Past Commissioned Composers
2025 Carmen Aurora Mateiescu
Carmen Aurora Mateiescu is a Romanian-American composer, theorist, ethnomusicologist, and educator. Dr. Mateiescu holds a MM from the University of Music Bucharest and a PhD in composition and theory from Rutgers University. She started to study piano and music theory at a young age. Her three piano teachers, from first grade to graduate school – Marta Paladi, Stefania Cumpata and Mariana Soimaru – had been pupils of “Miss Maestra Florica Musicescu” who also trained the legendary pianist Dinu Lipatti. The distinctive feature of their teaching was the emphasis on expression and tone quality.
In Romania Mateiescu was a music teacher for grades 1-12 then an ethnomusicologist with the “Constantin Brailoiu Folklore Institute.” She carried out a great number of field recordings, transcribed hundreds of songs and dance melodies, studied the variation field of the lyric song, co-authored the inaugural LP The Traditional Folk Music Band of the Romanian National Collection of Folklore, and contributed substantially to the first Romanian Dictionary of Musical Terms.
In the US, Dr. Mateiescu has been teaching composition, theory, ethnomusicology, and piano at Rutgers University, Westminster Choir College of Rider University, Westminster Conservatory of Music, and privately. She also organized and presented concerts of early music and Romanian traditional music at venues in Princeton, New York, and Washington DC. As a member of the New Jersey Music Teachers Association, Carmen Mateiescu oversaw the student composer competition for many years.
Mateiescu’s compositions – for piano, voice and piano, chamber ensembles, as well as the fairy tale-opera Youth without Age and Life without Death based on a Romanian traditional tale, are all imbued with melodic, rhythmic, and ornamental structures derived from the music of the oral tradition of the cultures surrounding the Mediterranean Sea – Romania, the Balkans, Eastern Mediterranean, and Northern Africa.
COMMISSIONED REPERTOIRE
Elementary - Cheerful Chirping Chicks
Intermediate - The Enchanted Meadow
Advanced - Cumulonimbus Rondo
Chamber music - The Flowery Mountain (VIolin/Piano or Piano Four Hands, the same music)
2023 Kaori Tanioka
Kaori Tanioka is an accomplished composer and pianist based in New York City. Originally from Kobe, Japan, she began taking music lessons at an early age and started composing at the age of 10. Her talent as a pianist was recognized when she was selected to perform with the Kyoto Chamber Orchestra in the Opus Piano Concerto in 1997.
In 1998, Kaori received a scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston, where she studied Jazz and contemporary music. She holds Bachelor's degrees in both Jazz Performance and Jazz Composition, and in 2003, her big-band piece called "Marglit" won first prize in the International Association for Jazz Education's College Jazz Composition Competition.
Kaori attended the BMI Jazz Composer's Workshop in New York between 2004 and 2007. She later completed a Master's degree in classical composition at Aaron Copland School of Music in 2010. Her works include compositions for string quartets, solo marimba, solo piano, woodwind quintets, koto (a traditional Japanese instrument), and orchestra. Her organ piece "WA" and Harpsichord concerto were premiered by J.P.Knijff (Grand Prix Bach de Lausanne in 1997).
Kaori is certified as a music education specialist at YAMAHA Music Education USA, and dedicates much of her time to teaching young musicians piano and composition. She has also commissioned four chamber pieces written for young musicians, which were performed at the Art Festival at Lincoln Center in NYC in 2013 and 2014.
Kaori's impressive career and dedication to music education makes her a valued member of the musical community. Her passion for composition and performance is evident in the range and depth of her work, and her commitment to nurturing future talent is a testament to her dedication to the art of music.
Website Youtube Soundcloud
COMMISSIONED REPERTOIRE
PIANO SOLO:
Elementary: Under the Tree
Intermediate: Sky (Sora)
Advanced: Kaleidoscope
CHAMBER MUSIC:
Day after the Coronation - Violin and Piano Duo
2022 Carol Comune
The music of American pianist and composer, Carol Comune, dances between the serious and the light from traditional and contemporary genres, with strong influences from Impressionism, Romanticism, and her Italian heritage. Her lyricism paired with technical precision has earned her a reputation as one of today’s premiere pianists, performing extensively throughout the eastern United States, both as a soloist and a chamber musician. She has been a featured artist in Princeton at Westminster Conservatory of Music, Bristol Chapel and the Nassau Concert Series; in Boston at the New England Conservatory of Music, Gardner Museum, Art Complex at Duxbury, and Longfellow National Historic Site; in New York City at Lincoln Center and Steinway Hall; and in Palm Beach at Flagler Museum and Kravis Center.
In 1985, the multi-faceted musician, teacher, composer, recording artist and Steinway Artist, founded Elegant Entertainment & Co. (BMI). She also founded Comune Music Press in 2006 to present her music scores. Many of her compositions have been featured at numerous piano festivals, including “Suite for Sleeping Beauty” at the prestigious 30th Annual Contemporary Music for the Young, MA, and premiere performances; “Variations for Piano on O God, Our Help in Ages Past”, Steinway Hall in NYC; “The Nightingale”, based on the story by Hans Christian Anderson in Westminster Conservatory, Princeton, NJ. Ms. Comune’s compositions have been described as, “charming, bold, imaginative, colorful and exceptional”.
