ABOUT THE ARTIST
Dominick DeStefano, composition
As a composition student at West Chester University, Dominick has composed works for a wide variety of ensembles, including wind ensemble, big band, brass ensemble, and various chamber ensembles. His works have received numerous accolades including winning the Roz Patton Composition Scholarship, being selected as one of three winners of the Pennsylvania Brass Ensemble’s 2023 call for scores, and being chosen as the winner of the 2023 Chester County Concert Band composition contest. Dominick’s works have been recorded and performed by numerous groups including the West Chester University Wind Symphony, the Criterions Jazz Ensemble, Network for New Music, and the Constellation Men’s Ensemble. Dominick’s compositional style seeks to combine classical influences with modernist techniques. His music makes heavy use of aleatory and improvisation.
In addition to his work as a composer, Dominick does extensive work with electronic music and generative computer graphics. As a TouchDesigner artist, he has created music videos, live performances, and his 2024 installation Improvisations, which combined audio and visual elements to create an interactive and responsive environment. Dominick is active in the marching arts world as an arranger, sound designer, and educator. He also regularly performs throughout the region on bassoon. Outside of music, Dominick enjoys the outdoors, biking, and hiking. He also loves working with technology and integrating it into his musical endeavors.
PROGRAM NOTES
NightWaltz(2025)
“Night Waltz” is a ballad originally written for Kitchen Sink. It is presented here in an arrangement for quintet.
ScenesfromMetropolis (2025)
I was drawn to write music for Fritz Lang’s 1927 silent film Metropolis by its stunning and evocative imagery. I selected three scenes from the film to score. In “Moloch!” we see Freder, son of the city’s master, venture down into the machine halls of Metropolis. He witnesses an explosion that kills and injures many of the workers. Dazed and disoriented from the explosion, Freder hallucinates the machine as being a temple to Moloch with workers being fed in as sacrifices.
“The Tower of Babel” is a parable being told by Maria, who preaches to the workers. She tells the story of the biblical Tower of Babel to give the workers hope that soon their mediator will come and bring together the workers and the ruling class.
The events of “The Whore of Babylon” are largely hallucinated by Freder in a delirious state. The scene starts with him in the city’s cathedral where he intones to a statue of Death to stay away from him and his love, Maria. A monk preaches from Revelation about the Whore of Babylon. The scene changes to Yoshiwara, the city’s night club where a robot, created in the image of Maria to spread discord among the workers, performs for the patrons. The men are overcome with lust for the fake Maria. Finally, Freder witnesses the statues of Death and the seven deadly sins come to life. Death is unleashed on the city as the fake Maria prepares to lead a worker uprising and destroy Metropolis.
This work is a set of variations on a chorale setting of the hymn tune “Old Hundred.” The chorale comes from the protestant congregational singing tradition Sacred Harp. The Sacred Harp is a book of hundreds of simple chorales, with a shape note and a solfege system designed to make the hymns easy for an untrained congregation to perform. I am drawn to Sacred Harp for the simple yet powerful sound of the settings. In 2023, I made an electronic piece, titled “49t. Old Hundred” based on various recordings of congregations performing the Sacred Harp setting of “Old Hundred.” This piece is a largely acoustic version of that piece. Variations of the chorale are presented with improvised interludes.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to acknowledge all of my professors for their help and support as a student. I would like to give a special thanks to Dr. Devin Arne for all his help with my TouchDesigner work and electronic music, Dr. Ari Sussman for his guidance and mentorship, and Dr. Robert Maggio whose knowledge and support have made this recital happen. I would like to thank all of my performers for their time and hard work bringing this music to life. Finally, I would like to thank my friends and family for their endless love and support for me and my musical endeavors. None of what I do would be possible without them.