Central Florida Composers Forum

Best of OCCO: Echoes & Encores: July 18 @ Blue Bamboo

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Best of OCCO: Echoes & Encores

Event Details

  • Date: Saturday, July 18, 2026
  • Time: 8:00 P.M.
  • Venue: Blue Bamboo Center for the Performing Arts
  • Address: 460 E. New England Ave., Winter Park, FL

Presented by the Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra (OCCO) Conducted by Todd Craven

About OCCO

Since 2017, OCCO has been dedicated to engaging, captivating, and uplifting audiences with new music performed by local, professional musicians and innovative collaborations with composers, poets, comic book artists, and more. As the only orchestral organization focused on local composers, musicians, and audiences, we aim to contribute to the cultural fabric of Orlando and Central Florida.

About Echoes & Encores

Join OCCO for a memorable evening of contemporary chamber music at the Blue Bamboo Center for the Performing Arts. Best of OCCO: Echoes & Encores brings together a vibrant, carefully curated selection of pieces by living composers, ranging from delicate representations of stillness to works of visceral, kinetic intensity.

This special program highlights favorite works by some of Central Florida’s finest compositional voices – including a new commissioned overture by OCCO’s founder, Jamie Wehr – alongside competition-winning works that have muscled their way to Orlando from national and international stages.

Program Guide

Act I

  • Jamie Wehr – Prelude to a Dream
    • The Piece: This work is a personal reflection on aspiration and longing, focused on the quiet resolve required to follow a beautiful, distant dream even when the path forward remains uncertain.
    • The Composer: Wehr founded the Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra in 2017, laying the groundwork for its ongoing mission to champion new music in Central Florida.
  • Matthew Browne – Writer’s Room (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGBa9kjNlW8)
    • The Piece: This chaotic composition aims to evoke the frantic atmosphere of a television writers’ room, constantly introducing and abandoning wild ideas as a deadline rapidly approaches.
    • The Composer: Based in Colorado, Dr. Browne earned his DMA from the University of Michigan and is an award-winning composer whose witty works strive to astonishingly blend humor and relentless rhythmic energy.
  • ChanJi Kim – Dear Umma
    • The Piece: This deeply personal composition explores distance and maternal connection by weaving an expressive Korean folk tune through lyrical lines and gentle dissonance.
    • The Composer: Dr. Kim is a native of Korea who holds a Ph.D. from the University of Florida and serves as a Professor of Music and Chair of the Performing and Visual Arts Department at Eastern Florida State College.
  • Troy Gifford – Milonga Abandonada
    • The Piece: Serving as a heartfelt homage to the traditional music of Argentina, this piece synthesizes elements of Latin and classical styles into an expressive interpretation of the dance form.
    • The Composer: Dr. Gifford is an award-winning guitarist and composer who earned his doctorate from the University of Miami and currently serves as the chair of the music department at Valencia College.
  • Jeremy Umlauf – Hero of Time
    • The Piece: This narratively driven work is an abstract medley for a hypothetical Legend of Zelda video game, using original music to convey overarching themes of adventure and courage.
    • The Composer: An eclectic Orlando-area creator who received his Master of Arts in Music from the University of Central Florida, Umlauf frequently draws creative inspiration from spending time in Florida’s rich fisheries.

Act II

  • Billy Waldman – Villanelle (https://youtu.be/UzFHnegpocM)
    • The Piece: Drawing on traditional French traditions, this light, dance-like sextet shifts smoothly between a pastoral elegance and lively, syncopated movement.
    • The Composer: Born in 2006, Waldman is a Los Angeles-based pianist and composer currently studying at the University of Southern California who won the 2024 National Young Composers Challenge at Steinmetz Hall.
  • Alex Burtzos – RAGE (https://youtu.be/FWn5_Zk9Xj8)
    • The Piece: This intense chamber work acts as an expression of generational discontent, borrowing heavily from the heavy metrical language of metal music and incorporating a historical 1789 letter by Thomas Jefferson.
    • The Composer: Dr. Burtzos is a New York and Orlando-based composer, the founder of the ICEBERG New Music collective, and currently serves as the Endowed Chair of Composition Studies at the University of Central Florida.
  • Charlie Griffin – Looking up at Perfect Silence at the Stars
    • The Piece: Inspired by a Walt Whitman poem, this expansive work captures the wide range of emotions and moods that arise when contemplating the beauty of the night sky and our connection to the cosmos.
    • The Composer: Holding a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota, Dr. Griffin is an experienced educator who founded the Central Florida Composers Forum in 2011 to actively support local music creators.
  • Robin Haigh – FILTH (https://youtu.be/2mj3kH6TZT8)
    • The Piece: Originally commissioned for a high-energy German concert project, this amplified, gritty piece uses abrasive timbres and extreme dynamics to capture an unconventional EDM-inspired vibe.
    • The Composer: Haigh is an internationally recognized Irish/British creator whose unique, multi-stylistic music has earned prestigious accolades, including an Ivor Novello Award.

