Composer Chats

Join Jason as he welcomes world renown, Grammy nominated soprano, Laura Strickling!

Two-time GRAMMY® award nominee for Best Classical Vocal Solo Album for Confessions (2022) and 40@40 (2024) – Laura Strickling’s recordings make, “a strong statement about the status of contemporary art songs and her commitment to them,” (Schmopera). Recognized by The New York Times for her “flexible voice, crystalline diction, and warm presence,” she is celebrated for her work performing and promoting art song, with an emphasis on new additions to the canon. She curated The New Music Shelf Anthology of contemporary art songs for soprano and recently announced The 40@40 Project – a personal initiative to commission 40 new art songs from 40 composers. Featured in the May 2021 issue of Classical Singer Magazine for her advocacy work in commissioning and recording new music, she has appeared with the Brooklyn Art Song Society, Cincinnati Song Initiative, Mexicoliederfest, Calliope’s Call, Liederfest in Suzhou (China), the Afghanistan National Institute of Music, Lyric Fest, Chiarina Chamber Players, Joy in Singing, Trinity Concerts at One, the American Liszt Society, Baltimore Lieder Weekend, Concerts on the Slope, National Sawdust, Art Song at the Old Stone House, the Brooklyn New Music Collective, SongFusion, has been a featured performer at the New Music Gathering, and presented a radio broadcast recital of American songs on “Live from WFMT” in Chicago with pianist Daniel Schlosberg. Laura and pianist Liza Stepanova were 2017 Artists in Residence at the Yellow Barn Music Festival, where they presented a program of Granados and modern songs in Spanish, including the world-premiere of Ciudades del Porvenir by Reinaldo Moya. She has presented guest artist recitals and lectures at the University of Georgia, Mercer University, College of William and Mary, Mercer University, University of Notre Dame, New World School of the Arts, Notre Dame University of Maryland, Pittsburg State University, McDaniel College, St. Mary’s College, and University of Richmond. She is on the New Music Advisory Board of the Brooklyn Art Song Society, and the Artistic Advisory Boards of Cincinnati Song Initiative and Calliope’s Call.

Equally acclaimed for her work on the concert stage, she has appeared at Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, National Sawdust, Trinity Church on Wall Street, Washington National Cathedral, and the Opera America Center. Her, “powerful and expressive voice across a large range, her variety of timbre and character,” (Classical Scene), make her a welcome guest soloist for a range of oratorio and concert works, from Handel to Britten. These include Messiah (Handel)with the Indianapolis Symphony, the Pacific Symphony, and the Richmond Symphony, Gloria (Poulenc) with the Asheville Symphony, Mass in c minor (Mozart) with the Richmond Symphony, Cathedral Choral Society, and Berkshire Choral International, Stabat Mater (Dvorak) and Elijah (Mendelssohn) with Berkshire Choral International, Ein Deutsches Requiem (Brahms) with the Bel Canto Chorus of Milwaukee and Chorosynthesis, Luonnotar (Sibelius) and Les Illuminations (Britten) with the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, Knoxville: Summer of 1915 (Barber) and Les Illuminations (Britten) with Mexicoliederfest, Ninth Symphony (Beethoven) and Carmina Burana(Orff) with Choralis, as well as Requiem (Mozart), Credo Mass (Mozart), Dixit Dominus (Handel), Gloria (Vivaldi), Lord Nelson Mass (Haydn), and Mass in C (Beethoven). Her performance of Mozart’s Mass in C minor and Exsultate jubilate with the Cathedral Choral Society was broadcast by WETA, and her performance of Poulenc’s Gloria with the Asheville Symphony was broadcast by Blue Ridge Public Radio.

