We are delighted to announce that composer Bryce Dessner has entered into a long term publishing agreement with Chester Music. Based in New York City, Dessner has a strong portfolio of recent concert work including two string quartets for the Kronos Quartet, a piece for the Bang on a Can All-Stars, a double guitar concerto for the American Composer’s Orchestra, and a work for the Brooklyn Youth Chorus. In 2012 he will present several new projects including The Long Count at The Barbican in London with his brother Aaron Dessner, new commissions for the Amsterdam Sinfonietta and the Berlin string ensemble, Kaleidoskop, and a collaborative song cycle with Sufjan Stevens and Nico Muhly. Also on the horizon in 2013 are new works for Eighth Blackbird and an evening with the Brooklyn Youth Chorus.Dessner is best known as the guitarist for the acclaimed rock band The National. Their albums Alligator (2005) and Boxer (2007) were named among albums of the decade in publications throughout the world. Their most recent release, High Violet (2010), debuted at number three on the US Billboard chart and at number five in the UK charts. He is also the creator and artistic director of the Music Now Festival in Cincinnati, Ohio, which will present its seventh season in March 2012.
Dessner has performed and/or recorded with some of the world’s most creative musicians including songwriters Sufjan Stevens, Bon Iver, and Antony Hegarty, Sonic Youth guitarist Lee Ranaldo, composers Steve Reich, Terry Riley, Philip Glass, Nico Muhly, David Lang and Michael Gordon, the contemporary ensembles Kronos Quartet the Bang on a Can All-Stars and visual artist Matthew Ritchie.
Bryce Dessner now serves on the board of The Kitchen in New York City and is a graduate of Yale College and the Yale School of Music. He is co-founder and owner of the Brassland record label, which is home to a diverse group of artists including the experimental rock duo Buke and Gase, composer Nico Muhly and cellist Erik Friedlander. Bryce and his brother Aaron also produced an extensive AIDS charity compilation, Dark was the Night, for the Red Hot Organization. The ambitious record features exclusive recordings and collaborations from a long list of artists including David Byrne, Arcade Fire, Sufjan Stevens, Sharon Jones, Cat Power, Grizzly Bear, My Morning Jacket and Spoon. Dark was the Night has raised over 2 million dollars for AIDS charities as of January 2012.
We are equally pleased to announce that composer Benet Casablancas has signed an exclusive agreement with UME. Born in Barcelona, Benet Casablancas studied music in his hometown and Vienna, where he worked with, among others, Friedrich Cerha and Karl-Heinz Füssl. He holds a degree in philosophy and a PhD in musicology, both from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Distinguished by numerous commissions and awards, his music is performed regularly in Europe, Canada, the United States, Japan and Latin America by countless prestigious ensembles, soloists and conductors.Champions of his music include: London Sinfonietta, Montréal Ensemble Contemporain, Baden-Baden Ensemble 13, Lausanne Orchestre de Chambre, Arditti Quartet, Leipziger Streichquartett, Trio à cordes de Paris, Bremen Deutsches Kammerphilharmonie, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de Belgique, NJO of The Netherlands, L´Hermitage State Orchestra Saint Petersburg, New York Perspectives Ensemble, Liverpool Ensemble 10/10, The Tokyo Sinfonietta, Düsseldorf Notabu Ensemble, Nomad Ensemble Japan, Malmö Symfoni Orkester, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquesta Nacional de España, Filarmónica de Gran Canaria, Sinfónica de A Coruña, Sinfónicas de Barcelona, Filarmonía de Galicia, Comunidad de Madrid, Orquesta de la Radio y Televisión Española and others.
Upcoming performances include pianist Diego Fernández Magdaleno premiering Jubilus on February 21 in Paris; the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Vladimir Jurowski performing Darkness Visible on February 27; the Seattle Chamber Players giving the US premiere of Six Glosses for Sextet on 25 February; and Dove of Peace in its Spanish premiere with clarinettist Joan Enric Lluna and Modus Novus under the direction of Santiago Serrate, also on February 27.
Casablancas is currently writing an opera entitled Io, based on an original libretto by the well-known Spanish writer Rafael Argullol, for a commission from the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona. It will premiere during the 2014-15 season.
For more information on Benet Casablancas, please contact Javier Briongos.
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