Darryl Kubian

In March 2023, the New Jersey Symphony premiered The Well of Urd, a tone poem and concerto for full orchestra and three soloists.{{cite web |title=Darryl Kubian gives preview of world premiere of The Well of Urðr |url=https://www.njsymphony.org/news/detail/darryl-kubian-gives-preview-of-world-premiere-of-the-well-of-urdr |website=New Jersey Symphony |access-date=21 March 2023}} (The three solo instruments are the French horn, trumpet, and cello.) The work is inspired by Norse mythology, with each soloist representing one of the three Norns, the weavers of the Fate.{{cite news |last1=Bloom |first1=Susan |title=Darryl Kubian takes audience on a musical journey with symphony's premiere of 'The Well of Urðr' |url=https://www.nj.com/sponsor-content/?scid=None&prx_t=kMYBAAAAAAk80LA&ntv_ccpvw=shACAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAk80LA |access-date=21 March 2023 |publisher=NJ.com}} The soloists for its premiere performances were Chris Komer, principal horn of the NJ Symphony;{{cite web |title=Chris Komer, Principal Horn |url=https://www.njsymphony.org/musicians/detail/chris-komer |website=New Jersey Symphony |access-date=21 March 2023}} Garth Greenup, principal trumpet of the Symphony;{{cite web |title=Garth Greenup, Principal Trumpet |url=https://www.njsymphony.org/musicians/detail/garth-greenup |website=New Jersey Symphony |access-date=21 March 2023}} and Nayoung Baek, assistant principal cello of the New Jersey Symphony.{{cite web |title=Nayoung Baek, Assistant Principal Cello |url=https://www.njsymphony.org/musicians/detail/nayoung-baek |website=New Jersey Symphony |access-date=21 March 2023}}

;Reception

"The Well of Urd" received positive reviews in its premiere. From NJ.com: "The 23-minute piece, commissioned by the New Jersey Symphony, began with an extended low tone (reminiscent of then opening Wagner’s “Das Rheingold”) soon joined by a few harp plucks and then a woodwind melody. A dissonant, Ives-like trumpet sound from off-stage (played by Garth Greenup) then sets up a haunting cello solo by Nayoung Baek, that starts with a twisting, leaping line and ends with severe pizzicato pulls. Chris Komer's horn playing meshed well with the other two soloists and Zhang sculpted some elegant musical phrases with the orchestra. [...] 'The Well of Urðr' recalled early 20th-century symphonic poems of Arnold Bax and Ottorino Respighi—elegant, reflective pieces that showcase orchestral color."{{cite news |last1=Taylor |first1=James |title=N.J. Symphony celebrates its own stars at wide-ranging NJPAC showcase |url=https://www.nj.com/entertainment/2023/03/nj-symphony-celebrates-its-own-stars-at-wide-ranging-njpac-showcase-review.html |access-date=21 March 2023 |agency=NJ.com |date=March 17, 2023}}

In March 2015, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra premiered Darryl's work, O for a Muse of Fire, a concert overture for full orchestra and vocal soloist, based on Shakespeare's Henry V.{{cite news|last1=Amico|first1=Ross|title=Classical music: Shakespeare inspires performances at Princeton, Rider|url=http://www.nj.com/times-entertainment/index.ssf/2015/03/classical_music_shakespeare_in.html|access-date=21 March 2015|publisher=www.NJ.com|date=March 16, 2015}} The work is dedicated to the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and its music director, Jacques Lacombe. The soloist for the premiere performances with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra was former October Project lead singer (and former Sony Classical artist) Mary Fahl. The vocal part is adaptable to different vocal ranges.

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"O For a Muse of Fire" received positive reviews in its premiere performances. From Broadway World publication: "The overall composition is dramatic with flurries of vibrant musicality especially among the violins and brass. ... Mary Fahl has a dramatic, beautiful voice. This is a cinematic composition that builds steadily and majestically. One wishes Kubian had fleshed it out more. He will be a composer to keep one's eye on whether he pursues dramatic or cinema scores or continues in a classical venue."{{cite news|last1=Cohen|first1=Adam|title=KUBIAN, RACHMANINOFF & TCHAIKOVSKY NJSO at BergenPAC|url=http://www.broadwayworld.com/new-jersey/article/BWW-Reviews-KUBIAN-RACHMANINOFF-TCHAIKOVSKY-NJSO-at-BergenPAC-20150323#|access-date=31 March 2015|publisher=Broadway World|date=23 March 2015}} From The Star Ledger: "As the composer noted in an articulate pre-performance introduction, the music dealt with the conscience of the king, exploring matters earthly and spiritual and taking on sounds of both warfare and contemplation. ... a cinematic fabric with deep lower strings and soaring brass. Dissonant threads in sustained chords and warlike percussion contrasted warm, meditative passages. In an earthy alto, vocalist Mary Fahl sang passages of Shakespeare text and keened wordlessly in the work's more impassioned moments. A waterphone added an otherworldly tinge before a frenetic rise and the pound of battle drums led to a fittingly heroic conclusion."{{cite news|last1=Reich|first1=Ronnie|title=The NJSO plays Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky and Kubian|url=http://www.nj.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2015/03/the_njso_plays_rachmaninoff_tchaikovsky_and_kubian.html|access-date=31 March 2015|publisher=The Star Ledger|date=24 March 2015}}

