Following the acclaim and popularity of the first concerto that Eric Ewazen wrote for oboist Linda Strommen, in 2010 Ewazen composed a second concerto for her, this time with wind ensemble accompaniment. The programmatic title Hold Fast Your Dreams is an appreciation for Linda Strommen’s mother whose exemplary resolve to hold fast her dreams inspired Ewazen to generate the concerto’s three-movement journey. For advanced performers. Dur.: 19'

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ERIC EWAZEN was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1954. He received a B.M. from Eastman, and M.M. and D.M.A. degrees from The Juilliard School where he has taught since 1980. Ewazen has written many concerti for a variety of instruments, as well as chamber works for brass, winds, percussion, strings, piano, and voice that have become standards of the repertoire. His music in all genres has been performed around the world with great acclaim. Distinguished soloists and chamber ensembles performing his music include percussionist Evelyn Glennie, the American Brass Quintet; trombonists Charles Vernon, Joseph Alessi, Christian Lindberg, Nitzan Haroz, David Taylor, and James Lebens; clarinetist Larry Combs; flutists Mindy Kaufman, Julius Baker, and Jan Gippo; trumpet players Chris Gekker, David Bilger, and Philip Smith; and many other soloists from around the world.

Ewazen’s music can be heard on over 70 commercially released CDs, and over 900 Youtube clips. He has been a guest composer at conservatories, colleges, and universities, doing residencies (so far) in 47 of the 50 U.S. States, and at conservatories and festivals in numerous countries around the world.

His teachers included Samuel Adler, Milton Babbitt, Warren Benson, Eugene Kurtz, Gunther Schuller, and Joseph Schwantner. He was Composer-in-Residence with the St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble, and Vice-President of the League of Composers - International Society of Contemporary
Music.

Eric Ewazen has been commissioned over 100 times by a wide range of distinguished ensembles: from the Buffalo Philharmonic to the ShenZhen Symphony in China; from the U.S. Academy Band at West Point to the CBDNA; from the Curtis Institute to Indiana University; and from the American Brass Quintet to the Tsunobue Shudan horn ensemble in Japan.

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I. Andante con moto
II. Allegro energico
III. Andante espressivo