Central Florida Composers Forum

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The Central Florida Composers Forum is an organization of composers dedicated to engaging the creative and larger community of Central Florida through the promotion of original and innovative music programming. Central Florida Composers Forum strives to be part of a larger cultural conversation where the musical, visual and other performing arts connect with audiences, foster vital collaborations,

and produce multidisciplinary performances. Cultivating an audience for new music through education, workshops and outreach programs that create memorable artistic experiences for youth and community members are also central to the mission of Central Florida Composers Forum.

08/31/2025

Experience Celestial Light, a concert of amazing contemporary choral and instrumental music.

Performed by Voices of Orlando, members of the Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra, organist Michael Petrosh, and the Central Florida Youth Chorus, this program brings together a spectrum of modern works from local and national composers. Highlights include new works by Central Florida Composers Forum members William Ayers, Charlie Griffin, and Enrique Ynaty, alongside pieces that explore luminous textures, soaring flight paths, and jubilant praise.

Join us on Sunday, September 14, at 2:00 PM at the Cathedral Church of Saint Luke in Orlando. Suggested donation: $30.

08/21/2025

Meet composers James Hall and Keith Lay, two artists who bring unique perspectives to Songs of the Hispanic Diaspora II.

James Hall, a pianist and vibraphonist with roots in the Bay Area jazz scene, draws inspiration from the landscapes of his hometown, film noir, and environmental themes. His compositions balance lyricism with rhythmic vitality. At this concert, James offers a poignant setting of Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda’s Al partir for soprano and piano, a farewell to Cuba infused with longing and beauty.

Keith Lay, known as “Orlando’s most inventive composer,” creates music that blurs the line between art, science, and nature. His works have been praised internationally for their emotional power and inventive design, often inviting listeners to experience sound as a living ecosystem. For this program, Keith sets José Martí’s Yo soy un hombre sincero for soprano and piano, a bold and deeply felt declaration of honesty and human connection.

Join us Sunday, Aug. 24 at Timucua Arts Foundation for an evening where Latin American poetry inspires fresh and powerful new music.

08/19/2025

Meet guitarist and CF2 composer Troy Gifford, an artist whose music blends modern classical, Latin, jazz, and rock into a sound that is distinctly his own. His works have been performed around the world and recognized with top prizes from the Guitar Foundation of America and Fingerstyle Guitar Magazine. As both composer and performer, Troy brings versatility and imagination to every project.

At Songs of the Hispanic Diaspora II, Troy will take the stage as both creator and collaborator. His new setting of Vicente Huidobro’s Altazor Canto I for soprano and guitar closes the evening with a bold, transcendent vision. You will also hear him in works by Gerald Law II, Paul Sanders, and Bob Walker, alongside soprano Keri Lee Pierson, mezzo soprano Emily Heumann, and violinist Julia Gessinger.

Join us Sunday, Aug. 24 at Timucua Arts Foundation for this powerful night of poetry and sound.

08/13/2025

Meet mezzo-soprano Emily Heumann, a voice equally at home in opera, musical theatre, and the intimate world of art song. Known for her vivid storytelling and rich, “delicious” tone, Emily brings depth and drama to every stage she steps on.

At Songs of the Hispanic Diaspora II, Emily will premiere five striking new works by Central Florida composers, each inspired by iconic Latin American poetry, from the dreamlike visions of Rubén Darío to the passionate intensity of Alfonsina Storni and the soul-deep gravity of César Vallejo. With collaborators on guitar, piano, and violin, her performances will weave together sound and verse in a way that’s personal, immediate, and unforgettable.

Join us Sunday, Aug. 24, at Timucua Arts Foundation at 7:30 pm, for this vibrant evening of music, poetry, and cultural connection.

08/09/2025

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.

01/26/2025

Don't miss this unique and fascinating event! This Wednesday, January 29th at 5:30 PM — Music in the Gallery at the Art & History Museums of Maitland. It will feature the premières of works by 8 composers from the Central Florida Composers Forum at the Art & History Museums of Maitland. This concert, a first-time collaborative venture between those two organizations, is in conjunction with "Future Nature: The Silent Conversations of Sinuhé Vega," the new exhibit featuring works of the artist Sinuhé Vega Negrin, whose painting and ceramic sculptures explore ecological and human frailty, drawing on the Dutch Vanitas tradition, and themes of magic realism, surrealism, and of humanity's mental constructs and disconnection from nature. The artist will be giving a talk on his work, and the soprano Anna Eschbach, violinist Galen Kaup, and guitarist Troy Gifford will be performing a recital of lush, intimate and arresting music comprised of the premières of Erik Branch's "There Was Always Time" (setting a poem by Logan Anderson), Alex Burtzos' "Four Haiku," Charlie Griffin's 'Sunken City," Gerald Law II's "Take a Look," Nate Chivers' "A Cloud of Flowers," Nick Scout's "Conversing With Statues," Paul Austin Sanders' "Nature's Connection To Us...As One We Are," and Troy Gifford's "Nothing Gold Can Stay." The event is free and open to the public (register for it on the Eventbrite link in the event page) as part of the museum's "Last Wednesday" series, and is a co-production with the Howey Music Series.