During the 2007–08 season, the NJSO gave the premiere of Kubian's 3-2-1 Concerto for Electric and Acoustic Violin and Orchestra — an NJSO commission dedicated to then-Music Director Neeme Järvi and NJSO Concertmaster (and soloist) [https://archive.today/20150426133437/http://www.orpheusnyc.com/about/musicians/Eric-Wyrick/ Eric Wyrick]. A preview about the Kubian and the new work was featured on NJN's [http://www.njtvonline.org/programs/state-of-the-arts/ State of the Arts]. This NJN segment can be found online here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd0mTKNmeVw 3-2-1 on NJN's State of the Arts]

;Reception

The work was very well received in its premiere, and was subsequently broadcast on WQXR radio.{{cite news|last1=Munson|first1=John|title=NJSO Launches Radio Series|url=http://www.nj.com/newark/index.ssf/2008/05/njso_launches_radio_series.html|access-date=31 March 2015|publisher=The Star Ledger|date=27 May 2008}} From The Star Ledger review: "The piece balances the sort of electronic effects taken for granted in pop music with an open-hearted lyricism redolent of mainstream film scores, as it moves from an evocation of the Big Bang to a pool of idyllic repose to a cyclic, out-the-door rush. ... He [Eric Wyrick] triggered new colors with a pedal board at his feet, shifting from that initial serrated timbre to a sound like a celestial lyre; the violinist also set echoing loops into motion so that he accompanied himself along with the orchestra. The effect was so texturally engaging that one almost wished that Kubian had written a concerto entirely for electric violin (as John Adams did so well recently with "The Dharma at Big Sur") ... When Wyrick's electric violin soared above the orchestra again in full cry, the sheer lyricism was stirring, the instrument's hot edge searing away any sentimentality into something pure and affecting. ... Listeners seemed to enjoy the experience from the first note, with an attentive excitement in the air that isn't always there."

Eric Wyrick performed the work with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Michoacán in Mexico, in October 2009.{{cite web|title=Performances of 3-2-1 Concerto - October 2009|url=http://www.instantencore.com/concert/details.aspx?PId=5050382|website=InstantEncore|access-date=31 March 2015}} A CD of this collaboration was recorded and released.{{cite web|last1=Kubian|first1=Darryl|title=3-2-1 Concerto - CD of Live Recording|url=http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/darrylkubian2|website=CDBaby|access-date=31 March 2015}}

Kubian’s The Maestro Waltz, a special 70th-birthday piece for Neeme Järvi, was the featured encore during a number of NJSO concerts; it is also mentioned in Järvi’s biography, The Maestro’s Touch. Other recent works include the symphonic overture Occam’s Razor, premiered in May 2009 and performed by the Omaha Symphony in March 2012.{{cite news|last1=Rasmussen|first1=Ben|title=Symphony Soars with Strings|url=http://www.kvnonews.com/2012/03/arts-symphony-soars-with-strings/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402091424/http://www.kvnonews.com/2012/03/arts-symphony-soars-with-strings/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=April 2, 2015|access-date=21 March 2015|publisher=KVNO News|date=March 1, 2012}}

Darryl Kubian has composed scores for the Wildlife Conservation Society, National Geographic, Discovery Channel, Pangolin Pictures, NHK, CBS, and The Learning Channel. Highlights of his work with National Geographic include being the composer for the children's show "Really Wild Animals" show,{{cite web|title=National Geographic Really Wild Animals - Barnes and Noble|url=http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dvd-national-geographic-really-wild-animals-totally-tropical-rain-forest-dudley-moore/3927120?ean=727994573579|website=Barnes and Noble|access-date=30 March 2015}} and "Jaws and Claws." For the Wildlife Conservation Society, Darryl has composed soundtracks for USAid, and the US Department of Defense.{{cite web|title=Wildlife Conservation Society - Wildlife Trade and the Military|url=http://wcswildlifetrade.org/Initiatives/MilitaryWCSProjects/tabid/4408/Default.aspx|website=Military-WCS Projects|publisher=Wildlife Conservation Society|access-date=30 March 2015}}

