Contact: Jamie Drake June 18, 2017

TorQ Percussion Quartet FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

media@torqpercussion.ca
torqpercussion.ca

TORQ PERCUSSION QUARTET ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF

2017 PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE COMPOSITION COMPETITION

After receiving over 70 submissions from composers hailing from four continents, the members of TorQ
Percussion Quartet are pleased to announce the two winners of the annual Composition Competition, run in
conjunction with the summer TorQ Percussion Seminar at the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance in
Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. The decision was a dicult one owing to the quality of work submitted across many
dierent styles and instrument considerations, and TorQ oers their sincere thanks to all the composers who
submitted their compositions.

Winner: Joshua Denenberg, 4+5 = Gamelan

Written mainly for mallet instruments 4+5 = Gamelan is a quartet/quintet that strikes the perfect balance of
rhythmic and harmonic interest, and is evocative of the sound world of a traditional gamelan music while still
being original and engaging. Joshua Denenburg is an American-born composer currently living, working and
studying in Toronto. He holds a DMA in composition from the University of Toronto and an MM in composition
from the Hartt School, and his music has been featured at the Hartt Theatre, the highSCORE festival, the Orford
Creations festival, and the University of Toronto Opera Division and Wind Ensemble.

Runner up: Natalie Dietterich, Dig

Dig, for small unpitched percussion instruments, marimbas and vibraphone, features intricate and sometimes
quirky minimalist grooves, entrancing percussion colours and gorgeous melodic and harmonic breakdown.
Natalie is an American composer and vocalist from Harleysville, Pennsylvania who writes music that mines
patterns and is often tangential to social issues. Her music is inspired by musical and non-musical concepts alike
and is visceral in nature, and has been performed by wild Up as part of the LA Philharmonic's National
Composers Intensive, the 21st Annual Young Composers Meeting (Apeldoorn, the Netherlands), on Q2 music
(WQXR, New York), and most recently as a fellow at the Bang on a Can Summer Institute. She is the recipient of
the 2016 Leo Kaplan prize of the Morton Gould Young Composer Awards. Natalie is a graduate of the Yale School
of Music, with both an M.M. and M.M.A. in composition.

About TorQ Percussion Quartet

Described by the Ottawa Citizen as Outstanding - no, make that astonishing!, Canada's premiere percussion
ensemble TorQ Percussion Quartet continues to bring new vitality to percussion repertoire and performance.
Renowned for their engaging performances, members Richard Burrows, Adam Campbell, Jamie Drake, and
Daniel Morphy are committed to making percussion music accessible to audiences that span generations and
geographies. TorQ have performed recitals across Canada and the US, and have been featured soloists with the
Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Bualo Philharmonic Orchestra. They have commissioned over 80 new works
for percussion quartet, including works by Christos Hatzis, Dinuk Wijeratne and Cecilia Livingston. Passionate
advocates for music education, they work frequently with students from elementary schools through to
universities. They will release their fourth album, featuring music for mallet quartet, in fall 2017.

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