10/27/2024

If you missed last night's (or Friday nights) performance by opera singer/performance artist/pianist/monologist Joseph Keckler at Timucua Arts Foundation, you certainly missed an extraordinary evening. Tonight at 7:30, Timucua presents a different but no less engaging event — gorgeous music by the Muse Duo, a one-of-a-kind guitar and piano duo of instrumentalists from the Eastman School of Music. Joined by the lovely-voiced soprano Sydney Carbo, they will present an evening of Spanish and romantic repertoire, as well as contemporary pieces written for the same combo, including a setting of words of Garcia Lorca, written by Luke Benedict, the ensemble's pianist. This is a one-time event that you won't want to miss. Won't you join me there? Tickets are available at https://timucua.stellartickets.com/events/10-27-24-the-nuse-duo-with-sydney-carbo/occurrences/276f415e-ea2d-4391-9d1a-0c0aaa8542f5 or at the door.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avZdFL3Khks&t=158s

08/28/2024

Infinite Possibilities: A Guitar Composers’ Showcase at the Timucua International Guitar Festival - August 30 @ 7:30

Prepare to be captivated by the sheer expanse of expression as classical stylings intertwine with innovative multimedia, rock fusions, jazz improvisations, and audacious new tonal territories. Three consummate guitarist-composers — Nate Chivers, Nick Scout, and Troy Gifford — converge on one stage, united by their passion for the guitar, each charting a unique creative cosmos.

Special guests include drummer Jaysen Rosario, guitarists Michael van Gelder and Allen Nicholas Kooken, multi-instrumentalist Nathan Taylor, and cellist/bassist Elliot May.

Guest composers include Alex Burtzos and Benoit Glazer.

Special pricing is available for members, students, teachers, frontline workers, veterans, and seniors.

In-person and livestream tickets are available. This event is part of Timucua’s International Guitar Festival 2024.

Program:
The concert will open with Troy Gifford performing his own solo works Cherith, Woodbury, Danza Triste, Valsera, and Evocacion y Furia. Nick Scout will play his A Toast to the Old Us followed by his La Danse de Rats, performed by Troy Gifford and Allen Nicholas Kooken on guitar. The program continues with Scout’s Loss of a Child, performed by Michael Van Gelder and Nathan Taylor on guitar, along with Elliot May on cello. Troy Gifford and Nick Scout will then team up for Benoit Glazer’s MaraTanVal. Alex Burtzos’s Atoms will be performed by Nate Chivers on guitar and Jaysen Rosario on drum kit. Finally, Nate Chivers will close the concert with Flower, Getting Better, Slink, and Simplicity.

These pioneering artists will explore cherished guitar traditions with bold new visions for the future, promising a transcendent evening of expansive guitar odysseys that will make you see the guitar in a new light.

08/14/2024

Posted • This is one of the beautiful poems you’ll be able to enjoy during our upcoming event, “Songs from the Hispanic Diaspora.”

“Forest of Music” was written by Venezuelan poet, Vicente Gerbasi, one of the most important mi contemporary lyricists of Venezuela. He was born in Canoabo, a farming village nestled in a landscape rich with enchantment and mystery, amidst the cloud forests of the northern region of Carabobo state. “A village surrounded by mountains, cacao plantations, coffee fields, and banana groves, where snakes, lions, and tapirs, those marvelous creatures, live,” the poet would later recall.

In this event, talented musicians have composed original scores inspired by 6 poems from Hispanic poets, blending the power of words with the beauty of music.

DETAILS

Date:
August 17
Time:
7:30 pm - 9:00 pm EDT

Join us for an unforgettable evening where poetry and melody come together to celebrate the rich cultural heritage of the Hispanic diaspora.

08/11/2024

Thamara Bejarano is the Executive Director and founder of Open Scene. She curated the poetry for our upcoming collaborative concert project and will introduce the poetry and discuss her choices before each one is performed.

We are so pleased to partner with Open Scene for the first of hopefully many times.