Her albums have received worldwide recognition with over 6 Million listeners, and over 50 Million alltime streams in 92 countries through Spotify. Since 2017, her music has been promoted by her record label from the UK, Double J Music. Her released albums, “Homage”, 2022, and “The Perfect Place to Be”, 2020 were featured on Spotify’s Classical New Releases and Editorial playlist, Classical Piano for her recordings of “Eusebius” from Schumann’s Carnaval; “Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op. 42: Variation 14 by Rachmaninoff and “The Little Shepherd” from Debussy’s Children’s Corner. Ms. Comune’s album, “Pastiche”, 2020, and “From the Heart” featuring original piano compositions; “Classically Yours” 2018. Her music is featured on NPR, Pandora, Spotify, Apple iTunes, Amazon, and was showcased on Moving Classics TV in Munich, Germany, 2020.
Carol is a graduate of the NEC, Boston, MA (BM Piano Performance, David Hagan). Graduate studies: Piano Pedagogy, Jean Stackhouse (NEC); Composition, John Felice (NEC); and influential mentors Donald Waxman; the late concert pianist, Anthony di Bonaventura. Carol has been a member of the Music Teachers National Association for over 33 years and has had an active private studio since 1973. Former faculty: New England Conservatory Prep School; Berklee College of Music, MA, and Palm Beach Atlantic University; Conservatory at Lynn University, FL In 2016; 2017; 2020, Carol was honored with the Steinway Top Teacher Award. Additionally, Carol's students have been recipients of many outstanding achievements. Musical organizations include Music-fest (Rising Talents); The Royal Conservatory Exams; Golden Key; Solo Pianists at Westminster Conservatory: 1st Place and 2nd Place Winners - Weill Hall/ Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall/Kaufmann Center, NYC. Westminster Conservatory’s Annual Achievement Scholarship Competitions and Piano Concerto Competition- 1st Place Winner, 2021.
More information about Carol:
COMMISSIONED WORKS:
PIANO SOLO:
Elementary: ChaCha the Chameleon
Intermediate: Blue Aura
Advanced: Impulsive
DUO for CELLO & PIANO:
2021 Ke-Chia Chen
Ke-Chia Chen's compositions have been performed throughout the United States and abroad. She has collaborated with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Philadelphia Orchestra on several projects including orchestrating music for their 2015 Papal Mass and 69th UN General Assembly session performances.
Commission highlights include the Philadelphia Orchestra, Taiwan Philharmonic, Network for New Music, and Taipei Percussion.
Chen's acclaimed Broken Crystal, an Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra's Marilyn K. Glick Young Composer Award winner, recently received its Asian premiere by the Taiwan Philharmonic. Her The Silent Flame was awarded first prize in the 2016 International Horn Society Composition Contest.
Artist-in-residencies include the Copland House Residency Award, Ucross Foundation, Ensemble 212, Concerts on the Slope, Colorado College Summer Music Festival and Music at Angel Fire Chamber Music Festival, along with composer fellowships at the Aspen, Pacific, and Bowdoin Music Festivals.
Chen's artistic focus draws from Western and Asian classical traditions. Her unique awareness and bold personal touch highlight the essence of her compositional process.
Ke-Chia Chen is on the Musical Studies faculty at the Curtis Institute of Music. She holds degrees from the Curtis Institute, Manhattan School of Music, and a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania. Visit www.kechiachen.com for more information.
COMMISSIONED WORKS:
PIANO SOLO:
Elementary: Eagle Call
Intermediate: Carousel
Advanced: Montage
DUO for FLUTE & PIANO:
2020 John Franek
John Franek (b.1996) is a composer and pianist whose compositions “demonstrate a craftsmanship of a composer far beyond his years.” (Dr. J.A. Kawarsky, Professor of Theory & Composition)
John has had premieres of his own works performed in North America, South America, Europe and Asia, with notable premieres in locations such as in New York City, Philadelphia, London, Quito, Paris, Havana, Krasnoyarsk, Olomouç, Rome and Tashkent (among others). Among these performances he has had his worked performed by ensembles such as The Siberian State Symphony Orchestra, The Moravian Philharmonic, and the Lontano ensemble as it currently looking forward to premieres later this year with the Borromeo String Quartet, Trio Immersio, Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble, Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra and the Janaček Symphony Orchestra.
As a sought after performer, John has personally performed on three continents and has given concerts throughout the United States. An avid researcher and performer of Mozart, he recently toured his “Franek & Mozart” lecture-concert and is currently working on a Mozart book for popular audiences. His most recent album Purely Mozart demonstrates his particular love of Mozart: “John Franek's affinity for Mozart is evinced in his brilliant, subtly-shaded playing which brings forth the composer's work in all of its multivalent sparkle and darkness.” (Scott Hawkinson, Double V Digital Recordings)
John has benefited from the private composition and piano instruction of Phyllis Lehrer, Jay Kawarsky, Silvina Milstein and Edward Nesbit.
John currently runs his own publishing company, LiveWire Music Editions, as well as his own record label and music platform, Aphoria Music, and is also published by various other publishing houses. John Franek
COMMISSIONED WORKS:
Flow (Elementary Piano)
Erratic Invention (Intermediate Piano)
Dynamic Tension (Advanced Piano)
2019 Alexander Timofeev
Philadelphia-based composer and pianist Alexander Timofeev merges various Eastern European and American influences to create music of intense emotion, lyricism and dynamic movement. Among his accolades is the Audience Choice Award and Commission at the American Composers Orchestra's 2017 Underwood New Music Readings.
COMMISSIONED WORKS:
Falling Snow (Beginner Piano)
Two-Step (Intermediate Piano)
Dance with Mirrors (Advanced Piano)
Dark Hour (Duet for Piano and Alto Sax/Flute/Clarinet)