Wind Ensemble Consortium

The Proposal

Conductor Andrew Mast and composer David Werfelmann are pleased to present a consortium commission proposal for the creation of a new work for wind ensemble. David developed his interest in writing for the wind ensemble as a student of Frank Ticheli at the University of Southern California, and this interest resulted in his first wind ensemble work, Arclight Alley. This piece was commissioned and recorded by the Lawrence University Wind Ensemble in 2011 and has since been performed by three other ensembles. David expresses his fascination with color and texture as well as his strong facility as an orchestrator in Arclight Alley. In 2012, it won the New Music for Wind Ensemble competition at the USC Thornton School of Music, an annual contest adjudicated by H. Robert Reynolds.

David writes with sensitivity for both the audience and performer, combining a modern aesthetic with an emotionally appealing rhythmic and harmonic language. For this commission project, David wishes to write a symphonic work with three contrasting movements. Orchestrational color and driving rhythms will be a major feature of this piece, assuring that each member of the ensemble is engaged. David will write for a typical instrumentation with piano, excluding the double bass or harp. Though doublings are possible, David envisions this work performed by one player per part.

We invite you and your ensemble to join us in this commissioning project. For samples of David’s work, please visit www.davidwerfelmann.com/music/.

Introductory Video

Project Details

  • Commissioning Fee: $500 per wind ensemble. Participating ensembles will each receive two copies of the score and a set of parts.
  • Payment Deadline: Payment can be made in two installments: $250 at registration, and the remaining $250 due June 1, 2016.We ask that interested ensembles register by January 1, 2016.
  • Duration: 12-16  minutes in three movements.
  • Instrumentation: Typical wind ensemble instrumentation (including piano).
  • Difficulty: Grade V
  • Delivery: The work will be available for delivery no later than September of 2016. The delivery date of performance materials will be negotiated based on the programming schedule of individual members. Ensemble directors may opt for electronic delivery of parts if they desire. Hard copies will be available.
  • Performance Exclusivity: Consortium members will have performance exclusivity for two years, lasting until the end of the 2017-18 season. Thereafter, the work will be made available to non-member ensembles.
  • Composer Residency: David Werfelmann enjoys participating in workshops, rehearsals, pre-concert talks, interviews, and other educational and community-related activities. Interested consortium members can contact David individually to discuss availability and negotiate fees and travel expenses.

About the composer

David Werfelmann is an award-winning American composer of instrumental, vocal, and electronic music whose works are widely performed and recorded by ensembles and soloists throughout the US. His orchestral music has been performed by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra as well as the major orchestras of the USC Thornton School of Music, IU Jacobs School of Music, and the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music. David’s Arclight Alley has been performed by the wind ensembles of Lawrence University, the USC Thornton School of Music, CSU Stanislaus, and the SCSBOA Honors Band. Among the many saxophone quartets that perform his work Hypercolor are the Zzyzx, Red Rock, Lawrence University, and Georgia Southern University Quartets, as well as the Fischoff Award-winning Barkada Saxophone Quartet.

David’s music is heard frequently at conferences, festivals, and recitals around the USA and Europe, including the NOW HEAR Festival, several regional and national North American Saxophone Alliance conferences, the Society of Electroacoustic Music in the United States convention, the CSU Fullerton New Music Festival, the Berkeley Arts Festival, the Navy Band International Saxophone Symposium, the Los Angeles Composers Project, the Zeltsman Marimba Festival, the Institute for European Studies in Vienna, and at concerts in Bologna and Ravenna, Italy. Among the many honors David’s works have received, his orchestral work The Mad Machine won the BMI Student Composer Award in 2011.

Performers including saxophonists Kim Reese, Sara Kind, Andrew Harrison, and Alex Sellers, pianist Rafael Liebich, the Slipstream quartet, the HOCKET piano duo, and the Hear Now Ensemble have commissioned works by David and frequently perform his music on solo and chamber concerts. David’s works have been professionally recorded by the Lawrence University Wind Ensemble, the Now Hear Ensemble, and the Barkada Quartet. Additionally, his works have been broadcasted by the public radio stations of Los Angeles (KUSC), Wisconsin (WPR), and New York (WCNY), and by the online radio station Kinetics Radio.

In addition to writing music, David is a percussionist, scholar, and committed educator. As assistant professor of music and director of the BA in music program at Webster University in St. Louis, David teaches a variety of music courses including theory, composition, and research techniques. Originally, from Portland, Oregon, David has received degrees from USC (DMA), Indiana University (MM), and Lawrence University (BM).