2024 William Thomas McKinley Memorial
​Alba Alumni Commission

We are thrilled to announce Daniel De Togni a 2021 Alba Composition Program Alum, as the recipient of the 2024 Alba Alumni Commission,  named in honor of the late American composer, William Thomas McKinley, and supported by a gift from the William Thomas McKinley Foundation. The commission is awarded annually to one of the alumni of the Alba Music Festival Composition Program, and started in 2017. Daniel will compose a new work for the 2024 resident group, the SOLI Chamber Ensemble for a premiere during the 2024 Alba Music Festival.

About The Commissioned Composer

As a composer and artist who primarily works with sound, Daniel is fascinated with the concept of space in sound/music. The psychological space that music inhabits in our minds as listeners, performers and/or creators, how sonic objects interact with each other in real-time and space, as well how a sound can evoke an image or landscape in our minds. It is truly astonishing how music can act as a catalyst between memory and real-time, how by listening to a piece of music, or hearing a sound, a world/memory (that perhaps no longer exists) from many years ago can be recalled in the mind of the listener and be relived in, if only for a brief moment.  Daniel's compositional style has been praised for its breadth and his ability to integrate a variety of soundworlds and influences into his music. Drawing from his Japanese and Italian heritage, Daniel's music is that of cross-pollination between genres and styles, and the exploration of sonic environments and the musical organisms that dwell in them. His focus is that of creating emotionally moving, auditory experiences for the listener.

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