MoVE (Modern Violin Ensemble)

Have you ever seen a familiar face in a crowd, run toward it so as not to miss it, only to realize you were mistaken? This piece is about that moment, about the spark in your eyes, the hope, the longing, and the shifting emotions along the journey, translated into sound. When composing, I thought of Carolyn, Livia, Janet, and Lina. Their characters and their sounds, their individuality, and the cohesion they create when playing together. They gave life to the piece in ways that extended beyond what I had imagined. 

About Aftab Darvishi (b.1987)
Aftab Darvishi is a composer whose work spans concert music, film, and interdisciplinary collaborations, often drawing on diverse cultural and musical traditions. Born in Tehran and based in Europe, her music reflects a deeply personal voice shaped by cross-cultural influences and a sensitivity to timbre and texture.

Her work has been performed internationally by ensembles including Kronos Quartet, BBC Singers, and Cappella Amsterdam, and has been featured in major festivals across Europe. She is the recipient of the Tenso Young Composers Award and has participated in numerous international residencies.

Darvishi’s music is noted for its emotional resonance and its ability to move fluidly between traditions, creating sound worlds that are both intimate and expansive. Her debut album A Thousand Butterflies is available on 30 M Records.

To learn more about Aftab, visit aftabdarvishi.com.

Rain, Sleet, Gloom & Heat is a mostly instrumental ballad inspired by the deeds of Mary Fields (also known as Stagecoach Mary), the first African-American woman to work for the U.S. Postal Service. These days, I am continually amazed by the fact that one can place a piece of paper in a box in New York City and in mere days it can arrive at a residence in San Francisco.; Imagining someone delivering packages and messages in the 19th century is absolutely mind-blowing.. The title is a lift from the U.S. Postal Service Creed ("Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds") and the music depicts a fantastical fictionalized journey of Mary Fields among the harrowing Montana wilderness through the sounds of the quartet and the accompanying esoteric poem that is spoken and sung by the performers.

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About Josh Henderson (b. 1988)
Josh Henderson is a cross-genre composer and multi-instrumentalist whose music bridges classical, jazz, and popular music traditions. He has performed at leading venues including Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Elbphilharmonie and The Forbidden City Concert Hall, collaborating with a wide range of artists across genres. A founding member of the ensemble W4RP (Warp Trio), he has led the group in extensive touring and residencies throughout the United States and internationally. As a composer, his work spans chamber music, film, and large-scale projects, often blending narrative elements with stylistic versatility. Henderson is the recipient of a New York Foundation for the Arts award and a winner of the Tribeca New Music National Composers Competition. His music reflects a dynamic and genre-fluid voice shaped by a broad and deeply collaborative artistic practice. He is currently on the artist faculty at NYU, the Longy School of Music, and has taught at the University of Iowa. 

To learn more about Josh, visit joshhendersonmusic.com.

Collapse explores information overload and the search for stillness, themes that felt pressing in 2018 when the piece was written and have only intensified since. The music consists of two contrasting halves. The first unfolds as a dense, chaotic texture, in which the four live violins interact with pre-recorded ones, building competing layers of sound that accumulate and overwhelm. The second half shifts direction as the texture suddenly opens up, moving toward something quieter, brighter and more spare. The title of the piece points to the feeling of being pushed past one’s limits, and to what might emerge once that point is reached. 

About Daniel Wohl (b. 1980)
Daniel Wohl is an award-winning composer whose music blends electronics with acoustic instrumentation. Born in Paris and based in Los Angeles, his music spans concert works, film, television and immersive electroacoustic projects, often exploring texture and atmosphere in distinctive ways.

His compositions have been performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cincinnati Symphony, and London Contemporary Orchestra, among others and presented at venues including Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, and the Barbican Centre.

Wohl has collaborated with artists including Jóhann Jóhannsson, David Lang, and Son Lux, and has composed for the Grammy-nominated docuseries Shangri-La. Performances of his electroacoustic concert music have been held at venues including the Broad Museum, Brooklyn Academy of Music, MASS MoCA, and MoMA PS1. His most recent album Etat was released on Nonesuch and New Amsterdam Records.

To learn more about Daniel, visit danielwohlmusic.com.

