CURRENT PROJECTS

2008

-April: Davide will be composer-in-residence with the Santa Cruz Chamber Players on the occasion of the West Coast premiere of "Glimmers of Acceptance" for string trio. He will coach rehearsals and interact with the local community about his music and new music in general.

2007

-Another commission is for The Manhattan Choral Ensemble's Christmas concert, which this year will feature Italian Christmas music. Davide was asked by Thomas Cunningham, MCE's director, to write a version for SATB of the famous Italian carol "Tu scendi dalle stelle".

-Davide just completed writing the music for a wedding. Joanna Goldstein, flute player of the award-winning, Boston-based wind quintet "Vento Chiaro" and long-time champion of Davide's music, is getting married in the fall. She asked Davide to compose the music for the ceremony. The three pieces (Processional, Interlude, Recessional), in a playful vein, are scored for Oboe, Clarinet, Horn, and Bassoon, that is the quintet (obviously minus the flute).

-Davide was invited to be composer in residence at the First International Piccolo Symposium, which was organized by Christine Beard and took place at the University of Nebraska, in Omaha. Internationally-renowned piccolo specialist Nicola Mazzanti was a teacher at the symposium, and in his faculty concert he premiered Davide's Melma Calma, the work he commissioned and recorded.

-Another project on which Davide is currently working on is "Citadel of Softness", a choral work based on a poem by Christina Rossetti. This is a commission from the Manhattan Choral Ensemble (Thomas Commingham, conductor). This commission is part of the Manhattan Choral Ensemble project called New Music for New York, and will be premiered in June.

-Davide's new project for 2007 is a very exciting one. The work is called "Archers of Solitude" and it is scored for soprano, clarinet, marimba and large percussion ensemble. The piece is a setting of Wendell Berry's beautiful and moving poems and lasts 20 minutes. Each poem, scored for the trio, is preceded by a prelude for the percussion ensemble, setting the emotional and timbral atmosphere for the text. The piece was commissioned by James Preiss, who teaches percussion at Mannes, with the generous financial backing of private donors. It is written for Tonal Center Trio and the Mannes Percussion Ensemble.

2006

- Brian Fronzaglia, a percussionist based in Kansas, commissioned Davide to write a solo for marimba, which will further expand his already notable marimba catalog. The title of the new work is "Balletti di Bronzo" and will be premiered in the spring of 2007. Incidentally, Brian was the soloist in the world premiere of the chamber version of "Concertino dell'Incenso" for marimba and string orchestra, which took place at Michigan State University a few years ago.

- Negotiations are under way to secure funding for Davide's next collaboration, a substantial work for piano solo to be written for New York-based pianist Adam Marks. Adam and Davide have great admiration for each other and are thrilled at this opportunity to work together.

- Davide was commissioned by Leesa Levy to write a piece for soprano and vibraphone, based on texts by Christina Rossetti.

- Davide was commissioned by the University of Florence Choir to write a short piece for SATB. The result was "Astro Morente", set to one of his poems in Italian.

- Stefan Milenkovich commissioned Davide to write "Eterni Ritorni" for solo violin. The piece is loosely based on the Bach sarabandes for solo violin and has a virtuosic character, weaving in and out of tonality.

- Nicola Mazzanti, who last year commissioned "Melma Calma", for piccolo and piano, has recorded it for his new CD. You can purchase it at: http://cdbaby.com/cd/mazzanti2

2005

- A commission from The Jade String Trio to write a work based on a Chinese folk tune, to be recorded in their debut CD. The piece, called "Glimmers of Acceptance", was recently completed and was commissioned thanks to the generous contributions of the following donors: Marie Alpert, Martin Bressler, Caterina Constantino, Judy Gold, Tatjana Kalinin, Neal Levy, Warren Moe, Howard Orlin, Shira Rozan, Carl Schachter, Daniel Weiss.

- A new work, for flute violin and piano, entitled "Le Pressioni del Passato" (The Pressure of the Past) was also recently commissioned by The Trio Albatros Ensemble, based in Milan, Italy.

2004-2005

- Recording of "Preghiera di Sasso", for trumpet and piano, by Ivano Ascari for his CD (imminent release).