On the opera stage, Ms. Strickling created the role of Fanni Radnòti in the world premiere of Tom Cipullo’s opera The Parting with Music of Remembrance in Seattle and San Francisco in 2019 and revisited the role with Chelsea Opera in Syracuse in Spring 2022 and New York City in Fall 2022. She created the role of Dr. Slade in the nine-episode TV-opera film, Everything for Dawn with Experiments in Opera, which received its broadcast premiere in 2022. An alumna of the Berkshire Opera Company resident artist program, her performance of the Dew Fairy in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel was praised by Opera News: "Laura Strickling offered the creamy, clear, younger-sister-of-Eva-Pogner instrument ideal for singing the role over full orchestration." She appeared as Pamina in the Metropolitan Opera Guild's touring outreach production of The Magic Flute. Ms. Strickling’s operatic roles also include Countess Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), Cleopatra (Julius Caesar), Mimi (La boheme), Dinorah (Dinorah), Elvira (L’Italiana in Algeri), Josephine (H.M.S. Pinafore), Gretel (Hansel and Gretel), and Micaëla (Carmen). She created the role of Muriel in the world premiere of Thomas Benjamin's The Alien Corn with the Peabody Opera Theater.

Ms. Strickling received a 66th Annual GRAMMY® Awards nomination for Best Classical Vocal Solo Album for 40@40 - her sophomore solo album. She also received a 64th Annual GRAMMY® Awards nomination for Best Classical Vocal Solo Album for her debut recording, Confessions: “…a compellingly honest performer, whose rich, expressive soprano conveys vulnerability with a balance of shimmering tone and unaffected diction,” (Opera News Magazine), “This extraordinarily expressive and versatile singer…performs with an intelligent combination of restraint and letting go. Her voice is full and lustrous and then bright and nimble…” (Schmopera), "Strickling fulfills and FILLS this role, her voice as a siren-chameleon, changing shape and color and nature with total control as contexts switch and emotions bend ever so slightly from word to word,” (American Record Guide). She was also praised for the Naxos Opera Classics recording of The Parting by Tom Cipullo, “…deeply expressive, secure voice. Her exposed highs are managed wonderfully, with notable beauty,” (San Francisco Classical Voice). Her discography also includes Times Alone (James Matheson), The Vineyard Songs (Glen Roven), Edna St. Vincent Millay (Jake Heggie), and Of a Certain Age (Tom Cipullo).

A Chicago native, Ms. Strickling is an avid traveler, having lived in Morocco, where she studied classical Arabic at the Arabic Language Institute of Fez, and Kabul (Afghanistan) where her husband was the founding chair of the Department of Law at the American University of Afghanistan. After 9 years in US Virgin Islands, she recently relocated to Wisconsin where she is learning to endure "cold".

Join Jason this week as he welcomes composer Catherine Joy to the podcast!

With a passion for music and collaboration, Catherine Joy is a composer for film, media and live performance. She recently won Best Documentary Score for the uplifting feature documentary Gold Balls, and in 2014 won the Independent Music Vox Pop Award for her soundtrack for the film All Things Hidden. Catherine is the Executive Director for the Alliance for Women Film Composers. She plays many instruments including violin, piano, and guitar.

Catherine has scored award-winning films, including the feature documentary Gold Balls which won Best Documentary at Southampton International Film Festival. She composed the music for the integral song in Ellen Gerstein's short film Come Away With Me which has won many awards including Best Sound and Music at Australia's Connect Film Festival. Catherine also scored the video game The Hole Story which won the 2016 ID@Xbox Rising Star Award.

Catherine was recently part of the music teams for four documentary projects premiering at Sundance 2018. She arranged and orchestrated on the Netflix doc series Wild Wild Country, music edited the Joan Jett: Band Reputation feature and and was both orchestrator and score supervisor on the documentaries RBG and Dark Money. Catherine also scored the popular web series Capitol Hill which is now televised through Europe and Canada. Catherine is currently scoring the video game The Endless Mission, the documentary Naughty Books and the horror film The Parish.

Catherine is originally from Tasmania, Australia and moved to the States to pursue a career in music. She lives in Los Angeles with her two cats Bondi and Bronte.

Listen in as Jason welcomes composer Anne McGinty to the podcast!