Lullaby began as a work for solo guitar, and then a movement for string orchestra from Seven Valleys of Love, which I have now arranged for four violins. It is based on “Conference of the birds” text by Attar (1145 - 1221 A.D.), one of the pioneers in Persian literature of mysticism and sufism before Rumi. This nonreligious metaphoric text helped me go through uncertainty during Covid. Birds are gathering from all around the world to reach their benevolent mystical Simorgh as a savior. Birds escaping uncertainty from their lands and nests go through Seven Valleys, and finally, instead of finding a savior, finally find themselves to be the Simorgh. What a journey he takes us on! Seven paths, or destinations. Seven stages that gradually lead the seeker towards love as a light, a fire, a healer, and a sun. This work is a connection to the road Attar opened for us many centuries ago: the belief that understanding and cherishing truthful love can be a cure to injustice and discrimination.

About Golfam Khayam (b. 1982)
Golfam Khayam is an Iranian composer and improviser whose music explores the integration of Persian musical traditions within a contemporary, experimental framework. Her music has been described by Al Jazeera as “innovative art,” reflecting a distinctive voice shaped by cross-cultural influences and research-based practice.

Her music has been performed internationally through the Elbphilharmonie, BBC Radio 3, NPR’s “Songs We Love”, and the Ojai Music Festival, and performed by groups including the London Symphony Orchestra, Iceland Symphony Orchestra, and International Contemporary Ensemble.

Khayam has collaborated with artists including soprano and conductor Barbara Hannigan and has developed research on adapting techniques from Persian regional instruments into contemporary composition. For over a decade, she has been associated with ECM Records and continues to be in demand internationally as a performer, teacher, and interdisciplinary collaborator.

To learn more about Golfam, visit golfamkhayam.com.

Almost Variations is a paradoxical work, it is variations without an obvious theme. One can debate what the theme is and whether it is here at all. This situation is a metaphor for God. No one has seen him, some believe in him, some do not, and those who believe cannot give him an unambiguous characteristic. They say that he is omnipresent, and we, the things that surround us, and the universe are his variations. Another line of the work is the gradual transfer of leadership from the first violin to the fourth violin. Each link in the universe is important, and at the same time, everyone can become a leader in their own time.  

About Zoltan Almashi (b. 1975, Lviv)
Zoltan Almashi is a distinguished Ukrainian composer and cellist whose "polymorphic" artistic identity synthesizes neo-romanticism with contemporary innovation. As a co-founder of the classical and modern chamber music “Gulfstream” festival, Almashi is a pivotal figure in Ukraine’s cultural landscape, bridging the gap between traditional heritage and modern musical exploration.

His dual mastery of composition and performance is reflected in a career spanning prestigious roles with the "Kyiv Camerata" and as artistic director of the Revutsky String Quartet. A recipient of the Revutsky and Lyatoshynsky Prizes, he has collaborated with leading contemporary ensembles such as "Ricochet" and "Nostri temporis," earning international acclaim for his versatility and technical precision.

Almashi’s prolific output includes over 70 works, ranging from music for orchestras to the acclaimed opera Penita. His music has achieved significant global reach with performances across Europe, the United States, and South America. Today, he continues to shape the future of the arts through his teaching and his dedicated advocacy for chamber and orchestral music worldwide.

To learn more about Zoltan, visit ucmfnyc.com/zoltan-almashi.

The Gobi Desert is more than a landscape; it is a symbol of my Inner Mongolian heritage. Growing up at the crossroads of Mongolian and Chinese traditions, I am deeply influenced by the legacy of the Yuan Dynasty. Established by Kublai Khan in 1271, this era integrated Mongolian culture into the Central Plains, shaping China’s administrative structure to this day. In today’s fast-paced digital world, these profound traditions are often overshadowed by transient social media trends. My music serves as a bridge, aiming to revive interest in the often-overlooked musical heritage of my homeland. By weaving historical depth into modern compositions, I strive to safeguard our cultural treasures from obscurity. My goal is to foster a global consciousness that values diverse traditions, ensuring that the splendor of Inner Mongolian culture continues to resonate. Let us unite in reclaiming the cultural treasures that may fade into obscurity, reviving the appreciation for our collective heritage and nurturing a global consciousness that values and safeguards the legacy of diverse traditions. Together, we can ensure that the splendor and significance of all traditional cultures continue to shine brightly in the tapestry of our shared human experience.

About Veronica Jang (b. 1992)
Veronica Jang is a composer whose work is guided by a belief in music’s transformative, expressive, and healing powers. Born in Inner Mongolia, her musical voice is shaped by the folk traditions of China, Mongolia, and Russia, which inform her use of modal color, spacious textures, and cross-cultural nuance.

Her music blends classical discipline with a commitment to accessibility, creating works that connect with audiences beyond traditional concert settings. Characterized by a lyrical voice and atmospheric soundscapes, her writing often moves fluidly between intimate chamber textures and expansive, cinematic forms.

