NJSO Youth Orchestras to release digital album of original student compositions
- Our Voices features 25 works NJSO Youth Orchestras students composed collaboratively during the 2020–21 virtual year
- Creative composition project was cornerstone of the Youth Orchestras’ 30th anniversary season
- Artistic Director José Luis Domínguez arranged, orchestrated and recorded the compositions
- Digital album to be available August 6 at njsymphony.org/ourvoices
NEWARK, NJ—The NJSO Youth Orchestras will release Our Voices, an album of original student compositions composed during the program’s 30th anniversary season, on August 6. The album marks the culmination of a season-long NJSO Youth Orchestras creative composition project in which nearly 200 students collaborated in small groups to explore their own musical voices and compose new works drawing from all the genres that inspire them.
The album, which will be available to stream for free at njsymphony.org/ourvoices, features 25 compositions by groups of middle- and high-school student groups from all levels of the youth orchestra program. NJSO musician coaches and teaching artists guided each group; NJSO Youth Orchestras Artistic Director José Luis Domínguez, a celebrated composer, orchestrated and arranged the works and digitally recorded each composition using Logic Pro.
The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra gave the world premiere of The Enchanted Forest, one of the student compositions, at the Orchestra’s virtual Spring into Music Gala concert on May 12. Other works on the album include Calypso, a tone poem inspired by Greek mythology; variations on the Korean folk song “Arirang”; works that grew out of improvised jam sessions, and more.
One piece was entirely arranged, orchestrated and recorded by student composer Ben Rosales. One work for jazz band and orchestra features recorded performances by jazz musicians Yoojin Park (violin), James Borowski (bass trombone), Cristian Monreal (bass), Bryan Pezzone (piano) and Dan Graziano (drums).
Domínguez says: “The NJSO Youth Orchestras have set an incredible and leading example within the inevitable virtual world that musicians have faced due to the pandemic. Making music together is the very essence of what we do, and thanks to our amazing team of staff, coaches and teaching artists, and their bravery in facing reinvention and adaptation, we continued to serve the students and the community with innovative approaches. This digital album is a testament to that.
“For this project, all of our outstanding students across the Youth Orchestras’ four ensembles were assigned to composing groups, working with me, NJSO coaches and teaching artists in search of their voices. Even students with less experience in music theory became composers in a wonderful collective process. Every coach and teaching artist had a different approach, and outstanding creative results came from that. During class sessions, faculty would help to guide students to bring forth their musical ideas, melodies and motifs. The composing groups submitted their musical themes to me after every class, and I began the process of arrangement and orchestration to provide the most immediate feedback.
“The traditional process of writing, scoring, rehearsing and playing takes a very long time. I wanted our students to have audible feedback of their creativity as soon as possible; therefore, an entirely new approach was necessary. Our students deserve the best results, and I used the most professional and inspiring sound libraries available—the same software used by the most acclaimed film composers and sound engineers.
“I would like to take this opportunity to express my utmost gratitude to the entire faculty and staff of the NJSO Youth Orchestras for their commitment to our students. To our courageous young composers: Congratulations on your extraordinary journey! Arranging, orchestrating, performing and recording your music has been one of the greatest joys of my musical career.”
The album is available August 6 at njsymphony.org/ourvoices.
M&T Bank is the NJSO Youth Orchestras 30th anniversary season sponsor.
