Theodore Front, Santa Clarita, CA (2026)

08/13/2026

Our August Composer of the Month is Osnat Netzer. View all her available works on our website: www.tfront.com

Osnat Netzer /osˈnat ˈnɛtsɛʁ/ is a composer, performer, and educator whose collaborative compositions are deeply tailored to the sensibilities, physicality, and improvisational inclinations of her performers. Inspired by cognitive linguistics and the embodied experience of physical forces like potential and kinetic energy, her music is rich in diverse musical languages and driven by a fulsome pursuit of tension and relaxation.

Born in Haifa, Israel, Netzer studied at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance before moving to the United States in 2003. She earned her doctorate from New England Conservatory in 2011 following graduate studies at the Mannes School of Music. Currently, she is an Associate Professor of Composition and Musicianship at DePaul University.

Her recent projects include a new work for virtuoso oud player Taiseer Elias and the Meitar Ensemble, as well as string quartets for the Mivos Quartet and the Del Sol Quartet. Additionally, her orchestral piece 'Varium Caeli' will be performed by the Oakland Symphony during their 2026-27 season. Her music has been recorded on Bridge Records and New Focus Recordings, which released her debut portrait album, 'dot : line : sigh,' in 2024. A culmination of her explorations in cognitive linguistics and the physicality of motion, the album features performances by Ensemble Dal Niente, the ~Nois saxophone quartet, and other contemporary artists.

Her opera, 'The Wondrous Woman Within,' was praised as “riotously funny” by The New York Times at New York City Opera’s VOX festival, and “challenging and fascinating” during its sold-out 2015 world premiere at Tel Aviv’s Cameri Theatre.

As an active pianist and performer, Netzer regularly plays and conducts contemporary music. Also a passionate educator, she teaches at The Walden School and has previously served on the faculties of Harvard University, New England Conservatory, and the Longy School of Music.

07/06/2026

Our July Composer of the Month is Avner Dorman. View all his available works on our website: www.tfront.com

Avner Dorman writes music of intricate craftsmanship and rigorous technique, expressed with a soulful and singular voice. A native of Israel now living in the United States, Dorman draws on a variety of cultural and historical influences in composing, resulting in music that affects an emotional impact while exploring new territories. His music utilizes an exciting and complex rhythmic vocabulary, as well as unique timbres and colors in orchestral, chamber, and solo settings; his percussion concerti Frozen in Time and Spices, Perfumes, Toxins! have together accumulated over 500 performances worldwide.

Dorman's music is championed by conductors including Zubin Mehta, Marin Alsop, Christoph Eschenbach, Ricardo Chailly, Andris Nelsons, and Andreas Delfs, and by soloists such as Pinchas Zukerman, Gil Shaham, Martin Grubinger, Avi Avital (whose recording of Dorman's Mandolin Concerto received a Grammy nomination), and Hilary Hahn. His music has been commissioned by orchestras such as the Cleveland Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and opera houses such as Badisches Staatsoper Karlsruhe, Theater Dortmund, Theater Bonn, and Deutsche Oper Am Rhein. Dorman's music has garnered numerous awards and prizes.

In 2018, he won the Azrieli Prize for Jewish Music for his second Violin Concerto, Nigunim, and his debut opera, Wahnfried, was named a finalist in the category of World Premiere at the International Opera Awards. At the age of 25, Dorman became the youngest composer to win Israel's prestigious Prime Minister's Award for his Ellef Symphony. He has earned several international awards from ASCAP, ACUM, and the Asian Composers League. Dorman studied composition with John Corigliano and Josef Bardanashvili, and he holds a doctorate in composition from the Juilliard School. Dorman currently serves as Professor of Music Theory and Composition at the Sunderman Conservatory of Music at Gettysburg College.

06/04/2026

Our June Composer of the Month is Nicky Sohn. View all her available works on our website: www.tfront.com

Selected as one of the “Cool 100” by Houston CityBook Magazine alongside icons such as Simone Biles and Megan Thee Stallion, composer Nicky Sohn is a versatile and sought after voice in contemporary classical music. With a distinctive style characterized by jazz inspired, rhythmically driven themes, her work has been praised internationally as “undoubtedly the crowd pleaser of the evening” (YourObserver), “dynamic and full of vitality” (The Korea Defense Daily), showcasing “colorful orchestration” (NewsBrite), and evoking “elegant wonder” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung).