By Charlie Griffin, ago

Celestial Light: New Music for Choir, Brass, Timpani & Organ

Presented by Voices of Orlando, Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra, Central Florida Youth Chorus, Central Florida Composers Forum, and Performing Arts Matter

Sunday, September 14, 2025 | 2:00 PM | Cathedral Church of Saint Luke | $30 Suggested Donation

Register a spot via Eventbrite

Orlando, FL — On Sunday, September 14, audiences are invited to step into the glow of Celestial Light, a concert of music that explores radiance, memory, and transcendence. Performed in the soaring space of the Cathedral Church of Saint Luke, this collaboration brings together Voices of Orlando, members of the Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra, organist Michael Petrosh, and the Central Florida Youth Chorus under the direction of Julie Simmons.

The program features a blend of choral and instrumental works by living composers, including local Central Florida Composers Forum members William Ayers, Charlie Griffin, and Enrique Ynaty. Together with music by Jonathan Dove, Mark Kilstofte, Pasquale Tassone, Michael Petrosh, Jacob Lack, and Julianna Hinton, the concert offers a rich palette of sound, from shimmering stars to solemn reflections to jubilant praise.

Highlights include:

  • O quam dulcis by William Ayers — evoking the comfort of a warm library on a cold day, as singers voice words of wisdom discovered among the shelves.
  • The Crown of Joy by Charlie Griffin — a moving homage to J.S. Bach for choir, organ, and timpani.
  • Lux Aeterna by Enrique Ynaty — a luminous meditation on eternal light.
  • four o’clock in the afternoon by Julianna Hinton — a powerful new work preserving the testimony of Armenian Genocide survivor Guleeg Haroian.
  • Everyone’s Voice by Mark Kilstofte — setting Siegfried Sassoon’s poetry, reminding us that “the singing will never be done.”
  • Flight Paths by Jacob Lack — inspired by Malcolm Arnold, a buoyant piece that imagines planes dancing across the sky.
  • Lauda Anima Mea Dominum by Pasquale Tassone — a majestic setting of Psalm 145 for choir, organ, brass, and timpani.

With brass quintet, timpani, organ, and two local choral groups, Celestial Light celebrates music’s power to lift us, comfort us, and connect us.

Celestial Light
Sunday, September 14, 2025 | 2:00 PM
Cathedral Church of Saint Luke
130 North Magnolia Ave, Orlando, FL
$30 Suggested Donation

Presented by Voices of Orlando, Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra, Central Florida Composers Forum, Central Florida Youth Chorus, and Performing Arts Matter.

More info: occo.music | voxomusic.org | cfcomposers.org | pamatter.org
For press inquiries: 321-303-1404

By Charlie Griffin, ago

Songs of the Hispanic Diaspora II

Sunday, August 24, 2025 | 7:30 PMTimucua Arts Foundation

Join us for an evening of rich language, expressive music, and vibrant cross-cultural collaboration, where poetry and composition meet in a shared celebration of the Hispanic diaspora.

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The Central Florida Composers Forum (CF2) and Open Scene Orlando return to Timucua Arts Foundation for Songs of the Hispanic Diaspora II: a powerful continuation of last season’s collaborative celebration of Latin American poetry and contemporary music, in collaboration with musicians from the Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra (OCCO) and VoxO, and presented by Timucua Arts Foundation and Performing Arts Matter.

This second installment features all newly penned works by local composers setting iconic poems by remarkable poets from Nicaragua, Cuba, Argentina, Peru, and Chile. Featuring texts by Rubén Darío, Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda, José Martí, Alfonsina Storni, César Vallejo, Gabriela Mistral, and Vicente Huidobro, the concert pairs expressive new music with readings and cultural commentary, creating a rich, bilingual artistic experience.