Our Voices
NJSO Youth Orchestras 30th Anniversary Creative Composition Project: The Album
Digital album dropping August 6
Track #1: Calypso
Academy Orchestra Group 2a
Artistic Director’s Note: Calypso is an epic tale of love and longing. Taking inspiration from ancient Greek mythology, one of the composers proposed the story of Calypso and Odysseus. Through the inspired music that developed, the piece became a full symphonic representation of the humanity of the mythological characters. – José Luis Domínguez
Composers: Gabriel Bulacan, Stephen Cheng, Jacqueline Li, Sarah Spitzer, Michelle Wang, Paige Wang, Jacqueline Zhou
Coach: José Luis Domínguez
Track #2: The Enchanted Forest
Chromatic Creators (Chamber Orchestra Group 2)
Artistic Director’s Note: This was the first piece to be completed, and the composers and their coach did an incredible job of working collectively. The composers developed every theme, and they gave me very clear instructions regarding the shape and orchestration of their piece. I am very proud that the NJSO performed and recorded this piece in May 2021 for the virtual Spring into Music gala! – José Luis Domínguez
Composers: Ashita Birla, Samantha Huerta, Natalie Sokolov, Ameya Srinivasan, Kevin Yang, Amy Zarebczan
Coach: Kathleen Nester
Track #3: Journey of Hope
High Brass Group (Academy Orchestra Group 7)
Artistic Director’s Note: This is an incredibly inspiring piece by a group of inspired composers and coaches. From a beginning of just one note to a joyful full orchestral ending, this journey is unforgettable. – José Luis Domínguez
Composers: Ryan Bae, Julia Caprari, James Cottrell, Nathan Lee, Danny Santibañez
Coaches: Andrea Menousek & Anderson Romero
Track #4: Seven Strings
Chamber Orchestra Group 1
Artistic Director’s Note: The themes in this piece are heartbreakingly beautiful, and they morph from intimate moments to fast-paced rhythmic passages. I was very impressed with the maturity of the themes created by these young composers. – José Luis Domínguez
Composers: Paolo Figueroa, Christabella Leung, Katherine Liang, Marisa Olavarria, Andrew Rodriguez, Damini Varghese
Coach: José Luis Domínguez
Track #5: Mystic Pioneer
Academy Orchestra Group 4
Artistic Director’s Note: This group was comprised of cellists and bassoonists, and they wrote amazing melodies intended for other instruments! The solo violin and the solo cello are the glue of this evolving piece of music. – José Luis Domínguez
Composers: Alex Barker, Radon Belarmino, Michael Forde, Helios Hong, Andrew Ikemoto, Liam Reilly
Coaches: Robert Wagner & Philo Lee
Track #6: Sunrise at the Lake
Training Ensemble – Ms. Amelia’s Group
Artistic Director’s Note: The composers in this group began the year as total beginners to the study of music, and through their exploration with Amelia Muccia, quickly found their individual and collective musical voice! – José Luis Domínguez
Composers: Naomi Akakpo, Gifty Ezeanuna, Caden Giles
Teaching Artist: Amelia Muccia
Track #7: Cello Jam Circle
Chamber Orchestra Group 6
Artistic Director’s Note: Among the different approaches that coaches took to the collective composition process was a “jam circle” in which composers improvised and played musical ideas for each other. This group prepared their melodies and put them together in a video which I transcribed and orchestrated for a cello ensemble plus flutes and solo bassoon. – José Luis Domínguez
Composers: Peter Corwin, Gracen Hill, Ethan Kim, Ryan Lu, Kevin Valencia, Norah Wang, Kevin Wei, Kenny Yang
Coach: Laura Andrade
Track #8: Variations on ‘Arirang’
Academy Orchestra Group 6
Artistic Director’s Note: I was deeply impressed by the creativity displayed by the composers of these variations on the Korean folk song “Arirang.” The orchestration is for a classical symphony orchestra with the added touch of guitar harmonics, which the composers suggested. – José Luis Domínguez
Composers: Abigail Lee, Hannah Lee, Megan Newton, Christina Nicolau, Kayla Wang, Eric Xu, Andy Yin
Coach: Robert Ingliss
Track #9: Quake of the Ocean
Ostinato Orchestrators in Slippers (Chamber Orchestra Group 4)
Artistic Director’s Note: This group had a very impressive evolution throughout the composing process. They started by writing the rhythms of their names and ended up writing themes in the style of film music. At their request, I orchestrated it for a full symphony orchestra in the style of Pirates of the Caribbean. – José Luis Domínguez
Composers: Veronica Derugo, Lauren Nguyen, Ethan Wang, Allen Wu, Vivian Zhang
Coach: Kathleen Nester
Track #10: Canon of Grace
Training Ensemble – Ms. Inyong’s Group
