Hedwig, Douglas
Composer Douglas Hedwig has recently returned from Italy where his new octet for strings and winds (Canzoni Antifonali) was premiered in October 2021 by the Dèdalo Ensemble in Brescia. Other recent performances and premieres in Italy have taken place in Milan (l'Altre Stelle for solo guitar, premiered at the Verdi Conservatory in November 2021, presented by the Società Italiana Musica Contemporanea), and Desenzano del Garda (La lieve Fatica dell'Amore for soprano & piano performed by the Nuova Ensemble di Disenzo, June 2021). His string quartet, Journey, was a Finalist in the 2021 Concorso Internazionale di Composizione "Sinestesia fra le Arti" (Parma OperArt).
Other recent international premieres and performances have taken place in Brussels, Belgium (Muse Noir for 3 cellos presented by Festival Osmuse, November 2020), South Korea (TransSonic Awakenings, October 2020 at the Seoul International Electronic Music Festival), and England (Its Soul of Music Shed for solo horn & narration, London New Wind Festival, November 2020).
Closer to home, Dr. Hedwig has enjoyed many recent commissions, premieres and residencies. In September 2021 his trio for trumpet, soprano & piano (New Worlds), and a new song-cycle for soprano & piano (A Species Stands Beyond) were premiered by faculty artists at Lee University (Cleveland, TN). Additionally, New Worlds was recently recorded for international release and distribution in 2022. Onyx for brass quintet was performed in April 2021 by the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra, and three other recently completed commissions received their world premieres in 2021: Obsidian for solo trumpet in March (commissioned by the Knoxville Symphony), Trombone Sonata at the International Trombone Festival in June (commissioned by Adam Johnson), Uddmayā for six trumpets at the 7th Annual William Adam Trumpet Festival in July (commissioned by Eric Siereveld and Altus Trumpet Ensemble), and Chesapeake Overture for brass band in Newark, Delaware in November (commissioned by the Chesapeake Silver Cornet Brass Band).
In early 2020 (prior to the pandemic "lockdown"), he was Composer-in-Residence at the University of Louisiana at Monroe where two full concerts of his music were performed. Included in these programs were three premieres for concert band - Promenade for a Great City, and band versions of Dia de la Fiesta and Hodie Canamus - as well as performances of several chamber works, including his 4-movement wind quintet Four Third Streams (commissioned and premiered by the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra in 2019), the award-winning, A Certain Slant of Light for brass quintet, organ and percussion, and the Emily Dickinson song cycle, Rowing in Eden.
Plans for the near future are well underway too. He is currently completing a commission for brass quintet, Heliodor, and in early 2022 he begins work on a major new work for symphony orchestra (for premiere in 2023, TBA). In June 2022 he will be co-producing a recording of his compositions for international release on the MSR Classics label - Vibrant Colors: The Brass Music of Douglas Hedwig.