NCSQ Commissions Michael Torke and David Cutler.

Our Board has challenged us to raise an
additional $15,000 by June 15.

Your gift toward our goal will help NCSQ continue its 25-year tradition of commissioning significant works by some of today’s most influential composers, works that will last for years beyond our career in chamber music. 

Your kind tax-deductible donations to the quartet can be made in two ways. You can use the link to Pay Pal or you can make out a check to The New Century Musical Arts Society and send it to:

Steve Pollock
1470 McFarland Road
Pittsburgh, PA 15216

Plus, as a 501c3 non-profit, you can double the amount of your gift if your employer has a program that matches charitable contributions to charitable organizations.

Here are some of the exciting projects.

Michael Torke Project

NCSQ, along with Amstel Saxophone Quartet (ASQ) from the Netherlands, is co-commissioning Michael Torke to write May and June, two new works that are being created to complement the wildly successful work July that Torke wrote in 1996. Michael Torke is one of the most performed American composers today.  He has a gift for making concert music accessible to the masses, full of palpable energy and contagious rhythmic play.  We are thrilled to be leading the charge in commissioning him.

Both New Century and Amstel and have already enjoyed a tremendous performing and recording history with July, but this commissioning partnership runs deeper: NCSQ and ASQ also share the honor of being the only two saxophone quartets in history to win a prize at the Concert Artist Guild Competition in NYC.  And one final connection that makes the project so special: Connie was in school with the members of Amstel when she studied in the Netherlands as a Fulbright Scholar with Arno Bornkamp.  It seems that this partnership was bound to happen! Torke’s website: http://www.michaeltorke.com/

David Cutler Project

David Cutler is a classical/jazz composer, narrator, pianist, and percussionist, whose works have been commissioned and performed by Alabama and Colorado Symphonies, jazz artists Nancy Wilson and Benny Golson, and classical/klezmer clarinetist David Krakauer. David brings forward over-the-top creativity to his productions (and yes, it’s appropriate to call his works ‘productions’!) and we can’t wait to share the stage with him. Not only will David serve as a composer for this project, he will also be an active performer and narrator once we bring this work on the road.

NCSQ has commissioned him to create three works. Weekend Traveler is a saxophone quartet work that explores the folk music of Ireland, Bulgaria, New Orleans, and Latin America. El Alcar‡n (The Scorpion) for saxophone quartet and percussion, comes out of the Colombian folk tradition. The third work, for saxophone quartet and piano, is built on Asian folk music traditions. David’s website: http://www.trunkmusic.org/

We sincerely thank you for your generosity.