Artistic Director’s Note: This wonderful piece is the result of the composers writing variations on two well-known tunes: Pachelbel’s Canon in D and “Amazing Grace.” The bravery of these variations is most impressive, and there is also an original theme right at the center of the piece. The orchestration is for a Classical orchestra. – José Luis Domínguez
Composers: Kyrae Brock, Justin Casco, Emilia Delgado, Sarahline Fequiere, Ayla Goore, Daniel Lanao, Sophia Lanao, Johanna Motatey, Sirron Norris, Ammy Peralta, Colin Robinson, Jax Ryals, Lauren Trinity, Rio Umana
Coach: Inyong Park
Track #11: Musical Jokers
Musical Jokers (Academy Orchestra Group 2b)
Artistic Director’s Note: This is a very special piece. The composers were mostly violinists, and yet they requested an orchestration without violins! Their willingness to explore different textures and timbres resulted in the very active use of percussion and low brass. – José Luis Domínguez
Composers: Adhithi Arun, Nicholas Chen, Matt Hui, Sarosh Mistry, Matthew Shi, Heidi Tsai
Coach: James Musto III
Track #12: The Saddest of All Keys
Training Ensemble – Ms. Julia’s Group
Artistic Director’s Note: I received a perfectly written, completed musical phrase from these composers! The saddest key in this case is D minor, and the variations take us from Baroque to Classical to Romantic. – José Luis Domínguez
Composers: Mateo Baez-Salvador, Flor Chouloupe, Junior Chouloupe, Xitlali Garcia, Crystal Gonzalez, Patrick Molina, Bianca Milien Fequiere, Juliet Lopez, Jazmin Pearson, Jeremias Sanchez
Teaching Artist: Julia Castellanos
Track #13: Returning Home
Chamber Orchestra Group 3
Artistic Director’s Note: From the intimacy of the opening piano flourish to the swell of the punchy cinematic section, these composers went far beyond in their creativity and sheer quantity of musical ideas. – José Luis Domínguez
Composers: Gael Barker, Caroleena Fernandez, Rafi Ingliss, Aravind Krishnan, Sophie Lu, Celine Shon, Aidan Song
Coach: José Luis Domínguez
Track #14: Nostalgia, Victory, Valor
CO5 Carbon Pentoxide (Chamber Orchestra Group 5)
Artistic Director’s Note: Orchestrated entirely for a string ensemble, this might be the most “classical” pieces in the album. Beautiful and captivating themes challenge the conventions of the classical tradition in a viola-centric middle section. – José Luis Domínguez
Composers: Kelli Cheng, Daniel Corwin, Anirudh Khandrika, Hayden Lin, Andrew Zarebczan
Coaches: Jonathan Storck & Elzbieta Weyman
Track #15: Caribbean Symphony
Academy Orchestra Group 8
Artistic Director’s Note: This piece was entirely arranged, orchestrated and recorded by one of the composers, Ben Rosales. He perfectly captured the Latin vibe in a symphonic context. There’s no way to listen to this piece and not move along – José Luis Domínguez
Composers: Arjun Athalye, Ryan Badi, Andrew Joyal, Benjamin Rosales, Luke Tan, Max Watzky
Coach: Gregory LaRosa
Track #16: Voyage to Seven
Training Ensemble – Ms. DoYeon’s Group
Artistic Director’s Note: This piece demonstrates that there is no limit to creativity when using a basic musical concept like a scale. Based on a jam session recorded by the students, I transcribed the video the composers provided of their variations on a D-major scale, bridging and orchestrating them to bring the piece to life. – José Luis Domínguez
Composers: Aristotle Archibald, Joanne Chouloupe, David Ibiefo, Jesse Ibiefo, Saliah King, Deborah Louis, Trevon Norris, Rhia Randolph, Orchid Ryals
Teaching Artist: DoYeon Kim
Track #17: Viola Trio
Julien Soto-Raspa (Academy Orchestra violist)
Artistic Director’s Note: This is one of two original pieces on the album written by an individual composer. Julien’s viola trio is an outstanding composition, created and arranged independently and then submitted to me for mixing and mastering. Bravo, Julien! – José Luis Domínguez
Track #18: Alegría in D
Training Ensemble – Ms. Sasha’s Group
Artistic Director’s Note: Ms. Sasha put together a wonderful video of the student jam session, which I transcribed in the same order to create this pop song-like piece. Listen for the nod to a few well-known tunes, as suggested by the composers! – José Luis Domínguez
Composers: Sarai Aguirre, Yarliz Azcona, Zachary Derstine, Gendiyah Easterling, Jathniel Fequiere, Khair Garnes, Madison Martin, Tito Oshuntolu, Toni Oshuntolu, Aysha Penafiel, Patrick Penafiel, Yvett Rodriguez, Luca Umana
Teaching Artist: Sasha Ono
Track #19: Bow Poetry
Academy Orchestra Group 3
Artistic Director’s Note: This is a beautiful piece for chamber orchestra by violist composers. It is a study of opposites, beginning with an extroverted fugato, and ending with an intimate, tranquil section carried by the solo violin. – José Luis Domínguez
Composers: Vihaan Agarwal, Kendra Buffaloe, Andrew Reza, Julien Soto-Raspa, Winston Wang
Coach: Martin Andersen
