Composer of the Month: Dominic Dousa

Dominic Dousa (b. 1973) a native of Rochester, Minnesota, has been a member of the faculty at the University of Texas at El Paso Department of Music since 2004. He holds degrees in music from Ball State University (D.A.), Central Michigan University (M.M.), and Harvard University (A.B. summa cum laude), and in statistics from Iowa State University (M.S.), and has also studied composition in Prague.  His primary composition teachers include Jody Nagel, David Gillingham, Craig Weston, and Milan Slavický. Dousa’s compositions have received performances at recitals, festivals, and conferences in the U.S. and in eleven countries worldwide. He has works published by TRN Music, Dorn Publications, and Grand Mesa Music. Blue Griffin Recording has released two CDs of Dousa’s chamber music, one of which has received critical acclaim in Gramophone Magazine and American Record Guide. Dousa has remained active as an accompanist and chamber musician, performing in numerous recitals with faculty, guest artists, and students, including presentations with his fellow UTEP faculty member, world renowned cellist and 2017 Grammy-award winner Zuill Bailey.

Dousa’s composition, La Carrerra, is his first of two concertos written for Leading Tones Music's Young Soloists Project, which featured young musicians from Harmony Project Phoenix. It is also one of two works in this project that combine a Grade-level 4 solo with a Grade-level 1 accompaniment. The solo xylophone is accompanied by wind band in this upbeat 2’30”-long piece. The range demands in the accompaniment parts fit neatly into the Grade 1 parameters, though the brisk tempo of 144-152 beats per minute, moderate use of syncopation, and a few moments of independence between parts (typically in the context of a bell-tone effect) provide opportunities for student growth in the accompaniment parts. In the key of B-flat major, the accompaniment contains a clear tonal language, tastefully utilizing diatonic seventh chords and modulations to closely-related key areas. The solo part spans over four octaves, which requires a full-sized xylophone. Sixteenth-note passages that largely consist of scalar and arpeggio patterns in diatonic sequences persist throughout the piece, making the sticking choices and other technical demands impressive yet idiomatic for an intermediate- to advanced-level percussionist.

About working on mixed-level compositions for young musicians, Dousa has said he was most excited about: working toward an excellent musical work that would serve the needs of everyone involved; the challenge of writing music that was high quality, yet fit the constraints of the project; and expanding his horizons in composition, by writing a piece that would fit a target audience for which he had not written before.

Dousa said that seeing the positive impact on the lives of young musicians and getting to meet them was his favorite part of the whole experience of working with Harmony Project Phoenix. The xylophone soloist for Dominic Dousa’s La Carrera, stated at the beginning of the project that he was most anxious about meeting the composer, but at the end of the project he wrote that it was his favorite part of the experience as well. The sixteen-year-old soloist shared dinner with the composer, chatted backstage before and after the concert, and exchanged pictures and hugs after the concert.

When asked whether he was nervous about any part of the collaboration, Dousa said, "I was never really 'anxious' about the project. Perhaps the main concern was that all the participants would not approach the project with the same degree of enthusiasm and attention to detail. However, as it turned out, there was no reason for that concern, as everyone worked very hard in preparing an excellent final presentation!"