Darryl has performed as theremin soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Oregon Symphony, the Philharmonia Orchestra of New York, and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. In September 2024, Darryl performed as featured thereminist with the Houston Ballet in a production of the Lera Auerbach's The Little Mermaid. In 2017, he performed as thereminist for the work in performances with the Kennedy Center Opera Orchestra and the Hamburg Ballet,{{Cite web|url=http://darryl-kubian.com|title=Home {{!}}Website of Darryl Kubian|website=darryl-kubian.com|access-date=2017-03-28}} and in 2023, with the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Joffrey Ballet.{{cite news |last1=MacMillan |first1=Kyle |title=Joffrey Ballet’s ‘Little Mermaid’ unsettles as it entrances |url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/2023/4/20/23691338/little-mermaid-review-joffrey-ballet-chicago-victoria-jaiani-yoshihisa-arai-dylan-gutierrez-neumeier |access-date=8 September 2024 |publisher=Chicago Sun Times |date=20 April 2023}} In 2024, he performed the Martinu Fantasia for Theremin, Oboe, Piano and String Quartet at Carnegie Hall with the Met Orchestra Chamber Players of the Metropolitan Operahttps://www.instagram.com/darrylkubian/p/C4eaBQygKXI/?img_index=1 and as a guest artist with the Craftsbury Chamber Playershttps://frontporchforum.com/calendar/events/378389 and at the Aspen Music Festival and School.https://www.aspenmusicfestival.com/events/performers/darryl-kubian-2/ In previous years, he has also performed the work with the Concordia Chamber Players, and the Bronx Arts Ensemble.{{cite news|last1=Amico|first1=Ross|title=Theremin adds otherworldly touch to Concordia Chamber Players concert|url=http://www.nj.com/times-entertainment/index.ssf/2013/04/theremin_adds_otherworldly_tou.html|access-date=30 March 2015|publisher=The Times of Trenton|date=19 April 2013}} In November 2022, Darryl performed as thereminist in Lera Auerbach's orchestral work, Icarus, with the Oregon Symphony.{{cite news |last1=Bash |first1=James |title=Unforgotten: Three concerts with the Oregon Symphony |url=https://www.orartswatch.org/unforgotten-three-concerts-with-the-oregon-symphony/ |access-date=21 March 2023 |publisher=Oregon ArtsWatch |date=November 8, 2022}} In January 2019, Darryl performed with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra in a program titled "Pops in Space".{{Cite web|url=http://cincinnatisymphony.org/concerts-plus-events/pops/1819-pops/pops-in-space/|title=Pops in Space|website=cincinnatisymphony.org|access-date=2019-02-22}} He is featured as theremin soloist on the 2019 Cincinnati Pops Orchestra album, VOYAGE.{{cite web |url=https://www.cincinnatisymphony.org/about/watch-listen/fanfare-cincinnati/summer2019/voyage-a-musical-journey-of-exploration-and-imagination/ |title=Voyage: A Musical Journey of Exploration and Imagination|website=Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra |access-date=7 October 2019}} In October 2019, Darryl performed as thereminist in the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra performance of film composer Miklós Rózsa's "Spellbound Concerto." In July 2015, Darryl was the featured theremin soloist for the Lincoln Center Festival's production of Danny Elfman's Music from the Films of Tim Burton. In the same month, Darryl performed as theremin soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Ravinia festival, again performing works by Danny Elfman.{{cite web|title=Ravinia Festival - Danny Elfman's Music from the Films of Tim Burton|url=https://www.ravinia.org/showdetails/index?id=920|website=Ravinia Festival|access-date=15 July 2015}} The Lincoln Center performances were filmed by Live from Lincoln Center and later broadcast on PBS stations beginning October 30, 2015.{{cite web|title=Danny Elfman's Music from the films of Tim Burton - Live From Lincoln Center|url=https://www.pbs.org/arts/pbs-arts-festival/2015/danny-elfmans-music/|website=PBS.org|publisher=PBS|access-date=25 October 2015}} As theremin soloist with the NJ Symphony, Kubian has performed Bachianis Brasileires No. 5 by Villa-Lobos, the theme from Star Trek, and the Spellbound Suite by Miklos Rozsa.{{cite web|title=Darryl Kubian Plays Theremin for NJSO|url=http://www.thereminworld.com/Forums/T/27137/darryl-kubian-plays-theremin-for-njso|website=Theremin World forums|publisher=Theremin World|access-date=30 March 2015}}{{cite web|title=NJSO - "Shooting For the Stars" concert|url=http://www.njsymphony.org/events/detail/shooting-for-the-stars|website=NJ Symphony Orchestra|access-date=30 March 2015|date=30 Nov 2013}} He has performed both solo and chamber works as part of the Parlance Chamber Concert Series,{{cite web|title=Vocalise on the Moog EtherwavePro He has also recently made an appearance with the Danbury Symphony Orchestra.Theremin|url=https://www.facebook.com/moogmusicinc/posts/369389422220|website=Moog Music Inc - Facebook page|access-date=30 March 2015|date=16 March 2010}} the Ridgewood Concert Band, and Manchester Music Festival. Darryl's performance of Two Songs Without Words for Theremin and Piano by Herbert Deutsch, is featured on Deutsch's CD release of his works, “From Moog to Mac.”{{cite web|title=Herbert Deutsche: From Moog To Mac |url=http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/Name/Albert-Tepper/Performer/11991-2|website=ArkivMusic|access-date=30 March 2015}}