Composers:
Troy Gifford · James Hall · Eric Heumann · Gerald Law II · Keith Lay · Mark Piszczek · Paul Austin Sanders · Bob Walker, Jr.

Performers from OCCO, VoxO, and CF2:
Keri Lee Pierson (soprano)
Emily Heumann (mezzo-soprano)
Julia Gessinger (violin)
Kristine Griffin (piano)
Troy Gifford (guitar)

Poems will be recited in both Spanish and English by Charlie Griffin (OCCO/CF2) and Thamara Bejarano, with cultural context provided by Bejarano (Open Scene Orlando).

The evening’s program brings to life the words of celebrated Latin American poets, each reimagined in new musical settings by composers from Central Florida. These vivid, contemporary interpretations, featuring combinations of voice, piano, guitar, and violin, create an intimate and expressive tapestry of sound and verse.

NICARAGUA
Rubén Darío’s Sonatina, set by Gerald Law II for mezzo-soprano and guitar, opens the program with a dreamlike portrait of a young princess longing for a life beyond her royal surroundings.

CUBA
Al partir by Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda is a poignant farewell to Cuba, filled with longing and sorrow, and is set by James Hall for soprano and piano. Orlando maverick composer Keith Lay offers a bold setting for soprano and piano of José Martí’s iconic Yo soy un hombre sincero, a powerful declaration of honesty, openness, and personal resolve.

ARGENTINA
Alfonsina Storni’s Dulce tortura is a stirring depiction of conflicted desire and emotional complexity. Eric Heumann sets this poem for mezzo-soprano and piano, revealing both its sensuality and its quiet anguish.

PERÚ
In Los Heraldos Negros, César Vallejo gives voice to deep spiritual and existential pain. Paul Austin Sanders’s setting for mezzo-soprano and piano draws out the poem’s dark gravity and unanswered questions of suffering.

CHILE
Gabriela Mistral’s Hallazgo, a lyrical discovery of love, is set by Bob Walker Jr. for soprano, mezzo, and guitar, striving to capture the poem’s brief, luminous intimacy. Two works by Vicente Huidobro close the program: Días y noches te he buscado…, a symbolic search for truth and selfhood, set by Mark Piszczek for mezzo-soprano and piano; and Altazor, Canto I (fragment), an excerpt from Huidobro’s avant-garde masterpiece, set by Troy Gifford for soprano and guitar, evoking themes of flight, dislocation, and transcendence.

CF2 champions the creation and performance of new music by Central Florida composers, while Open Scene fosters artistic exchange across cultures and disciplines, amplifying the voices of Latin America. This shared vision makes Songs of the Hispanic Diaspora II a resonant and meaningful artistic gathering.

By Charlie Griffin, ago

Bending Lightward: New Music for Chamber Orchestra – Friday, June 27, 2025

Blue Bamboo Center for the Arts – Winter Park, FL

Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra, directed by Todd Craven

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WINTER PARK, FL – The Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra (OCCO), led by Music Director Todd Craven, will present Bending Lightward, a program of new music for chamber orchestra, on Friday, June 27, 2025, at 8:00 PM at Blue Bamboo Center for the Arts in Winter Park, Florida.

The concert features recent works by six living composers, each offering a distinct musical voice and approach:

  • Michael Olson – Prisms
  • Oleksandr Shymko – Ecstatics
  • Alex Burtzos – The F-Word (Central Florida Composers Forum member), featuring guest electric guitarist, Thomas Harrison
  • XY Mike Zhou – Roundabout
  • Rebekah Todia – Golden Harvest (Central Florida Composers Forum member)
  • Han Xu – A Few Practices of Chinese Acoustic Justice

Among the highlights of the program is The F-Word by Alex Burtzos, a piece originally composed for ShoutHouse and premiered in New York City in 2016. Written during a difficult creative period, the work explores themes of artistic struggle and is performed here with electric guitar soloist, Thomas Harrison.

Rebekah Todia’s Golden Harvest reflects on seasonal change and personal growth. As the composer notes, “Golden Harvest has less to do with crops, and more about our personal experiences… It’s a time to reconnect with loved ones and to share our journey of self-discovery.”

Other works on the program include Olson’s Prisms, which examines light and texture through sound; Shymko’s Ecstatics, a piece full of energy and motion; Zhou’s Roundabout, with intricate rhythmic interplay; and Xu’s A Few Practices of Chinese Acoustic Justice, which draws on cultural perspectives in sound and form.

By Charlie Griffin, ago