Anne McGinty is known throughout the world as the most prolific woman composer in the field of concert band literature, having written more than 225 pieces, with more than 50 of those commissioned by bands across the United States. Thousands of people have played her music and discovered the joy and beauty of playing music that is both educational (helping instrumentalists learn basic musical skills) and also musical, engaging their imagination and encouraging them to stay in the instrumental music program. In addition to concert band, she has written for solo flute with band, solo clarinet with band, brass band, string orchestra, solo flute, flute with piano accompaniment, and music for flute duet, trio, quartet and choir. All of her compositions and arrangements have been published. Her publishers include Queenwood Publications (now Queenwood/Kjos), C. L. Barnhouse Co., Boosey & Hawkes, Hal Leonard Corporation, Kendor Music, Kjos Publications and Southern Music Company.

After a successful career spanning 30+ years as both a composer and publisher of educational music, Anne is now writing chamber music for brass and woodwinds, all published by McGinty Music. An expert in writing for wind instruments, Anne is also composing for diverse instrumental combinations to showcase their varied timbral possibilities in modern, tonal music.

She began her higher education at The Ohio State University, where Donald McGinnis was her mentor, band director and flute teacher. She left OSU to pursue a career in flute performance, and played principal flute with the Tucson (Arizona) Symphony Orchestra, Tucson Pops Orchestra, and in the TSO Woodwind Quintet, which toured Arizona under the auspices of a government grant. When she returned to college, she received her Bachelor of Music, summa cum laude, and Master of Music from Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she concentrated on flute performance, music theory and composition. She studied flute and chamber music with Bernard Goldberg and composition with Joseph Willcox Jenkins.

Ms McGinty is a life member of the National Flute Association and served on its Board of Directors. She taught flute at several colleges in the Mid-West, taught flute and chamber music to underprivileged children, and was leader of a Royal American Regiment Fife and Drum Corps. She performed professionally in orchestras, chamber groups and as a flute clinician for a major manufacturer. She also was the editor of a flute column for a music magazine and co-founder of the NFA Newsletter, now known as “The Flutists Quarterly.” Although no longer performing as a flutist, she remains well known as a flute choir specialist and was the first person to convince two major educational music publishers to publish a series for flute choir. As the flute editor at Hansen Publications in Miami Beach, Florida, she arranged and produced the first such flute choir series.

She is a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and has received annual composition award since 1986. She received the Golden Rose Award from the Women Band Directors National Association and the Outstanding Service to Music Award from Tau Beta Sigma, a national honorary band sorority.

Highlights of her career include being the first woman composer commissioned to write for the United States Army Band. That composition, entitled Hall Of Heroes and premiered in March, 2000, with the composer conducting, featured the U.S. Army Band & Chorus and honored the recipients of the U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor, with words based on a poem by Audie Murphy. She was commissioned to write an original composition (To Keep Thine Honor Bright) for the Bicentennial of the United States Military Academy at West Point and another (Victorious) for the United States Continental Army (now TRADOC) Band. Another very special commission (‘Tis A Gift) was for victims of TWA Flight 800 and to help heal the community of Montoursville, Pennsylvania, with music.

Music is the most important thing she has ever done or will ever do in her life – composing, conducting, performing and speaking at a wide variety of musical events. Her enthusiasm and passion for music is evident in everything she writes.

Listen in as Jason welcomes composer Jennifer Jolley to the podcast!

Jennifer Jolley (b. 1981) is a composer, conductor, and professor person. Her work is founded on the belief that the pleasures and excesses of music have the unique potential to engage political and provocative subjects. Addressing a range of topics such as climate change, #MeToo, feminist history, and the abuses of the Putin regime, Jennifer strives to write pieces that are equally enjoyable and meaningful.

Jennifer’s works have been performed by ensembles worldwide. She has received commissions from the National Endowment for the Arts, the MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music, the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, Quince Ensemble, and many others.

Jennifer received degrees from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music. She is now an Assistant Professor of Music Theory and Composition in the Department of Music at Lehman College in the Bronx and was a Fulbright Scholar to Egypt in 2023. She has been a composition faculty member at Interlochen Arts Camp since 2015.

Listen in as Jason welcomes composer Jim Stephenson to the podcast!

