy to declare their place.
ORIGINAL STRING QUARTET
Sfidare started as a string quartet and was premiered and commissioned thanks to a campaign supported by a group of generous co-commissioners. Located adjacent are the campaign and debrief videos for those supporters.