Houston, TX & New York, NY – EarShot Readings with Houston Symphony scheduled to take place in Houston, TX on May 5-7, 2020 have been postponed in an effort to reduce the spread of the new coronavirus (COVID-19). The Readings, led by conductor Christopher Rountree, were to have featured the following works by four emerging orchestral composers: José G. Martínez R.’s En El Otro Lado/On the Other Side, Patricia Martínez’s PHOSPHORUS, Marco-Adrián Ramos’ Rehén de tus labios, o Escena de telenovela, and Diana M. Rodriguez Aguilar’s Mudai. These four composers were selected from a pool of 137 applicants in an international call for scores, reviewed by a distinguished panel of mentor composers.

The readings of all four pieces will be rescheduled at the earliest opportunity, as part of a future Houston Symphony season.

American Composers Orchestra seeks to identify and celebrate emerging American composers through its EarShot program. Drawing from a national network of advisors and advocates, EarShot works with orchestras around the country to identify and support promising composers in the early stages of their careers. Orchestras have relied on EarShot to identify and connect with composers consistent with their artistic vision, and to advise the orchestra on commissions, competitions, and program design. Managed by the American Composers Orchestra (ACO), EarShot is a partnership between the ACO, League of American Orchestras, American Composers Forum, and New Music USA. Over the past 10 years EarShot has initiated dozens of composer/orchestra/conductor relationships across the country offering opportunities to more than 100 composers. In 2016, ACO launched a composer archive of past EarShot compositions now in the orchestral repertoire.

ACO Artistic Director Derek Bermel, Music Director George Manahan, Orchestra Committee Chair Eugene Moye, Board Chair Frederick Wertheim, and President Ed Yim jointly stated, “These are turbulent times for arts organizations. Usually, in times of crisis and need, we are able to provide our art to console, heal, gather and reflect. This particular crisis is preventing us from doing that, and it is frustrating not to be able to share the music we all need so much right now. But we remain fervent in our belief in the need for music, the arts, and creativity, and we will seek ways in the coming weeks to do as much as possible to provide what we can during this time.”

In an effort to continue to bring new music to its audiences during the crisis, ACO will be providing videos online for a seven day period of its recent Underwood New Music Readings, held without the public in attendance on March 12 and 13. These Readings, which have become an influential platform for aspiring orchestral composers, included works by six emerging composers – Dai Wei, Anthony R. Green, Paul Novak, Christian Quiñones, Gity Razaz, and Keane Southard. Those interested in accessing the videos by email can sign up at http://bit.ly/ACOEmail.

More information about Houston Symphony is available online at www.houstonsymphony.org and American Composers Orchestra at www.americancomposers.org.

José G. Martínez R.'s music incorporates a wide range of influences from Colombian folk tunes to contemporary composition techniques, while borrowing from Latin music, heavy metal and audio sampling techniques. His works range from solo pieces with electronics to orchestral works, passing through chamber ensembles, electroacoustic pieces, and collaborations with dancers and video. His main musical interest is the idiosyncratic synthesis of timbral examination, Latin American vernacular music, sociopolitics, and technology. He has written for ensembles such as Alarm Will Sound, Spanish ensemble Taller Sonoro, Wild Up, Grammy award-winning quartet Third Coast Percussion, American piano duet Hockett, and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, among others. His music has been presented at institutes and festivals such as Banff Ensemble Evolution program, SEAMUS 2018, ClarinetFest 2015, and VIPA 2015. Martínez is a recipient of the 2013 Sinquefield Composition Prize, 2019 Rain Water Grant for Innovation, and of three national composition prizes from Colombia. He is also artistic director of the concert series Stack Overflow that creates opportunities for composers interested in electronics. An alumnus of the National University of Colombia as both a percussionist and a composer, he pursued an MM in composition at the University of Missouri, and currently is a DMA candidate in composition with emphasis in the use of electronics at UT Austin. In 2020 Martínez accepted a Visiting Professor position at ECU in Greenville, NC.