- Recording of "Wild Forebodings", for solo marimba, by Greg Giannascoli for his upcoming CD.

- A solo commissioned by Nicola Mazzanti (www.piccoloflute.it). Nicola is the piccolo player of Maggio Musicale Orchestra in Florence, Italy. The piece will be scored for piccolo and piano (working title: "Melma Calma").

2003

- Davide has just completed "Il Sole Inganna" (The Sun is Deceiving), for cello and piano, a fifteen minute work commissioned by Italian cellist Matteo Zurletti. The work will be premiered in Italy during the next season.

- A new commission just came in, for trumpet and piano, for Ivano Ascari's next CD project. Working title is "Preghiera di Sasso" (Prayer of Stone).

- Davide received a new commission by his publisher in Italy, Mnemes, to compose a trio for mezzosoprano, flute and cello, on a sonnet by Italian Baroque poet Ludovico Leporeo (1582-1655). The work, entitled "Cantico Semantico" is a parody that brings together many genres and musical styles. It will soon be released on a CD produced by Mnemes.

2002

- Renowned Italian clarinetist Guido Arbonelli, a long-time champion of Davide's work, has invited him to collaborate on the "Namaste Suite", an international project, sponsored by Mnemes Music Publisher. Several composers from all over the world have been invited to write a one minute piece for any type of clarinet. The premiere took place in 2002 and was subsequently performed many times all over the world. The CD will be released soon. Davide's contribution, for bass clarinet, is called "Figliol Prodigo" (Prodigal Son), and playfully tells the story of the return to tonality after many atonal wanderings.

- Italian trumpet player Ivano Ascari has recorded two works by Davide: "Lilluzzo", for solo trumpet, n.3 from "The Book of Friends", and "Elegia del Silenzio", for trumpet and vibraphone. They were included in "Nuove Musiche per Tromba, vol. 3". The CD has received many positive reviews, and the works have been perrformed several times.

- A duo for organ and percussion, commissioned by Gianluca Saveri, is also in the works. The piece, a set of Preludes and Interludes, will celebrate the renovation of an important Baroque organ in Umbria, Italy.

- The award-winning percussion quartet Tetratkis, which commissioned and premiered "Bulking Up" to great acclaim , is about to record the work in their next CD.

- Davide is very excited to continue his collaboration with Greg Giannascoli, one of the outstanding young marimba virtuosos around, who in September premiered his concerto for marimba and string orchestra. Greg won the Young Artist International Competition in 2001, and will appear in a solo recital at Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall on June 22, 2002. For this occasion he commissioned Davide to write a solo work for marimba.

- Italian cellist, Pierluigi Ruggiero, one of the upcoming young players in the country, will be touring the U.S. in the spring. He has commissioned Davide to write a solo work for him. Davide thinks it's a thrilling project because of his long-standing love for the instrument.

- Renowned percussionist, James Preiss, a long-time member of the Steve Reich ensemble, has selected Davide to inaugurate his "James Preiss Solo Marimba Commissioning Project". The project, privately financed, has the aim to enrich the literature of this beautiful and relatively unknown instrument. It is an immense honor for Davide to be collaborating with James Preiss, whose playing he has admired since he heard the Steve Reich recordings in the late '70's.

2001

- Davide is working on a new exciting project, commissioned by Tetraktis Percussion. The prestigious Italian percussion quartet, winner of important competitions, has recently toured the U.S. They performed his duo "Pumping Up"; they enjoyed so much playing it, and it was received so well by audiences, that they asked Davide to make a quartet version. The piece will be premiered in Italy in the spring or in the summer, and then brought on their tour.

- Davide recently received a commission from the The Darkwood Consort, based in Boise, Idaho. The ensemble's unique instrumentation (flute, viola and bass clarinet) is fascinating, and it has a timbral quality that Davide finds absolutely  stimulating and creative. The 15 minute piece will be premiered in the 2001-2002 season, and it is supported with funding from the Boise City Arts Commission.

- Davide will also start working on a piece for flute and piano, which will be commissioned by Joanna Goldstein, the flutist of the award-winning wind quintet Vento Chiaro, based in Cambridge, MA. Negotiations for the funding of this project are still in progress.

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