Leading International Composers: Michael Torke

Michael Torke (b. 1961): BLOOM (2024) Bloom 1, morning Bloom 1, noon Bloom 1, night Stem 1 Bloom 2, morning Bloom 2, noon Bloom 2, night Stem 2 Bloom 3, morning Bloom 3, noon Bloom 3, night Phillips Music’s 86th Season Leading International Composers series opens with renowned percussion group Sandbox Percussion, highlighting the vibrant writing of American composer Michael Torke. A former composer-in-residence with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Torke has been commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, English National Opera, and the Walt Disney Company. In BLOOM, Sandbox Percussion reveals the vitality and color of Torke’s musical language, where minimalist patterns unfold with rhythmic precision. Mr. Torke will be present to discuss his music. Program performed without intermission. Performers Ian Rosenbaum Jonny Allen Terry Sweeney Victor Caccese Michael Torke’s work has been described as "some of the most optimistic, joyful and thoroughly uplifting music to appear in recent years" (Gramophone). Hailed as a "vitally inventive composer" (Financial Times) and "a master orchestrator whose shimmering timbral palette makes him the Ravel of his generation" (New York Times), Torke has created a substantial body of works in virtually every genre; his recent piece SKY, written for violinist Tessa Lark, was a finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize, and was nominated for a Grammy® award for “best classical instrument solo.” Torke has been commissioned by The Philadelphia Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, and the San Francisco Symphony, New York City Ballet, Alvin Ailey, National Ballet of Canada, Metropolitan Opera, Théâtre du Châtelet, English National Opera, London Sinfonietta, Lontano, De Volharding, and the Smith, Ying, and Amstel Quartets, among other orchestras, ballet companies, and ensembles. He has worked with conductors Simon Rattle, Kurt Mazur, Edo de Waart, and David Zinman; choreographers Christopher Wheeldon, James Kudelka, and Juri Kilian; librettists A. R. Gurney, Michael Korie, and Mark Campbell; and directors Des McAnuff, Bart Sher, and Michael Greif. He has been commissioned by entities as diverse as the Walt Disney Company, and Absolute Vodka; worked with soloists such as Tessa Lark, Christopher O'Reilly, Joyce Yang, and Joyce Castle; and written incidental music for The Public Theater, The Old Globe Theater, and Classic Stage Company, among others. He has been composer-in-residence with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Beginning his career with exclusive contracts with Boosey and Hawkes, and Decca Records, he now controls his own copyrights and masters through his publishing company, Adjustable Music, and record company, Ecstatic Records. Described as “exhilarating” by The New York Times and “utterly mesmerizing” by The Guardian, the GRAMMY®-nominated Sandbox Percussion champions living composers through its unwavering dedication to contemporary chamber music. In 2011, Jonathan Allen, Victor Caccese, Ian Rosenbaum, and Terry Sweeney were brought together by their love of contemporary music and interest in expanding the percussion repertoire; they have since captivated audiences around the world through visually and aurally stunning performances. Today, the foursome are established leaders in contemporary music for percussion, engaging a wider audience for classical music through multidisciplinary collaborations with leading composers and artists. In 2025, the group made its long-awaited debut on NPR’s immensely popular Tiny Desk series, with a genre-defying program that consists of music by Andy Akiho and Viet Cuong, two of the most important voices in contemporary classical music. Sandbox Percussion also recorded percussion music for its first feature film, The Wild Robot (DreamWorks, 2024), an animated science fiction film directed by Chris Sanders, with music by Kris Bowers. It received three Academy Award nominations. Sandbox Percussion is the first percussion ensemble to receive the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant. At the 2024 ceremony, the group performed “Pillar V,” from Seven Pillars, a 2021 feature-length suite for percussion quartet composed by Akiho and commissioned by Sandbox Percussion, with stage direction and lighting design by Michael Joseph McQuilken. The New York Times praised Seven Pillars as “a lush, brooding celebration of noise” and “as pure as music gets.” It was nominated for two GRAMMY® awards—Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance and Best Contemporary Classical Composition—and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist. Since the world premiere, Sandbox Percussion has taken Seven Pillars on tour around the globe, from Paris to Beijing. After winning a 2024 Serge Koussevitzky Music Foundation commission, Sandbox Percussion and Akiho embark on a project in the 2025-26 season to create a new work with Akiho joining on steelpan. Building on the success of Seven Pillars, the project is pushing the boundaries of contemporary chamber music; “Pe