Jang’s first field of study was Civil Engineering. She began her formal composition studies in 2018 under the mentorship of David Crumb and has since continued to develop a distinctive voice rooted in storytelling and cultural synthesis. Her work has been performed by ensembles including the Delgani String Quartet, Piano 4×5, and the MoVE Modern Violin Ensemble.

To learn more about Veronica, visit veronicajang.com.

In Equal Measure is a commentary on the existing pay gap between men and women. In October of 2017, thousands of Icelandic women left work at 2:38 p.m. and demonstrated outside parliament to protest the gender pay gap. Women’s rights groups calculate that after that time each day, women are working for free. As part of this protest, they performed the traditional Viking “Thunderclap” to communicate their strength. In 2018, Iceland became the first country to legalize equal pay between men and women, when doing the exact same work. Commissioned by MoVE, through the lens of four equally virtuosic violinists, this quartet emotionally explores the various situations women find themselves in every day to have their work considered in equal measure to the men around them.. This is dedicated to MoVE, the women who fight for their rights every day, and the men who stand by them.

About Jessica Meyer (b. 1974)
With playing that is “fierce and lyrical” and works that are “other-worldly” (The Strad) and “evocative” (The New York Times), Jessica Meyer is an award-winning composer and violist whose passionate musicianship radiates accessibility and emotional clarity. Meyer’s first composer/performer portrait album, Ring Out (Bright Shiny Things) debuted at #1 on the Billboard Traditional Classical Chart. Her second album, I long and seek after, is a collection of her vocal works New Focus Recordings was hailed by Musical America as “gorgeously scored.” Premieres of her music have been championed by Metropolitan Opera tenor Paul Appleby and the Claremont Trio, a new orchestral piece “Turbulent Flames” is being performed by a consortium of orchestras across the United States, and a commission for the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra that opened their 2025-26 Carnegie Hall Season. 

In Equal Measure commissioned by MoVE (2018)  

To learn more about Jessica, visit jessicameyermusic.com.

This piece is dedicated to the memory of Leslie and Anita Bassett, two great trees of my community, who lived lives of generosity, creativity, and courage; I am grateful for their moral clarity and their warm friendship. The work was commissioned by and written for MoVE.   

The world was once made of trees: they shaped everything we know with their living and dying. We humans, in fact, literally descended from the trees to walk upon earth built by their generations and held by their roots. We might benefit from contemplation of the ways of our ancient hosts. 
If we attend to what the trees know, we can begin to identify with them, and with all the beings that, like us, are dependent on them for our existence. By following the lessons they offer us, we can enter into a new relationship with the web of life that makes our own lives possible. We might even be able to face the hard truth of our continuing thoughtless destruction of the world’s forests, and to mourn the loss of the millions of years of life building life that those sacred places represent. What can we do? We can learn to do as the trees do, gathering the energies of a place to multiply life, rather than extracting and exploiting. We can care for the trees. We can leave them standing, pay attention, nurture the wild places; we can learn to live in love and in peace with the livingness that surrounds us. If you think the trees aren’t talking to you, go out and listen more carefully. 

About Evan Chambers (b. 1963)

Evan Chambers’ music often draws on American vernacular traditions, blending folk influences with contemporary classical language to create works of rhythmic vitality and expressive depth.
A composer and professor of composition at the University of Michigan, his work has been performed by orchestras including the Cincinnati, Kansas City, and Albany Symphonies, as well as at venues such as Carnegie Hall, where his orchestral song cycle The Old Burying Ground was performed and recorded by the American Composers Orchestra for Dorian/Sono Luminus.
Chambers is the recipient of numerous awards, including recognition from the American Academy of Arts and Letters as well as American Composers Forum, and he has been an artist in residence at prominent programs including MacDowell and Yaddo.

To learn more about Evan, visit evanchambers.net.

A listening ritual is a practice where we focus on listening carefully. It's meant to help us become more mindful, understand deeper, and connect emotionally and spiritually. Woven breaks down music to its basic elements, letting us appreciate the beauty and emotion in each sound. The musicians take special care in shaping each sound, inviting listeners to pause and pay attention to the details of every moment. Through this, I hope to bring a sense of calm, lightness, and joy to their minds.   

About Jaroslaw Kapuściński (b. 1964)

Jarosław Kapuściński is a Polish intermedia composer and pianist whose work explores the intersection of music, visual art, and technology. His practice integrates sound, image, and gesture, creating immersive works that expand the boundaries of traditional concert performance.

