Announcing the new
Schubert Club Composer-in-Residence:
Reinaldo Moya
plus two additional financial awards for Minnesota composers
St. Paul, MN (Wednesday, June 7, 2017) — Schubert Club announced today at its Annual Luncheon the appointment of Reinaldo Moya as its new Composer-in-Residence beginning September 1, 2017. Moya will serve a two-year term in this position.
The role of the composer-in-residence is to create music, to participate in education and community programs, to advise and to advocate on behalf of Schubert Club. The position was specifically created with flexibility to allow the composer to shape residency activities to fit the individual’s strengths and interests. Reinaldo Moya’s residency plans include writing a chamber opera, introducing a composition element to Schubert Club’s KidsJam workshops and other programs, and providing mentorship to local young composers.
Schubert Club Artistic & Executive Director Barry Kempton said of the appointment: “The strong compositions submitted as part of Reinaldo’s application together with his compelling vision for his residency make Reinaldo an ideal composer-in-residence to follow in the path blazed previously by David Evan Thomas, Edie Hill and Abbie Betinis. I look forward both to supporting Reinaldo in his residency and to the benefits his creative mind and musical sensibilities will bring to Schubert Club. My overriding hope is that during his two-season residency, both he and Schubert Club will learn and develop from one another.”
Reinaldo Moya stated: “I’m beyond excited to be joining the Schubert Club team. Through my compositions, educational activities and role as an artistic advisor, I hope to contribute to the Schubert Club’s mission. One of my goals is to bring awareness to the role that Latin American immigrants have played in our state, both historically and in the present.”
In addition, Schubert Club announced financial awards to support the creation of new works by two other Minnesota-based composers, deVon Russell Gray and Tiffany Skidmore. Both composers were identified during the Composer-in-Residence search process.
About the Selection Process
Minnesota composers were invited to submit an application in early 2017. There were 33 candidates in total. The search committee comprised Artistic & Executive Director Barry Kempton together with composers Clarice Assad and Patrick Castillo.
About Reinaldo Moya
Reinaldo Moya is a graduate of Venezuela’s El Sistema music education system. Through El Sistema, he had access to musical training from an early age and was a founding member of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra touring throughout Europe, North and South America. A graduate of The Juilliard School and a participant in the prestigious John Duffy Composers Institute and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Conce Composers Institute, Moya now lives in Northfield, and is Associate Professor of Composition at Augsburg College. Reinaldo Moya is the recipient of the 2015 McKnight Composers Fellowship, the Van Lier Fellowship from Meet the Composer and the Aaron Copland Award from the Copland House.
About deVon Russell Gray
deVon Rusell Gray, multi-instrumentalist, is best known as dVRG in the acclaimed live hip hop band, Heiruspecs. Lesser known are his classical and chamber music works, film scores, experimental collaborations (SPCO Liquid Music Series), arranging credits (Poliça, The Cloak Ox, Allan Kingdom), session work, and production. Gray, has studied orchestral conducting with world renowned artists Manny Laureano (MN Orchestra) and Donald Palma (Orpheus Chamber Orchestra); and composition with Lee Hyla, & Michael Gandolfi, to name a few. Redefining versatility, dVRG draws inspiration from an enviable record collection, from Claudio Monteverdi to Shuggie Otis, and communicates through nuanced sounds; a musical polyglot disguised as a lone star…ready to super nova.
About Tiffany Skidmore
Tiffany M. Skidmore holds degrees in Vocal Performance and Music Composition from Gonzaga University, Eastern Washington University, and the University of Minnesota. She has studied with Scottish composer James Dillon, Chaya Czernowin (head of the Music Composition department at Harvard University), Jonathan Middleton, and J. Kevin Waters. Her work has been featured in master classes with Brian Ferneyhough, Chaya Czernowin, and Julio Estrada. She has been a featured composer in the Hildegard von Bingen Festival of Women in the Arts and the Rimon Artist Salon, and her work has been performed throughout Europe and the United States by the CSU Stanislaus Concert Chorale, the EWU Concert Chorale, Opus7 Vocal Ensemble, the Kiev Philharmonic, Duo Gelland, Peter Wright (principal clarinetist for the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra), the Hark Quartet, Ensemble Dal Niente, Jeffery Kyle Hutchins, Nanyi Neil Qiang, Without Fear of Wind or Vertigo, and the Strains New Music Ensemble, among many others. She is a member of the American Composers Forum and a founding member of the Minneapolis composer collective, 113.
About Schubert Club
For over 135 years, Schubert Club has invited the world’s finest recital soloists and ensembles to the Twin Cities and promoted the finest musical talents of our community through performances, education, and museum programs. It has secured a prominent and distinguished reputation among musical organizations nationwide, and is one of the first arts organizations in the country.
The Schubert Club’s International Artist Series has presented virtually all of the world’s great recitalists including Jascha Heifetz, Arthur Rubinstein, Cecilia Bartoli, Beverly Sills, Leontyne Price, Yo-Yo Ma and Renée Fleming to name a few. In 2014, Schubert Club introduced Schubert Club Mix, its convention-breaking performance series in nontraditional venues. Additional series include Music in the Park Series (chamber music concerts in the St. Anthony Park neighborhood), a free weekly lunchtime Courtroom Concerts series in downtown St. Paul, Accordo, and the Hill House Chamber Players.
The Schubert Club is committed to music education and reaches hundreds of children and young adults annually through family-friendly concerts, workshops, music lessons and scholarships.
The Schubert Club Museum located in historic Landmark Center holds a world-class collection comprised of historic keyboards, instruments from around the world, and original letters and manuscripts by famous composers.
For more information visit schubert.org.