Track #20: Irish Reel
Sarah Spitzer (Academy Orchestra violinist)
Artistic Director’s Note: This is the second original piece on the album written by an individual composer. Going into this project, I was aware that Sarah was a composer, so I commissioned her to write a piece especially for the album. She composed, orchestrated and scored the piece entirely on her own, and I had the pleasure of performing and recording it. Get ready to get up and dance! Well done, Sarah—amazing piece! – José Luis Domínguez
Track #21: #SquadGoals
String Ensemble Group
Artistic Director’s Note: This is a perfect example of collective composition. Every single member of the String Ensemble contributed to this piece with at least one musical idea. The results are impressive! I orchestrated it very big to match their big ideas. – José Luis Domínguez
Composers: Wiktoria Brauntsch, Jada Clark, Anais-Skye Clarke-Avignant, Chadley Gede, Kelsey Guillen, Kelvin Guillen, Eliza Kapchits, Jakub Khan, Tara Khurana, Alethea Liu, Anna Lungu, Eva Neves-Szczypior, Akoya Rodriguez, Ella-Simone Scantlebury, Elena Sherrard, Sadie Valencia, Jared Vega, Sebastian Vega, Kimberly Vito
Coaches: Naomi Youngstein, Lucy Corwin & Frances Rowell
Track #22: Hazy Sunrise over Snow Covered Tulips
Academy Orchestra Group 1b
Artistic Director’s Note: Hold on to your seats! This piece begins with very classical, romantic and melodic themes that turn into a surprising and joyful climax with a full cinematic, symphonic blast. – José Luis Domínguez
Composers: Milind Bangalore, Jomar Hernandez, Katherine Lebedev, Eric Lee, Leah Lu, Evan Nguyen, Timothy Shi, Jenny Wang, Cheryl Yang
Coach: Gregory LaRosa
Track #23: The King’s Overture
Academy Orchestra Group 1a
Artistic Director’s Note: These composers came prepared with musical themes on the very first day of our collaboration. They continued to endlessly create new material, and the result is one of the richest and most diverse pieces of music that I have orchestrated. – José Luis Domínguez
Composers: Joseph Bejjani, Alexander Dobrescu, Gabe Ingliss, Aiden Lu, Katherine Porcello, Mirella Richard, Alexander Saldana, Olive Wang
Coach: José Luis Domínguez
Track #24: Essence
Training Ensemble – Ms. Yoojin’s Group
Artistic Director’s Note: Virtual instruments meet live recorded instruments in this amazing piece for jazz band and orchestra! The work of the composers inspired some of the best jazz musicians from different continents to collaborate with us by recording the composers’ improvisations, which were brilliantly guided and captured by Yoojin Park. – José Luis Domínguez
Composers: Malcom Artis, Crystal Burbano, Joel Calado, Madison Cardona, Melanie Cuna, Pamela Garzon, Thandiwe Hintze, Jasmine Hughes, Isabella Lopez, Cortlandt Paisley, Jaziah Pickering, Alex Pola, Ava Trinity, Vania Tueros, Julissa Villanueva
Teaching Artist: Yoojin Park
Guest artists: Yoojin Park (violin), James Borowski (bass trombone), Cristian Monreal (bass), Bryan Pezzone (piano), Dan Graziano (drums)
Track #25: Mythological Friends & Hazards
Academy Orchestra Group 5
Artistic Director’s Note: This is a truly epic example of collective composition! The composers did an amazing job of writing music to depict mythical creatures from around the world: La Madremonte from the magical forests of Colombia; Hugag and Hide-behind from American folklore; Drop-bear from Australia; Impundulu (“Lightning Bird”) from South Africa; and the legendary Hoop Snake of the US, Canada and Australia. This emotional, funny, chilling and inspiring piece will take you on a journey full of surprises, ending with an ambitious fugato where everything comes together. –José Luis Domínguez
Composers: Timothy Lien, Giovanni Lombardo, Madisen Stearns, Patrick Sun, Cameron Xu, Kevin Xu
Coaches: Andrew Lamy & Alexander Bickard
Cover art by Jacqueline Zhou
New Jersey Symphony Orchestra
The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra connects with the people and diverse communities of New Jersey through the power of live symphonic music to inspire, entertain and educate. Internationally renowned Music Director Xian Zhang has garnered critical acclaim on the podium and has deepened the NJSO’s commitment to presenting diverse voices that reflect the communities the Orchestra serves.
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The NJSO Youth Orchestras have not only continued virtual instruction but have introduced an entirely new dimension to the program. Students are working together on a yearlong creative composition project—a uniquely engaging opportunity for students to explore their own musical voices and shape new works that draw from all the genres that inspire them.
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