MMTA is pleased to announce that David Ibbett. Ph. D., a composer, educator, and musical advocate for science, has been selected as the Massachusetts Commissioned Composer. David composes electrosymphonic music: a fusion of classical and electronic styles that interweaves influences from songs, symphonies, pop, rock and electronica. Musical strands are met with inspiration from the work of scientists: sonified data, musical metaphors for scientific concepts, and experimental sound and images from contemporary research. David will premiere his commission at the Quad State Conference in October of 2021. Composers from three other states will join David at a special concert to present these commissioned works.

David recently presented Octave of Light at the Museum of Science. Octave of Light is a musical celebration of exoplanet science, created in collaboration with Roy Gould of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. David Ibbett has sonified (light->sound) the shadows of exoplanets into a musical language of molecules and exoplanets. The launch event was hosted by the Museum of Science, Boston, and featured soprano Beth Sterling, violinist Amelia Sie and guest scientist Dr. Clara Sousa-Silva of Harvard. Watch the concert online at www.octaveoflight.com

To read more about David and his collaboration with the disciplines of music and science, visit www.davidibbett.com

MMTA is dedicated to supporting the creation of new works by American composers. The Massachusetts Commissioned Composer Program recognizes an outstanding professional composer with a commission award of $2,000 and a premiere performance their work at the biennial Quad State Conference.

The winning composer of the Massachusetts Commissioned Composer program will also be considered for the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Distinguished Composer of the Year award. Each MMTA commissioned piece is automatically entered into this national competition, which serves to promote and recognize outstanding contributions to American music.

Dorothy Travis

Composer Commissioning Chair