new album, Yiddish song cycle premiere, tour/recording project, and lectures

Derek David - Spring Newsletter an album, song cycle premiere and tour/recording project Happy spring, friends!    In the midst of turmoil and chaos, we all find a way to move forward, create, and celebrate collaborator-friends and meaningful music. This year has already presented four impactful milestones for me: a debut album, a CO-NM tour, a song cycle premiere, and multiple lectures. I am very excited to announce the release of my first commercial recording: Transitions by Jesse Morrison features my Partita for Solo Viola (2024) and was released on Wolfe Records on February 27, 2026. Jesse has been interviewed by Ludwig van Toronto and the Calgary Phil. Available for download on Bandcamp and streaming everywhere. Please share with violists and your cousin who likely moonlights as a contemporary classical college radio DJ. In April 14-19, the Del Sol Quartet and clarinetist Nicholas Davies (Colorado Symphony) embark on a four-stop tour in CO and NM with my 52-minute Clarinet Quintet “Oh World, Goodnight.” They will also be recording the work in Boulder for a commercial release in 2027. Below are the concert dates: April 14, 7:00PM — Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church — Denver, Colorado — Tickets April 16, 4:30PM — University of Colorado Boulder — Boulder, Colorado April 18, 10:30AM — 1050 Old Pecos Trail — Santa Fe, New Mexico (Presented by Chatter) — Tickets April 19, 10:30AM — 912 3rd Street NW — Albuquerque, New Mexico (Presented by Chatter) — Tickets New Gallery Concert Series presents Who We Are, Who We Need to Be Saturday, April 18, 2026 7:00pm Pickman Hall, Longy School of Music Rose Hegele and pianist Elias Dagher will premiere my Yiddish song cycle on the New Gallery Concert Series. This labor-intensive work celebrates 20th century Yiddish poets and brings Yiddish into the Art Song world. Brooke Merrill Subconscious Labyrinths, 2021 acrylic on cotton canvas New Gallery Tickets Here Recent interview with EC2! May 10, 2026 | ABV Concert "Sing out fight back" with Golden Thread Ensemble A Besere Velt Yiddish Chorus collaborates with international klezmer ensemble Golden Thread Ensemble in their spring concert, directed by myself. Tickets Here: https://circleboston.tfaforms.net/110 I will be presenting some more lectures this season: March 30, 2026 | Lecture at MIT’s JCL I present my lecture “Yiddish Music: from the Shul to the streets, to the stage, and back again” at the MIT Jews for Collective Liberation. April 27, 2026 | Lecture at Lehrhaus, Somerville, MA Presenting a new lecture on "The Art and Music of the Yiddish Theatre." Register Here. July 6-9, 2026 | Lecture at Music Theory Pedagogies Reimagined “A Partimento Pedagogy for the 21st Century” at the Music Theory Pedagogies Reimagined. Conference Registration Here. Check out my full calendar here: https://www.derekdavid.com/calendar Best, Derek David www.derekdavid.com Copyright © 2026 Derek David, composer, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. Our mailing address is: Derek David, composer 29 Hayden St Boston, MA 02120-3377 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

I was selected as an artist for Byrdcliffe’s Communal Artist Residency Program at the Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild and will be in Woodstock from June 28-July 23! In addition to starting on the expansive Yiddish song cycle, I will be working on some partimento projects, finishing the string quartet cycle, and prepping for another wonderful season with A Besere Velt.

Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild

In other news, I finished the last movement of my Partita for Solo Viola, written for the brilliant violist (and my friend), Jesse Morrison. The completion of the total composition comes a year after it began due to 9 months of injury, difficult loss, and an overall challenging year in my life. The story that I try to tell in this work is a sad one, but it's necessary. It is a massive weight off of my shoulders to finish..

from Partita for Viola (2024)

Lastly, I am a proud recipient of a MIT CAST (Council on Arts, Science, & Technology) Fay Chandler Creativity Grant for a concert of my music coming this fall!

As of today, I have accepted the position of permanent, full-time Lecturer at MIT. A position that comes with job security, full benefits, academic freedom, and the greatest students and colleagues in the world to work with. To say that this is a dream come true is a dramatic understatement. I am foolishly happy and it doesn't seem real. My five years as being adjunct at MIT have been some of the happiest and creative of my life, and to think that this is my future is unreal. Many thanks to my amazing colleagues who all supported me through these years. I am forever grateful.