His interdisciplinary work has been presented internationally at venues including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid, Palais de Tokyo in Paris, and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. He has received awards for his intermedia work at festivals in Paris (France), Locarno (Switzerland), and Montréal (Canada).

Kapuściński is an educator who has lectured internationally and been on faculty at prominent schools in Canada and California. He currently serves as Associate Professor of Composition at Stanford University.

To learn more about Jarosław, visit jaroslawkapuscinski.com‍ ‍

This work incorporates universal messages of love with texts excerpted from love letters written by Eleanor Roosevelt, Oscar Wilde, and Margaret Mead, and a love poem by Gertrude Stein. Spoken by the four violinists, the words are incorporated as a part of the different musical textures of the piece, themselves reflective of the moods, rhythms, and formal implications of the phrases. All four relationships represented by the excerpted texts were, at the time, considered taboo: each of the four relationships was between two people of the same gender.    

About Jordan Nelson (b. 1984)

Jordan Nelson is a composer and educator based in Southern California whose work is shaped by collaboration and spans concert music and ambient electronic sound. His music moves fluidly between abstract structures and more atmospheric, text-driven forms.

Recent projects include works for string quartet, solo piano, and mixed media, including Tender Buttons for soprano, string quartet, and projected images, based on poetry by Gertrude Stein, with original artwork by Morgan Thomas Shankweiler. Nelson’s collection of music for solo piano based on the Great American Songbook, Songbook for piano, was created in collaboration with Thomas Kotcheff and in 2024 was released as the album Re/Sounding: An American Songbook for Piano.

Nelson is an active, passionate intergenerational educator who has taught at collegiate institutions including UCLA and the Colburn Conservatory.

To learn more about Jordan, visit jordannelsonmusic.com.

Life as a Lily is dedicated to my mentor, Iranian-American, classical guitarist Lily Afshar. She was a musical force who spent her life performing, teaching, and arranging. She passed away on October 24, 2023 of cancer. This piece reflects my grief, always a complicated process, and the journey of all of life itself. I choose to remember her for the joy and music she brought to the world.   

About Jess Julian (b. 1994)
Jess Julian is a guitarist, composer, and educator whose work and music spans classical, jazz, and contemporary styles. Their artistic practice integrates performance, composition, and advocacy, with a focus on expanding representation and access within classical music.

As a performer, Jess appears as a soloist and collaborative musician across a range of settings, from chamber music to interdisciplinary projects. Their work as a composer reflects a similarly versatile approach, often shaped by close collaboration and a commitment to expressive clarity. Activism is an important part of Jess’s work as a performer and composer, which has taken shape with a concert benefit program of all LGBTQA+ composers and performers for Oakland University’s Gender Sexuality Center.

Jess is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts in Guitar Performance at the University of Memphis and serves on the faculty at East Central Community College. They are also an active educator and advocate, engaging with diverse groups through teaching, performance, and community engagement.

To learn more about Jess, visit jessjulian.com.

“Something that gives the most common man the most uncommon of freedoms. When ordinary hands can possess such an extraordinary instrument, that symbolizes the full measure of human dignity and liberty.” ‒Charlton Heston, National Rifle Association (NRA) Convention 2000    
Extraordinary Instruments is a work that calls into question the morality and sustainability of American gun culture as it is today. The gun debate in America is amongst its most polarizing. Charlton Heston’s words “dignity,” “liberty,” and “extraordinary instrument” have profoundly different meanings from one American to the next, and Extraordinary Instruments is meant to be a space for Americans to question these meanings for themselves. 

About Tommy Dougherty (b. 1990)
Tommy Dougherty is a composer and violinist whose music spans works for orchestras, chamber music ensembles, and solo instruments. His writing reflects a strong connection between performance and composition, shaped by his experience as a violinist.

Recent projects include Impro-Vice, written for the Orchestra of St. Luke’s as part of the DeGaetano Composition Institute, where he worked with composer Anna Clyne. His music has been performed by ensembles including the American Composers Orchestra, Alarm Will Sound, Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, and the Modern Violin Ensemble (MoVE).

As a performer, Dougherty has appeared with ensembles such as the San Diego Symphony and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. He earned a Doctor of Musical Arts in composition from the USC Thornton School of Music. Tommy is the recipient of an ASCAP Leo Kaplan Award and two ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composers Awards.

Written for MoVE: Lina Bahn, Carolyn Stuart, Janet Sung, and Livia Sohn

To learn more about Tommy, visit tsdoughertycomposer.com