Leading American orchestras, instrumentalists, and wind ensembles around the world have performed the music of Chicago based composer James M. Stephenson, both to critical acclaim and the delight of audiences. The Boston Herald raved about “straightforward, unabashedly beautiful sounds,” suggesting “Stephenson deserves to be heard again and again!” A formal sense of melody and tonality characterize his music, each embedded in a contemporary soundscape. These qualities, coupled with the composer’s keen ability to write to each occasion, have led to a steady stream of commissions and ongoing projects.

Most recently, Charles Vernon, Chicago Symphony bass trombonist, asked Stephenson to write a new concerto, a work to be premiered in their 2018/2019 season under the direction of Riccardo Muti. A second bass trombone concerto will receive its orchestral premiere with the St. Louis Symphony and soloist Gerry Pagano, in 2017. “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band commissioned a symphony (the composer’s second in this genre) and gave the work its premiere in 2016 at the prestigious Midwest Clinic, and subsequently recorded the work. Additionally, Compose Yourself!, Stephenson’s landmark young-audience work has now been performed over 300 times since its creation in 2002, engaging children in New Zealand and Canada and across the U.S. Additional premieres include Carnegie Hall in May, 2017 (Chamber Music Charleston) and in the summer, 2017, a Music Academy of the West premiere of “Martha Uncaged” – with the composer conducting – and a west-coast premiere of his violin concerto at the famed Cabrillo Music Festival. The 2017-18 season will see a new “Low brass concerto” with the Minnesota Orchestra and Osmo Vänskä.

The Devil’s Tale (2013), a sequel to Stravinsky’s famous “Soldier’s Tale” has become a highlight of Stephenson’s extensive chamber music output, having already garnered much critical praise for its recent recording (“a most remarkable work” – Fanfare Magazine) and numerous performances at noteworthy venues such as Ravinia and Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center.

James M. Stephenson came late to his full-time composing career, having performed 17 seasons as a trumpeter in the Naples Philharmonic in Florida. As such, the composer is largely self-taught, making his voice truly individual and his life’s work all the more remarkable. Colleagues and friends encouraged his earliest efforts and enthusiasm followed from all directions. As his catalog grew, so did his reputation. That catalog now boasts concertos and sonatas for nearly every instrument, earning him the moniker “The Concerto King” from Chicago Symphony clarinetist John Yeh. The vast majority of those compositions came through commissions by and for major symphony principal players, in Chicago, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Minnesota, Washington DC, St. Louis, Oregon, Milwaukee, and Dallas, among others. A major break came from the Minnesota Commissioning Club, which led to two works (violin concertos) receiving premieres in 2012—by Jennifer Frautschi with the Minnesota Orchestra under Osmo Vänskä and by Alex Kerr with the Rhode Island Philharmonic under Larry Rachleff. Other international soloists for whom Stephenson has composed include saxophonist Branford Marsalis and trumpeter Rex Richardson, whose concerto has been performed on five continents. With such prolific output, Stephenson’s music is well represented in recordings. Nearly all of his solo brass works (over 50) have been professionally recorded, and in total, his extensive catalog for all instruments can be heard on over 30 CDs.

James Stephenson is also a highly sought-after arranger and conductor, rounding out his constantly busy schedule. His arrangements have been performed/recorded/broadcast by virtually every major orchestra in the country, including the Boston Pops, Cincinnati Pops, New York Pops and more. On the podium, Stephenson has led orchestras in Bozeman, Charleston, Ft. Myers, Modesto, and Wyoming, in addition to numerous concert bands. With the Lake Forest Symphony, near his Illinois home, he has not only conducted but also has served for six years as Composer-in-Residence. His conducting debut with the Chattanooga Symphony comes at their 2016 Holiday Concert.

Jim originally hails from the Greater Chicago area, as does his wife Sally. In 2007 the couple, along with their four children, returned to the region to pursue the life they now share.

Join Jason as he welcomes composer Paul Dooley to the podcast!

aul Dooley is one of the most prolific and performed composers in America today. His path has embraced not only his Western Classical heritage, but also a cross-cultural range of contemporary music, dance, art, technology and the interactions between the human and natural worlds. His music has been described as "impressive and beautiful" by American composer Steve Reich.