Originally from Caracas, Venezuela, Bejarano is a Journalist with a Master's degree in Audiovisual Management and another in Education for the Creative Use of Media. She started working in advertising audiovisual productions, then at different positions inside the HBO network, and worked for almost a decade as a Journalist, Communications Consultant, and Film Studies Professor at the Central University of Venezuela. After arriving in Florida, she worked from 2016 to 2019 as a Stage Manager, Producer, and Actress in several Mad Cow Theatre productions, both in English and Spanish. With Open Scene, she wrote, adapted, and directed original pieces and theatre classics; among them, "Prolifica" (2020), a twenty-episode audiovisual journey through some essential cultural productions of the Hispanic world. She created the Latin Performing Arts Festival, a one-week event gathering annually of +100 artists, and the Playwriting Contest "Escena Abierta" aimed at Hispanic playwriters living in the United States and Puerto Rico. Bejarano also hosts the weekly live radio show “En Tarima” (On Stage), a co-production between MAS100.7 FM and Open Scene.

08/09/2024

On Saturday, August 17, 2024, at 7:30 p.m., Timucua Arts Foundation hosts “Songs from the Hispanic Diaspora” — an intimate musical exploration of the resonating experiences of exile, displacement, and the dreamlike impermanence of existence through the poetic lens of the Spanish-speaking world. This powerful concert by the Central Florida Composers Forum (CF2) features six newly commissioned works bringing to life poetry by pillars of Hispanic literature meticulously curated by Thamara Bejarano from Open Scene.

From Spain, Alex Burtzos sets Pedro Calderón de la Barca’s famed “La vida es sueño” in English, while Rebekah Todia captures Juan Ramón Jiménez’s “Yo no volveré” – both grappling with life’s illusory nature. Colombian poet Eduardo Carranza’s vivid imagery of the dead catalyzes a new work by Nate Chivers. Sorjuanista Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz’s amorous “Amor empieza por desasosiego” inspires Erik Branch’s musical perspectives on love’s ephemeral passions. The sensual longing of Puerto Rican writer Luis Llorens Torres’ poetry fuels Brandon Martin‘s latest work. And Jeremy Umlauf captures the Venezuelan poet Vicente Gerbasi’s mystical ode to nature “Bosque de música.”

Performed by an intimate ensemble of Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra musicians (flute, cello, piano) and singers from the vocal ensemble VoxO, these arresting musical offerings immerse the audience in the nostalgic dreamscapes and metaphysical reckonings born of the diasporic experience. Contextual insights by Open Scene’s Thamara Bejarano intersperse the performances, guiding a transcendent exploration of Hispanic literary and musical consciousness.

This performance represents a 5-way collaboration between Central Florida Composers Forum, Open Scene, Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra, VoxO and the Timucua Arts Foundation. OCCO and VoxO appear under the auspices of Performing Arts Matter.

08/05/2024

Meet VoxO soprano Jennifer Ayres, who will perform with us as a soloist on Saturday, August 17, 2024, at 7:30 pm.

Timucua Arts Foundation hosts “Songs from the Hispanic Diaspora” — an intimate musical exploration of the resonating experiences of exile, displacement, and the dreamlike impermanence of existence through the poetic lens of the Spanish-speaking world. This powerful concert by the Central Florida Composers Forum (CF2) features six newly commissioned works bringing to life poetry by pillars of Hispanic literature meticulously curated by Thamara Bejarano from Open Scene.

From Spain, Alex Burtzos sets Pedro Calderón de la Barca’s famed “La vida es sueño” in English, while Rebekah Todia captures Juan Ramón Jiménez’s “Yo no volveré” – both grappling with life’s illusory nature. Colombian poet Eduardo Carranza’s vivid imagery of the dead catalyzes a new work by Nate Chivers. Sorjuanista Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz’s amorous “Amor empieza por desasosiego” inspires Erik Branch’s musical perspectives on love’s ephemeral passions. The sensual longing of Puerto Rican writer Luis Llorens Torres’ poetry fuels Brandon Martin‘s latest work. And Jeremy Umlauf captures the Venezuelan poet Vicente Gerbasi’s mystical ode to nature “Bosque de música.”

Performed by an intimate ensemble of Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra musicians (flute, cello, piano) and singers from the vocal ensemble VoxO, these arresting musical offerings immerse the audience in the nostalgic dreamscapes and metaphysical reckonings born of the diasporic experience. Contextual insights by Open Scene’s Thamara Bejarano intersperse the performances, guiding a transcendent exploration of Hispanic literary and musical consciousness.

This performance represents a 5-way collaboration between Central Florida Composers Forum, Open Scene, Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra, VoxO and the Timucua Arts Foundation. OCCO and VoxO appear under the auspices of Performing Arts Matter.

Address

Winter Park, FL
32792

Telephone

+14076196715

Website

http://www.cfcomposers.org/

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