David T. Little
Encyclopedia
David T. Little is an American
composer
and drummer
known for his orchestral and operatic works, including his theatrical cantata "Soldier Songs" which was included in New York City Opera
's VOX Contemporary American Opera Lab in 2008. Scenes from his new opera, Dog Days, were premiered at Carnegie Hall
on May 9, 2009, followed by a presentation as part of New York City Opera
's VOX Contemporary Opera Lab on April 30, 2010. The opera will be presented in a world premiere staging in Fall 2012 by famed American director Robert Woodruff
. In September 2011 Baltimore Symphony will present the world premiere of a commission entitled "Charm". He is currently the executive director of New York's MATA
Festival and the artistic director of Newspeak
, an eight-piece amplified ensemble that explores the boundaries between rock and classical music.
, eighth blackbird
, So Percussion, ensemble courage, Dither, NOW Ensemble, PRISM Quartet, the New World Symphony, American Opera Projects
, the New York City Opera
, the Grand Rapids Symphony and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
under Marin Alsop
. He has received awards and recognition from The American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, Meet The Composer, the American Music Center, the Harvey Gaul Competition, BMI, and ASCAP, and has received commissions from Carnegie Hall, the Baltimore Symphony, the Albany Symphony, the New World Symphony, Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, the University of Michigan
, and Dawn Upshaw
’s Vocal Arts program at the Bard Conservatory.
Recent and upcoming projects include the opera Dog Days (Robert Woodruff
, director; Royce Vavrek
, librettist), Haunt of Last Nightfall for Third Coast Percussion, RADIANT CHiLD for the New World Symphony, Conspiracy Theory for Darcy James Argue’e Secret Society–a new music big band–and new works for Nadia Sirota, Kathleen Supové, Lisa Moore/Ashley Bathgate, and the Baltimore Symphony under Marin Alsop. His and the sky was still there was recently released Todd Reynold’s Outerborough, on Innova records.
In 2004, Little founded the amplified octet Newspeak, for which he is also the drummer and artistic director. Hailed as “potent” (TheRestIsNoise.com), “innovative” (New York Magazine), and “fierce” (Time Out New York), Newspeak explores the relationship of music and politics, while confronting head-on the boundaries between the classical and the rock traditions. A New Amsterdam Records artist, Newspeak released its first CD of commissioned works in November 2010, to critical acclaim. “You could call this punk classical,” one critic proclaimed, noting that the disc is “fearlessly aware, insightfully political (and) resolutely defiant.”
Little holds degrees from Susquehanna University
(2001), The University of Michigan (2002) and Princeton University
(2006, PhD expected spring 2011), and his primary teachers have included Osvaldo Golijov, Paul Lansky, Steven Mackey, William Bolcom, and Michael Daugherty. He has taught music in New York City through Carnegie Hall’s Musical Connections program, served as the inaugural Digital Composer-in-Residence for the UK-based DilettanteMusic.com, and was recently appointed as the Executive Director of New York’s MATA Festival.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
known for his orchestral and operatic works, including his theatrical cantata "Soldier Songs" which was included in New York City Opera
New York City Opera
The New York City Opera is an American opera company located in New York City.The company, called "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and...
's VOX Contemporary American Opera Lab in 2008. Scenes from his new opera, Dog Days, were premiered at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
on May 9, 2009, followed by a presentation as part of New York City Opera
New York City Opera
The New York City Opera is an American opera company located in New York City.The company, called "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and...
's VOX Contemporary Opera Lab on April 30, 2010. The opera will be presented in a world premiere staging in Fall 2012 by famed American director Robert Woodruff
Robert Woodruff
Robert Woodruff may refer to:* Robert Woodruff , theatre director* Robert E. Woodruff, president of Erie Railroad 1939–1949* Robert W...
. In September 2011 Baltimore Symphony will present the world premiere of a commission entitled "Charm". He is currently the executive director of New York's MATA
Mata
-People:* Mata , for people with the surname Mata* Mata Hari , stage name of exotic dancer, courtesan and spy Margaretha Zelle* Mata Amritanandamayi , Hindu spiritual leader and guru...
Festival and the artistic director of Newspeak
Newspeak
Newspeak is a fictional language in George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. In the novel, it refers to the deliberately impoverished language promoted by the state. Orwell included an essay about it in the form of an appendix in which the basic principles of the language are explained...
