Matthew Tommasini (b.1978) is a nationally recognized composer of expressive and engaging music. Awards for his work include the Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, first prize in the 2006 ASCAP/SCI Commission Competition, ASCAPlus Awards, and grants from the ASCAP Foundation's Leonard Bernstein Fund, the Puffin Foundation, Ltd., the American Music Center's Composer Assistance Program (CAP), and the Subito Quick Advancement Program of the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of the American Composers Forum. His work Three Spanish Songs (for soprano and chamber wind ensemble), commissioned by the University of Michigan Symphony Band, was awarded the 2006 ASCAP/CBDNA Frederick Fennell Prize and published in the Donald Hunsberger Wind Library by Alfred Publishing.
Mr. Tommasini has been commissioned by the New York Youth Symphony, the Milwaukee Ballet, ASCAP/SCI, the Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings/Oberlin Conservatory/University of Michigan Consortium, and the Big East Band Directors Association. His New York Youth Symphony commission piece Torn Threads Rewoven was premiered at Carnegie Hall and reviewed in the New York Times. In addition, his works have been performed at the American Composers Orchestra Underwood Reading Sessions, the Riverside Symphony Reading Sessions, and by the Ann Arbor Symphony.
During the 2008-9 season, Mr. Tommasini served as composer-in-residence for the Chicago-based chamber music series Music in the Loft which included performances of his works by the Cleveland Quartet Award-winning Parker Quartet, senior associate concertmaster of the Dallas Symphony, Gary Levinson, and noted piano soloist, Adam Neiman. His work Dreams of Orpheus was premiered by Antares and commissioned by Music in the Loft with the support of a CAP grant from the American Music Center.
In 2009, Matthew Tommasini was invited to participate in ASCAP's "Walking the Halls" event on Capitol Hill where he joined ASCAP board members and constituents to speak to congress people about the need to protect intellectual property rights of composers and song writers.
Recently, Mr. Tommasini co-founded the Southern California-based Connections Chamber Music Series with the California Quartet and members of the Pacific Symphony. Connections begins its 2010 inaugural season in January 2010 where he will serve as composer-in-residence.
A recording of his complete works for violin by violinist Martha Walvoord entitled American Perspectives will soon be released on the Centaur Records label. The recording of his work Taking Sides (for solo trombone, woodwind octet, percussion, piano, and contrabass) will soon be released on trombonist David Jackson's upcoming CD, Inner Rebellion, recorded with members of the University of Michigan Symphony Band and released on the University of Michigan's Block-M Records label.
Currently, Mr. Tommasini is writing a new work for solo piano commissioned by New York-based pianist Irena Portenko and a work for piano quintet for the Connections Chamber Music Series.
Matthew Tommasini received his BA degree in composition from UCLA, where he studied with Paul Chihara and Ian Krouse. He received his MA and DMA degrees from the University of Michigan where he studied with William Bolcom, Michael Daugherty, Bright Sheng, Leslie Bassett, and Evan Chambers. Mr. Tommasini is a member of ASCAP.
Update 1/2010