Dooley’s orchestral music has been commissioned and performed by, among many others, the Nashville Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Singapore Symphony, Macau Orchestra, Pacific Symphony, Charlotte Symphony, Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic, United Nations Chamber Music Society, Omaha Symphony, Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Grand Rapids Symphony, Santa Rosa Symphony, Beethoven Academy Orchestra, Radom Chamber Orchestra, Amarillo Symphony, New York Youth Symphony, Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra, Nu Deco Ensemble and Alarm Will Sound, in addition to wind ensembles such as “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band, The United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own” and the United States Navy Band.

Recent works include Circuits and Skins (2017), an EDM-inspired electronic percussion concerto for Lisa Pegher and the Lansing Symphony, Mondrian’s Studio (2019), for horn and wind ensemble, for Adam Unsworth and the University of Michigan Symphony Band, Manifestos (2019) for the universities of the Big 12 Conference and The Conductor’s Spellbook (2016), an educational, interactive and entertaining work for young audiences, which has received more than 100 performances since its 2016 premiere, originally commissioned by the Naples Philharmonic.

Born in Santa Rosa, California in 1983, Dooley began his musical life listening to Beethoven, Bruce Hornsby, Nirvana and Rush. At the age of 13, Dooley began a long mentorship with singer, songwriter, improvisor and gifted counselor Gary “Doc” Collins. In high school Dooley also studied composition with Charles Sepos, before earning bachelor degrees in mathematics and music composition at the University of Southern California (2002-2007) with Frank Ticheli and Stephen Hartke, and a master and doctorate degree at the University of Michigan (2007-2013) with Michael Daugherty, Bright Sheng and Evan Chambers. A key moment occured for Dooley in 2010, with his participation in the inagural Mizzou International Composers Festival. The festival commissioned Dooley's breakout work Point Blank, which was premiered by the new music ensemble Alarm Will Sound.

In 2013 Dooley joined the music faculty at the University of Michigan. He created and directs the Performing Arts Technology department’s annual Computer Music Showcase. He also co-directed the Midwest Composers Symposium and was coordinator of the “ONCE. MORE.” festival, a celebration of the 50 year anniversary of the ONCE Festival of Contemporary Music, and was co-awarded a grant from the Gilbert Whitaker Fund for the Improvement of Teaching.

Dooley’s music is the subject of several doctoral dissertations including: “Paul Dooley’s Masks and Machines: A Formal Analysis and Instructional Guide” by Kevin M. Callihan, University of Kentucky; “MANIFESTOS for Wind Ensemble by Paul Dooley: A Critical Analysis” by Eddie W. Airheart, Texas Christian University; “A Conductor’s Guide and Analysis of Selected Works by Paul Dooley” by Jason Gardner, University of Illinois.

Dooley is a frequent guest of professional orchestras, university wind ensembles and festivals in the United States and around the world. His works have been performed in significant venues including Carnegie Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Royce Hall, Hill Auditorium, the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Schermerhorn Symphony Center, Orchestra Hall in Detroit, Sala Filharmonia Warszawa, Singapore’s Victoria Concert Hall and Chicago’s Symphony Center, and featured on several episodes of NPR’s “Performance Today” with Fred Child.

Dr. Dooley has received a wide range of awards for his work, including both the 2016 Sousa/ABA/Ostwald Award and the 2015 William D. Revelli Prize for Masks and Machines (2015), the 2013 Jacob Druckman Award for orchestral composition from the Aspen Music Festival for Point Blank (2011) and young composer awards from Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) for Dani’s Dance (2007) and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) for Gradus (2009).

Dooley’s recordings can be heard on, among others, Naxos, Equilibrium, Soundset, Mark Records, GIA Wind Works and Block M Records.

Dooley’s music is published by Paul Dooley Music. For more information on his music, visit www.pauldooley.net and www.conductorsspellbook.com

Join Jason Nitsch as he welcomes composer Dana Wilson to the podcast!