A winner of the 2026 American Academy of Arts and Letters Charles Ives Fellowship, other recent highlights include the premiere of Sohn’s guitar concerto with the Albany Symphony featuring guitarist Bokyung Byun, followed by a sinfonietta performance at the 2025 Tanglewood Music Festival. She also composed a large scale ballet for BalletCollective, premiered at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City in collaboration with choreographer Alysa Pires and visual artist Linn Meyers. Additional projects include a cello concerto commissioned by the University of Iowa and recorded by the Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra, and Galaxy Back to You for the Balourdet Quartet, commissioned following their Avery Fisher Career Grant win and featured on their debut CD.

Sohn has three recent orchestral premieres by the Atlanta Symphony, Knoxville Symphony, and Orchestra Lumos, and is currently composing a new orchestral work for the Amarillo Symphony for their 2026–27 season.

05/01/2026

Our May Composer of the Month is Michael Ippolito. View all his available works on our website: www.tfront.com

Praised by the New York Times for his “polished orchestration” that “glitters, from big-shoulders brass to eerily floating strings,” Michael Ippolito’s music has been performed by leading musicians in venues around the world. Drawing on a rich musical background of classical and folk music, and inspired by visual art, literature, and other art forms, Ippolito has forged a distinctive musical voice in a body of work spanning orchestral, chamber, and vocal music.

His orchestral music has been conducted by Edo de Waart, Marin Alsop, and Michael Francis in performances by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, San Diego Symphony Orchestra, Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, and The Florida Orchestra. His chamber music has been performed by the Miro Quartet, Attacca Quartet, Hub New Music, and Altius Quartet, and his vocal music has been championed by sopranos Joèlle Harvey and Lindsay Kesselman, mezzo-soprano Daveda Karanas, and baritone Will Liverman. He has received commissions from Carnegie Hall and Chamber Music America.

Ippolito is currently Professor of Composition at Texas State University. He studied with John Corigliano at The Juilliard School and with Joel Hoffman and Michael Fiday at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

04/03/2026

Our April Composer of the Month is Shuying Li. View all her available works on our website: www.tfront.com

Praised as “a real talent” (The Seattle Times) with “vivid, dramatic” (San Francisco Chronicle) and “enjoyable” (Gramophone Magazine) scores, and “an incredible span of compositional tool box” (American Record Guide), Shuying Li’s compositions have been performed by major orchestras and ensembles worldwide, including the San Francisco Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Santa Rosa Symphony, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Alarm Will Sound, West Edge Opera, Ningbo Symphony Orchestra (China), and The President’s Own United States Marine Band. Her music is also championed by prominent chamber groups such as Windscape, Chinook Winds, Argus Quartet, Donald Sinta Quartet, and the Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia, as well as international ensembles including Orkest de ereprijs (Netherlands), Avanti! Chamber Orchestra (Finland), ICon Arts Ensemble (Romania), Cecilia Quartet (Canada), 15.19. Ensemble (Italy), Ascanio Quartet (Italy), and Atlas Ensemble (Netherlands), among others. In addition, her works are widely performed by collegiate and professional wind ensembles and concert bands across the United States. Shuying has received awards or grants from OPERA America, Alice M. Ditson Fund, Fromm Music Foundation, Copland House Residency Award, China National Arts Fund, ASCAP/CBDNA Frederick Fennell Prize, The American Prize, International Antonin Dvorak Composition Competition, New Jersey Composers’ Guild Commission Competition, International Huang Zi Composition Competition, Melta International Composition Competition, among others.

Originally from China, Shuying holds degrees from the University of Michigan and the Hartt School. A passionate educator, Shuying has taught and directed the Composition/ Music Theory Program at Gonzaga University. She joined the faculty as the Assistant Professor of Music at California State University, Sacramento, in Fall 2022. Shuying is the founder and artistic director of the contemporary ensemble and non-profit organization Four Corners Ensemble and its annual festival, Operation Opera. For more information, please visit http://www.shuyingli.com.

Theodore Front

08/13/2026

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