Current and upcoming projects include: Chamber music album – I am extremely grateful to the Phenotypic Recordings label for supporting my first solo chamber music album which will feature the excellent Balourdet Quartet, and my dear friends, the percussionist Piero Guimaraies, and violinist EmmaLee Holmes Hicks. This album will include three works for string quartet… read more
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Summer 2023 – Two world-premieres, a residency and a birthday party in Estonia.
What a thrill it was to have my music included on Tonũ Kaljuste’s 70th birthday concert. But more about that later… The first stop this summer was in June in Quebec at the Domaine Forget where violinist, Levon Chilingirian (below, left) of the Chilingirian String Quartet, was coaching a host of very talented students on… read more
Wikipedia & Contemporary Composers Archive
All within a short period of time someone has kindly created a wikipedia page about my work and the Ivy Plus Libraries Confederation has selected my website for inclusion in its Contemporary Composers Web Archive here. I was informed that this archive is, “an initiative developed by music librarians at Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke,… read more
Strange Sea for orchestra – World-premiere in Malmö
I was very grateful to have a very warm reception to Strange Sea for orchestra in Malmö on October 6th, 2022 when the Malmö Symphony Orchestra, under Robert Trevino, gave the world-premiere. It was very touched by the many comments that members of the audience and the orchestra made. The MSO is an excellent orchestra… read more
2021 Copland House Residency awards announced
The 2021 Copland House Residency Awards have been announced and I am very grateful to have been chosen as one of the nine composers to receive this award this year. I am looking forward to spending four weeks in 2022 at the Copland House working on a song cycle for mezzo-soprano and orchestra. More details… read more
“Strange Sea” for orchestra completed
This past summer I completed a new work for the Malmö Symphony Orchestra titled Strange Sea. This work takes its title, and its inspiration from a poem by Swedish poet Edith Södergran. A poem by the brilliant Palestinian-Syrian-Swedish poet, Ghayath Al-Madhoun is also a source of inspiration for my orchestral work. This work will have… read more
“Violin Concerto No. 2: with might and main” Dallas World premiere
This past May the wonderful Dallas Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Gemma New and with Angie Fuller-Heyde as soloist, gave the premiere of my second violin concerto, which is subtitled ‘with might and main’. You may hear the recording of the premiere and read the program notes here.
Clorinda Agonistes (Clorinda the warrior): A new opera/dance work
A new hybrid opera/dance work written to accompany Monteverdi’s ‘Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda’
Ice, Wind, War & Spring • for mixed chorus and orchestra update
Some works need more time than others and this new work is no exception . The most difficult part of writing vocal music, at least for me, is putting someone else’s words into my mouth. Choosing text for a work such as this was time consuming and difficult, but very rewarding. To begin with there… read more
World-premiere of “Clarinet Concerto: Adrift on the Wine-dark Sea”
After years of planning and patiently waiting, clarinetist Kinan Azmeh premiered my Clarinet Concerto in Southern Germany with the Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen under the direction of Fawzi Haimor. Kinan’s performance was stunning (as was his encore solo performance) and maestro Haimor gave a superb and focused performance with his excellent colleagues at the Württembergische Philharmonie… read more
Turn To The World: A Whitman Cantata • World-premiere reviews and photos
The Chicago Tribune wrote: “Nothing spotlights the Grant Park Music Festival’s value more significantly than the premieres it commissions, and an impressive one took place on Friday night. At first glance, “Turn to the World: A Whitman Cantata” – by composer-in-residence Kareem Roustom – might have suggested a look back at the 19th century ethos… read more
“Hurry To The Light” Premiere update
At Boston’s Jordan Hall this past Friday May 17th saw the premiere of a new work, Hurry To The Light, that was co-commissioned by the Grammy-nominated string orchestra A Far Cry and the women’s chorus Lorelei Ensemble. This work is based on a new translation by Emily Wilson of Homer’s The Odyssey . The Boston Globe… read more
Violin Concerto No. 1 Premiere update
Last Wednesday March 6 my Violin Concerto No. 1 had it’s premiere at the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin with soloist Michael Barenboim along with the Pierre Boulez Ensemble under the direction of Lahav Shani. The performance was electric, inspired and inspiring. Both the soloist and the ensemble played with fire and passion! [Also on… read more