, an eight-piece amplified ensemble that explores the boundaries between rock and classical music.
Biography
David T. Little's music has been performed throughout the world—including in Dresden, London, Edinburgh, LA, Montreal, and at the Tanglewood, Aspen, MATA and Cabrillo Festivals—by such performers as the London SinfoniettaLondon Sinfonietta
The London Sinfonietta is an English chamber orchestra founded in 1968 and based in London. The ensemble specialises in contemporary music and works across a wide range of genres, performing modern classics alongside world premieres, and includes music by electronica artists as well as folk and...
, eighth blackbird
Eighth blackbird
eighth blackbird is a Grammy Award-winning contemporary music sextet based in Chicago. The group derives its name from the eighth stanza of Wallace Stevens' poem Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird...
, So Percussion, ensemble courage, Dither, NOW Ensemble, PRISM Quartet, the New World Symphony, American Opera Projects
American Opera Projects
American Opera Projects is a professional opera company based in New York City, NY and is a member of OPERA America, the Fort Greene Association, and the Alliance of Resident Theatres/ New York]] . The company's primary mission is to develop and present new works...
, the New York City Opera
New York City Opera
The New York City Opera is an American opera company located in New York City.The company, called "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and...
, the Grand Rapids Symphony and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is a professional American symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland.In September 2007, Maestra Marin Alsop led her inaugural concerts as the Orchestra’s twelfth music director, making her the first woman to head a major American orchestra.The BSO Board...
under Marin Alsop
Marin Alsop
Marin Alsop is an American conductor and violinist. She is the music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.In 2012, Alsop will replace Yan Pascal Tortelier as principal conductor of the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra....
. He has received awards and recognition from The American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, Meet The Composer, the American Music Center, the Harvey Gaul Competition, BMI, and ASCAP, and has received commissions from Carnegie Hall, the Baltimore Symphony, the Albany Symphony, the New World Symphony, Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, and Dawn Upshaw
Dawn Upshaw
Dawn Upshaw is an American soprano described as "one of the most consequential performers of our time" by the Los Angeles Times. The recipient of several Grammy Awards and Edison Prize-winning discs, Upshaw is at home both in opera and art song, and in repertoire from Baroque to contemporary...
’s Vocal Arts program at the Bard Conservatory.
Recent and upcoming projects include the opera Dog Days (Robert Woodruff
Robert Woodruff
Robert Woodruff may refer to:* Robert Woodruff , theatre director* Robert E. Woodruff, president of Erie Railroad 1939–1949* Robert W...
, director; Royce Vavrek
Royce Vavrek
Royce Vavrek is a Canadian filmmaker, librettist, playwright and musical theatre writer known for the film From Sky and Soil, which was created as part of the Corus Young Filmmakers Initiative for broadcast on the W Network through a prize administered by the...
, librettist), Haunt of Last Nightfall for Third Coast Percussion, RADIANT CHiLD for the New World Symphony, Conspiracy Theory for Darcy James Argue’e Secret Society–a new music big band–and new works for Nadia Sirota, Kathleen Supové, Lisa Moore/Ashley Bathgate, and the Baltimore Symphony under Marin Alsop. His and the sky was still there was recently released Todd Reynold’s Outerborough, on Innova records.
In 2004, Little founded the amplified octet Newspeak, for which he is also the drummer and artistic director. Hailed as “potent” (TheRestIsNoise.com), “innovative” (New York Magazine), and “fierce” (Time Out New York), Newspeak explores the relationship of music and politics, while confronting head-on the boundaries between the classical and the rock traditions. A New Amsterdam Records artist, Newspeak released its first CD of commissioned works in November 2010, to critical acclaim. “You could call this punk classical,” one critic proclaimed, noting that the disc is “fearlessly aware, insightfully political (and) resolutely defiant.”
Little holds degrees from Susquehanna University
Susquehanna University
Susquehanna University is a liberal arts college in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, United States, north of the state capital, Harrisburg.-Academics:...
(2001), The University of Michigan (2002) and Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
(2006, PhD expected spring 2011), and his primary teachers have included Osvaldo Golijov, Paul Lansky, Steven Mackey, William Bolcom, and Michael Daugherty. He has taught music in New York City through Carnegie Hall’s Musical Connections program, served as the inaugural Digital Composer-in-Residence for the UK-based DilettanteMusic.com, and was recently appointed as the Executive Director of New York’s MATA Festival.