var1= April 1, 2008 Colorado Symphony Orchestra Performs Cutler Concerto The Colorado Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Jeffrey Kahane, will perform David Cutler’s double harp concerto entitled “Toy Fantasy” on April 4 and 5, 2008. Kathleen Bride, harp professor from the Eastman School of music, and the Colorado Symphony’s harpist, Courtney Hearn will be featured soloists. March 1, 2008 Creative Teaching Award for Contemporary Ensemble Dr. David Cutler has been awarded a Creative Teaching Award by Duquesne University for his work with the Contemporary Ensemble during the Fall, 2007 semester. A congratulatory letter explained that the award was granted because Cutler had “moved students beyond a sole focus on performance excellence to additional competencies required of professional musicians: collaborative learning, promotion and audience development, alternative kinds of presentations, and the integration of technology. The unprecedented audience sizes demonstrate the effective promotion skills that students learned. Students displayed growth in the other competencies by presenting successful concerts in which they incorporated such aspects as lighting, technology, movement, and collaboration with actors and dancers.” The award will be presented in a ceremony on April 3. October 23, 2007 Where Art Music and Pop Culture Meet How often does pop culture meet classical music within the context of a quality, satisfying, and entertaining event? The synthesis of cultural icons with sophisticated music is exactly what the Duquesne University Contemporary Ensemble is preparing for its upcoming event entitled Pop Culture, on Thursday, November 29, 2007. The Contemporary Ensemble presents this unprecedented event in collaboration with Duquesne’s Red Masquers, Pittsburgh’s oldest amateur theater company. Under the direction of Dr. David Cutler, the program integrates elements of pop culture in a variety of ways. Heartbreakers, by Jacob Ter Veldhuis, combines a jazz sextet with video, actors, and actual recorded quotes extracted from the Jerry Springer show. Dead Elvis, by Michael Daugherty, features Pittsburgh Symphony bassoonist David Sogg costumed as Elvis Presley. John Zorn’s For Your Eyes Only is essentially Avant-garde cartoon music, while The Speed of Light, by David Dramm, features a “trained pop vocalist” with chamber orchestra. September 21, 2007 More Than a Concert What if you could attend a concert that seemed more like a movie than a musical event? The Duquesne University Contemporary Ensemble promises to deliver just that at its season opener, Orpheus, on Thursday, October 11, 2007. Under the direction of Dr. David Cutler, sitting in for David Stock during his sabbatical, the Contemporary Ensemble offers a fresh spin on the traditional concert experience. Music will be brought to life through lighting, drama, dance, poetry, staging, and projections. Musicians in the ensemble do more than simply perform the music–they play character roles that personify the sounds, carefully penned by composers, in unusual ways. The focal piece of the program is Orpheé-Serenade by William Bolcom. A musical portrayal of the ancient story of Orpheus and Eurydice, this work brings to life the romantic struggles of Orpheus and the course of events that divide and eventually unite the couple. Other works include a staged version of Doug Opels Ferlinghetti, a newly commissioned piece for string quintet by Pittsburgh composer Amy Williams, and a series of works for costumed trumpeters. Designed as a concert without intermission, Orpheus is a program which will appeal to audiences of all walks of life, bringing contemporary sounds alive in innovative and fresh ways. April 12, 2007 Promotion to Associate Professor Dr. Cutler has been promoted to the rank of Associate Professor with tenure at the Duquesne University School of Music, beginning in the Fall of 2007. August 20, 2006 Cutler To Appear As Featured Soloist With The River City Brass Band This September, David Cutler will be the featured guest soloist with the River City Brass Band on a series of 8 concerts to kick off their 25th season. On this concert, Cutler will perform Geroge Gershwin's "Variations on I Got Rhythm," his own composition "Kopanitza," and a number of other selections. For a complete listing of concerts, please contact the RCBB. June 15, 2006 Irony Wins NATS Composition Competition David Cutler's song cycle Evenly Spaced Waves of Irony, for baritone and piano, won the first place award in the Art Song Composition Compeition by the National Association for the Teachers of Singing, Inc. In addition to a cash