The works of Dana Wilson have been commissioned and performed by such diverse ensembles as the Chicago Chamber Musicians, Formosa Quartet, Xaimen Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Memphis Symphony, Dallas Wind Symphony, Voices of Change, Netherlands Wind Ensemble, Syracuse Symphony, Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra, the trio STRATA, and Canadian Brass. Many college ensembles and faculty members have performed and recorded his music.

Solo works have been written for such renowned artists as hornists Gail Williams (international soloist, formerly with the Chicago Symphony) and Adam Unsworth (international soloist, formerly with the Philadelphia Orchestra); clarinetist Larry Combs (international soloist, formerly with the Chicago Symphony); trumpeters James Thompson (formerly with the Atlanta Symphony), Rex Richardson (international jazz soloist), and Frank Campos; oboists David Weiss (international soloist, formerly with the Los Angeles Philharmonic) and Michael Henoch (principal with the Chicago Symphony); saxophonist Steven Mauk; bassoonists Michael Krroth and Kristin Schillinger; flutists Wendy Mehne, Alison Parramore, and Kate Steinbeck; violinists James Stern and Susan Waterbury; trombonist Thomas Ashworth; tubist Aaron Tindall; soprano Rachel Schutz; cellist Deborah Pae; jazz pianist Nicholas Weiser, drum set player Greg Evans; and contrabassist Nicholas Walker.

He has received grants from, among others, the National Endowment for the Arts, New York Foundation for the Arts, New England Foundation for the Arts, New York State Council for the Arts, Arts Midwest, and Meet the Composer. His compositions have been performed throughout the United States, Europe, and East Asia. They have received several prizes, including the Sudler International Composition Prize and the Ostwald Composition Prize, as well as awards from the International Trumpet Guild, the Flute New Music Consortium, and the International Horn Society; are published by Boosey and Hawkes, Alfred Music Publishers, the American Composers Forum, and Ludwig Music Publishers; and can be heard on over twenty recording labels, as well as on national radio broadcasts such as "Performance Today".

Dana Wilson holds a doctorate from the Eastman School of Music and is Charles A. Dana Professor Emeritus at the Ithaca College School of Music. He is co-author of Contemporary Choral Arranging, published by Prentice Hall/Simon and Schuster, and has written articles on diverse musical subjects. He has been a Yaddo Fellow (at Yaddo, the artists’ retreat in Saratoga Springs, New York), a Wye Fellow at the Aspen Institute, a Charles A. Dana Fellow, and a Fellow at the Society for Humanities, Cornell University.

Tag along with composer Jason Nitsch as he spends some time with some of his favorite composers. There will be a little talk about music, a little talk about life, and a whole lot of whatever happens to come up!

Find Alex on the web at https://www.alexshapiro.org

Composer Alex Shapiro aligns note after note with the hope that at least a few of them will actually sound good next to each other. Her persistence at this activity, as well as non-fiction music writing, arts advocacy, public speaking, wildlife photography, and the shameless instigation of insufferable puns on Facebook, has led to a happy life. Ever-boastful of her terminal degree of a high school diploma (an impressive feat having failed 8th grade algebra), Alex lives in the middle of nowhere on a small rock between the coasts of Washington State and British Columbia, and draws from a broad musical palette that giddily ignores genre.

Her acoustic and electroacoustic works are published by her company Activist Music LLC, have won almost no awards, are performed and broadcast daily, have rarely been reviewed, and can be found on over thirty commercial releases from record labels around the world. No musician or audience member has yet to contact Alex to request their money back. Emphasis on yet.

In addition to lavish customer refund policies, Ms. Shapiro is noted for her seamless melding of live and recorded sounds, and for her innovative uses of multimedia in performance and music education. A widely published advocate on topics ranging from technology, copyright, diversity, and the music business, and a likable person from whom you can learn details about python breeding, Alex is the Symphonic and Concert writer member of the Board of Directors of ASCAP, and serves on the Board of Directors of the ASCAP Foundation, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, and the Music Publishers Association of the United States, representing her company Activist Music LLC. Alex's music as well as her other, sometimes unusual pursuits, can be experienced throughout this slightly-overwhelming-but-at-least-it's-well-organized website.

This pretty much sums things up.