Collaboration

Lawrence Ferrara, guitar
Scott Foglesong, piano

ZOFO Duo: 
Keisuke Nakagoshi and Eva-Maria Zimmerman, piano in four-hands

Patrick Galvin, violin
Jungeun Kim, piano

The Tubadours Brass Quintet:
Pierce Yamaoka and Matthew DePasquale, trumpet
Chris Golden, french horn
Brandon Franklin, trombone
Charles Barrett, tuba

Orphic Percussion:
Michael Downing,
Sean Clark
Stuart Langsam
Cameron Leach

Bio

Stefan Cwik, composer, began his musical studies in composition and guitar performance with composer/guitarist Dusan Bogdanovic at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM). He finished his undergraduate studies in composition at SFCM studying with David Conte. Stefan had the pleasure of attending the European American Musical Alliance summer program in Paris, France. During this time he studied with French Composer Michel Merlet. Stefan attended The Juilliard School in New York where he finished his graduate studies in composition with John Corigliano.

Stefan is dedicated to the collaborative process of composition. He recently held the post of Composer-In-Residence for San Francisco based orchestra Symphony Parnassus, directed by Stephen Paulson who conducts the symphony and is also the Principle bassoonist of the San Francisco Symphony. Stefan’s orchestral work Concert Dances for Orchestra was premiered by Symphony Parnassus at Herbst Theatre. Symphony Parnassus then premiered Stefan's Concerto for Piano and Orchestra with pianist Scott Foglesong as the soloist. HI post as composer-in-residence for Symphony Parnassus was from 2016-2018, during which time he had three orchestral works premiered: The Sword in The Stone, a concerto for English Horn and Orchestra premiered by Russ DeLuna of the SF Symphony, Luz Dorada, a tone poem based off of three paintings by Mexican artist Eduardo Rodrigo Calzado, and Relics, a set of dances for percussion quartet and orchestra, featuring Orphic Percussion.

He has worked with Bassoonist Paula Brusky in premiering his piece Eight Miniatures for Chamber Ensemble (Hommage a Stravinsky), one of the winning pieces of the 2010 BCMCC (Bassoon Chamber Music Composition Competition). His Eight Miniatures was premiered at the 2011 International Double Reed Society Conference (IDRS) and is now published by TrevCo Publishing with a recording under the MSR classics label. He was also commissioned by the ZOFO duet of San Francisco resulting in his piece Acrobats­ for four-hand piano. Stefan won the 2013 BMI Student composer award for Acrobats.

While attending Juilliard, Stefan was chosen as a winner of the Juilliard Orchestral Composition Competition for two consecutive years. His orchestral work Terpsichore was premiered and recorded by the Juilliard Orchestra and conducted by Jeffrey Milarsky at Juilliard’s Peter Jay Sharp Theatre. Terpsichore was given Honorable Mention in the 2012 Minnesota Orchestra Composer’s Institute. The Illusionist, his second piece to win the competition was given honorable mention in the 2013 ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer awards.

Currently, Stefan is a professor of Music Theory, Musicianship, Orchestration, and Music History at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Stefan is a member of ASCAP (American Society of Composer, Authors, and Publishers). Representative examples of his music can be found on the audio/video page of this site,  or can be requested by contacting him via email, Stcwik@gmail.com. 

Program

Stefan Cwik
Sonata for Guitar (2010)
     I. Moderately
     II. Berceuse
     III. Allegro con fuoco
Lawrence Ferrara, guitar

Suite for Brass Quintet (2010)
     I. Andante
     II. Allegretto scherzando
     III. Nocturne - Largo
     IV. Gigue - Very Spirited (after Hindemith)
Pierce Yamaoka and Matthew DePasquale, trumpet
Chris Golden, french horn
Brandon Franklin, trombone and Charles Barrett, tuba

American Troubadours - Suite on American folk tunes (2019 - World premiere) 
     I. Introduction - Chant
     II. Country Dance - Quickly flowing
     III. Interlude - Chant
     IV. Blues - Slow Groove
     V. Cadenza
     VI. Ballad - Very quickly.
Patrick Galvin, violin
Jungeun Kim, piano

Intermission

Rhapsody for Piano (2019 - second performance - premiered March 18th, 2019)
     Slow and free - with movement - slowly and steadily - much faster - broadly
Scott Foglesong, piano

Acrobats - Etude variations for Piano four-hands (2012)
     I. Introduction and theme
     II. Variation I: Shimmers
     III. Variation II: Bell tones
     IV. Variation III: Cascades
     V. Variation IV: Figurations
     VI. Finale - Gigue and double
Keisuke Nakagoshi and Eva-Maria Zimmerman, piano in four-hands

Celestial Dances for Percussion Quartet (2019 - World premiere)
     Invocation (Slowly and freely) - Moderate dance - Spirited dance
Michael Downing, Sean Clark, Stuart Langsam, and Cameron Leach