award, his work was premiered at the 2006 NATS conference in Minneapolis, MN by baritone Paul Hindemith. April 20, 2006 Super Power Wins the Friends and Enemies of New Music Composition Competition David Cutler's composition Super Power won the composition competition by the New York based organization Friends and Enemies of New Music. This work is a virtuosic showpiece for piano 4-hands (performed by a pianist and a percussionist on a grand piano). In other words, the pianist plays primarily on the keys, while the drummer treats the instrument like hand percussion. The piece will be performed on a concert in the Fall of 2006 by the contemporary music piano specialist Kathleen Supove. February 18, 2006 Cutler To Work With Top University in Bogota, Colombia In June, 2006, Cutler has been invited to serve a faculty residency at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, the top music conservatory in Colombia. During his visit to Bogota, he will work intensively with the music faculty, investigating issues of music theory, ear training, and composition pedagogy, in addition to having performances of some of his chamber music. January 25, 2006 Cutler To Participate in Asia Pacific Performance Exchange The UCLA Center for Intercultural Performance has accepted David Cutler as one of 18 artists to participate in the Asia Pacific Performance Exchange (APPEX) during the summer of 2006. This 6-week, intensive session is an international residency program that promotes cross-cultural and interdisciplinary collaborations. Participants will include dancers, musicians, dramatists, and puppeteers from the United States, India, Indonesia, Philippines, and Malyasia. For more information, please visit wac.ucla.edu/cip/appex/index.htm. December 29, 2005 Jabberwocky Named One Of Top 10 Events On December 29, 2005, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette named a concert built around David Cutler's composition Jabberwocky as one of Pittsburgh's top 10 classical music events of 2005. The performance, by the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, featured an intermission-less night of music tied loosely together by Alice in Wonderland related themes. The multi-media presentation included music, movement, lighting, stage design, costuming, and projections of cartoons and animations by artist Aaron Kablack. The full article may be viewed at the address: cpost-gazette.com/pg/05363/629040.stm. December 1, 2005 Jigsaw to be Performed on International Jazz Composition Symposium The composition Jigsaw, by David Cutler, has been selected as one of a handful of big band works to be performed by the Jazz Surge at the Internation Jazz Composition Symposium. The conference, which will take place in March, 2006, will be feature jazz composition legends Bob Brookmeyer, Dave Douglas, and John Clayton. For more information about the IJCS, please visit centerforjazzcomp.arts.usf.edu. November 22, 2005 Cutler Invited for Composer Residency in Sweden David Cutler has been invited to serve as a composer-in-residency at the Visby International Centre for Composer's in Gotland Sweden. From May 8-June 1, 2006, he will serve his residency at the centre, composing and working with Swedish musicians. For more information about Visby, please visit centreforcomposers.org. October 7, 2005 Cutler Takes 1st Place in the International Competition for Composers The composition Vango Tan Gogh, by David Cutler, has been selected as the winner of the International Competition for Composers held by the Millennium Arts Society. This award will provide international exposure for the composer in the form of published reviews and interviews.For more information about the Millennium Arts Society, please visit millenniumartssociety.org. October 1, 2005 Trunk Music Website Unveiled The first website devoted entirely to the music and artistic vision of David Cutler can now be found at the address: trunkmusic.org. On the site one can find personal information, details about a variety of projects, a concert schedule, and many sound and score clips from Cutler’s varied arsenal of compositions. May 18, 2005 Cutler Wins Sammy Nestico Award David Cutler’s big band composition Not A Whisper was awarded the 2005 Sammy Nestico Award by the US Air Force Airmen of Note Band. In addition to a cash award, Cutler has been commissioned to compose a new work for the group. Both the winning and commissioned piece will be performed by the band in November, 2005, in Washington DC, and then taken on tour by the band. For more information about the Sammy Nestico Award and the Airmen of Note, please visit usafband.com/nestico.cfm.