Patricia Martínez is an active Argentinian/Spanish composer, interdisciplinary artist and performer, based in Buenos Aires. Her works has emerged, in part, from an experimental process of 'stripping-down,' which involves a degree of risk-taking, in that the resulting music is left somewhat vulnerable in terms of its expressive identity. Her creative and research interests are focused on new music composition and interdisciplinary projects, specially contemporary music theatre, new opera, extended music composition & performance, a sensible use of technology (electroacoustic and video art), improvisation, and choreography-composition. Ensembles and performers who have played Martínez’s music include: Arditti, The Jack, San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, Bang on a Can, and Orkest de Ereprijs. Her works received awards including the most important recognitions of her country and abroad. Recent highlights include the premiere of interdisciplinary diptych Short sleep (Breve sueño), commissioned and produced at the Experimental Center of Colón Theater (CETC, Arg.); the premier of Beyond at the Place of Fine Arts (México DF) by Iber-dance/Music; The frozen little girl (La niña helada), a chamber opera commissioned and premiered during the 48th Ferienkurse für Neue Musik Darmstadt, that was selected to be fully produced at the Recoleta Cultural Center in the 2017 and selected at the International New Opera Festival of Buenos Aires (FNOBA); and Espacio ausente, for 14 speakers, lights and voice, commissioned by Cervantes National Theatre (AR, 2018). She was artistic director, founder member and performer of different new music and experimental ensembles in Buenos Aires, Paris and Virginia, since 1990. She is member and organizer of FASE (non-profit organization of artistic policies. Martínez is currently a professor of Composition at National University of Quilmes (UNQ); at the Superior Conservatory of Music from Buenos Aires City Astor Piazzolla (CSMCBA) and external tutor at the Doctoral program in music composition at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). She holds a Doctoral and a Master degree in Music Composition from Stanford University. She studied at the Municipal Conservatory of BA, National University of Quilmes and completing the Annual Course in Computer Music (IRCAM). She taught composition at Stanford University; National Conservatory of Lima, University of Costa Rica, UNQ, FNA.

The musical output of Mexican-American composer and arranger Marco-Adrián Ramos spans over a variety of media including works for voice, instrumental and electroacoustic ensembles, and dance. Ramos has been invited to participate in festivals such as the European-American Musical Alliance, the Bowdoin International Music Festival, the Next Festival of Emerging Artists, and the Aspen Music Festival; composers with whom he has had the pleasure of working with include Christopher Lacy, Robert Beaser, Christopher Rouse, Derek Bermel, Mari Kimura, Christopher Theofanidis, Stephen Hartke, and Arturo Márquez. He has been the recipient of a 2016 ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award, and in 2018 was awarded an artist grant from the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures in conjunction with composer-mentor Gabriela Lena Frank. He was also awarded the Arthur Friedman Prize in 2018 “for an outstanding orchestral work”; the piece Toys in a Field was premiered under the baton of Jeffrey Milarsky with the Juilliard Orchestra in Alice Tully Hall. He is also a recipient of a 2019 Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, as well as the 2019 William Schuman Award from the BMI Foundation. Marco-Adrián received his undergraduate and graduate degrees at The Juilliard School. 

Diana M. Rodriguez was born and raised in Bogotá, has lived in Miami and Boston, and is currently based in NYC. She is a composer of electroacoustic music, a concert series curator (C3 and CanvaSound), and a 90s anime aficionado. Having its footholds in pop culture, Colombian folk, and Rock en Español, her work has been presented by artists like ICE, Yarn Wire, ECCE Ensemble, Ludovico Ensemble, Boston Musica Viva, Berrow Duo, Eric Drescher and Josh Modney at the BANFF Centre for the Arts and Creativity, the DiMenna Center for Classical Music, the Boston Conservatory, University of North Colorado, the Coral Gables Museum, and the New England Conservatory. Currently a doctoral candidate at Columbia University, DM R holds a master’s degree from the Boston Conservatory and a bachelor’s degree from the New World School of the Arts at the University of Florida. Her ongoing projects include collaborations with TAK ensemble, Oasi Trio, and Alejandro Guardia.