DECEMBER 29, 2019
David H. Davies
In the Bleak Midwinter
Texas A&M University-Commerce Chorale
Dr. Randall Hooper, director
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PROGRAM NOTES:
In the Bleak Midwinter was commissioned for the 2017 Annual Holiday Gala at Texas A&M University-Commerce, where it was premiered by the Chorale under the direction of Dr. Randall Hooper. The work is an entirely new setting of Christina Rossetti’s classic Christmas poem.
STATEMENT OF FAITH:
My understanding of Christian faith can best be described as orthodox and Reformed. I accept the Bible as God’s revealed word and consider it to be both authoritative in my life and the ultimate source of truth and knowledge.. With Christian sisters and brothers of various traditions around the world, I affirm that I have no hope of salvation in and of myself apart from God’s unmerited grace and favor. I am a beneficiary of the righteousness of Christ applied to me by faith through no merit of my own, and any good deeds or service I do are evidence of the Spirit’s work in me. My understanding of Biblical doctrine is best summarized by the classic Reformed confessions, especially the Westminster Confession and its accompanying catechisms.
BIO:
David Horace Davies is Associate Professor of Music and Interim Department Head at Texas A&M University-Commerce. His music has been performed extensively throughout the U.S. and internationally in prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall and Cooper Union in NYC, the Ghent Opera in Belgium, the Culturo Jorge Borges in Buenos Aires, and the Conservatorio de Musica de Puerto Rico in San Juan. Recently his music was included in the Sao Paulo Contemporary Composers Festival in Brazil, the Basically Beethoven Festival in Dallas, and the New Music on the Bayou Festival in Louisiana. He was the 2019 Commissioned Composer of the Texas Music Teachers Association and recent commissioning ensembles include Trio Cavanah, Astraios Music, and Soprani Compagni. He has received awards from the College Music Society and the International Arts Movement, and is a four-time Semi-Finalist for the American Prize for Choral Composition, receiving Honorable Mention twice. Prior to A&M Commerce, Davies served on the faculty of Houghton College’s Greatbatch School of Music, and Augustana College. He holds degrees from the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music and Houghton College, and he has studied composition with Dennis Kam, Mark Hijleh, and John van der Slice. Davies music is published by Inside View Press and Jomar Press. In 2016 he was appointed to serve as President of the Christian Fellowship of Art Music Composers (CFAMC) and he is an active member in the College Music Society and the Society of Composers, Inc.