Darryl is a member of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra's first violin section, and former principal second violinist of the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra. A jazz musician and improvisor, he has performed with trumpeter Randy Brecker in a Charlie Parker program entitled “Bird Lives!” and has arranged and performed Ellington's “Sacred Songs” in collaboration with the Jazz Studies Program at Rutgers University. Kubian has performed and improvised with Nigel Kennedy, Al Jarreau, Rufus Reid,{{cite web|title=New Symphony Orchestra : Neighborhood Concerts|url=http://www.njsymphony.org/education-community/neighborhood-concerts|website=New Jersey Symphony Orchestra|access-date=30 March 2015}} Bobby Short and Renée Fleming. He has recorded with Trevor Pinnock, Malcolm Bilson, Meredith Monk, Bruno Weil, Zdenek Macal{{cite web|title=Amazon.com: Antonin Dvorak, Zdenek Macal, New Jersey Symphony: Dvorak: Stabat Mater / Biblical Songs: Music|url=https://www.amazon.com/Dvorak-Stabat-Mater-Biblical-Songs/dp/B0000006ZI|website=Amazon.com|year=1994 |access-date=30 March 2015}} and Philip Glass.{{cite web|title=Philip Glass: "Low" Symphony|url=http://www.philipglass.com/music/recordings/low_symphony.php|website=Philip Glass|access-date=30 March 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520085211/http://www.philipglass.com/music/recordings/low_symphony.php|archive-date=20 May 2011}}

Darryl Kubian is the audio/video engineer of his production company, [http://www.indigofoxmedia.com Indigo Fox Media]. Kubian has recorded the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Ridgewood Concert Band, [http://www.nyfluteclub.org/ NY Flute Club] and the Chesapeake Chamber Music Festival.{{cite web|title=Chesapeake Chamber Music competition booklet|url=http://www.chesapeakechambermusic.org/pdf/Comp-2010-booklet.pdf|website=Chesapeake Chamber Music|access-date=30 March 2015}} Indigo Fox Media records and produces both audio and video for the [https://web.archive.org/web/20100205033347/http://www.parlancechamberconcerts.org/index.php Parlance Chamber Concert] series in Ridgewood, NJ., which frequently features members of the Metropolitan Opera and NY Philharmonic, and other ensembles. Darryl has recorded and produced CD's and audio work for The Elements Quartet, the Halcyon Trio, and Mixed Flock Ensemble,{{cite web|last1=Lamy|first1=Andy|title=Mixed Flock Ensemble members|url=http://mixedflockorchestra.net/?content=mixed-flock%20orchestra%20project|website=Mixed Flock Ensemble|access-date=30 March 2015}} as well as members of the NJ Symphony Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera and NY Philharmonic. In 2020, Darryl Kubian was the audio and video engineer for the New Jersey Symphony's online release of "[https://www.njsymphony.org/events/detail/beethoven-5 Beethoven 5 at Home]," featuring over 60 members of the Symphony.

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Category:Living people

Category:1966 births

Category:American male composers

Category:21st-century American composers

Category:American male violinists

Category:Place of birth missing (living people)

Category:Musicians from New Jersey

Category:21st-century American violinists

Category:21st-century American male musicians