600 Works from around the world!
The Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra (OCCO), Performing Arts Matter (PAM), Voices of Orlando (VoxO), and the Central Florida Composers Forum (CF2) were all absolutely floored by the depth, creativity, and emotional range of the nearly 600 pieces we received. The selection process was incredibly difficult, made even more challenging by budgetary concerns, which have sadly forced us to cancel (hopefully only a postponement) the September concert we were planning. Nevertheless, please know there were many works we loved that could not be accommodated.
We’re excited to announce the final program for this season’s two performances:
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Friday, June 27, 2025
Bending Lightward: New Music for Chamber Orchestra
Blue Bamboo Center for the Arts – Winter Park, FL
Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra, directed by Todd Craven
Alex Burtzos – The F-Word (CF2)
Oleksandr Shymko – Ecstatics
Michael Olson – Prisms
Rebekah Todia – Golden Harvest (CF2)
Han Xu – A Few Practices of Chinese Acoustic Justice
XY Mike Zhou – Roundabout
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Saturday, July 19, 2025
Between Islands: New Music for Chamber Orchestra and Voices
Blue Bamboo Center for the Arts – Winter Park, FL
Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra, directed by Todd Craven
Voices of Orlando, directed by Claire Hodge
Maciej Bałenkowski – Comets
Erich Barganier – Speaking in Tongues
Gerson de Sousa Batista – Babalon
Robert Cohen – Connecticut Autumn
Alan Gerber – May the Road Rise Up to Meet You (CF2)
Troy Gifford – The Night (CF2)
Charlie Griffin – Between Islands (CF2)
Saman Shahi – I Heard a Fly Buzz
Ethan Soledad – Legacy Songs of Unity
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We would also like to recognize the following composers with Honorable Mentions. These works stood out to the panel and will be strongly considered for future seasons:
Ludvig Nitzler – The Ghosts from my Past Are Vultures
Max Vinetz – Hautepáte
Yie Eun Chun – Urban Symphony
Moritz Lassman – Getriebe
Michael Ippolito – 7 Masks
Sang Mi Ahn – Loki’s Castle
Saman Shahi – Eroded
Paul Novak – As Light Begins to Drift
Danielle Bees – The Dome of the Earth
Nathan Bine – A Tarantella into Dreams
James Croson – Street Level (CF2)
Lukas Zanata – Graal
Graham Harris – Ritual Ballet
Aidan Gold – In Memory of What Never Was
Veronika Reutz Drobnić – 6 Thoughts on Folk Music
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Finally, we’d like to note that two of the programmed works this year were submitted during previous calls, reminding us just how much timing and context matter in this process. If your work wasn’t selected this season, please don’t be discouraged—it is deeply appreciated and will remain under consideration for future programming, even if it wasn’t noted as an honorable mention.
Thank you again for sharing your music with us. It was truly a joy to explore your work.
With gratitude,
Charlie Griffin
Executive Director, OCCO & CF2