Young Composers Festival

The TSO String Quintet performs new works composed by students in the TSO Young Composers Project. Each student, ranging in age from 9 to 16, has participated in the Introductory class since October, and these compositions are the result of months of work and creativity. The musicians of the TSO String Quintet worked with each composer to rehearse their piece before professionally recording this program.

Learn More about the Young Composers Project

Aditya Sunder (13) is an 8th grader at Basis Tucson North, who has played piano for 5 years. This is his first year in the Young Composers Project. The title of his piece is “String Quartet No. 1,” because it is simple, and is fitting for the piece because it is in sonata form, like most other string quartets by other composers.

Ryoto Brumitt (12) was born in 2009 in Japan and moved to Tucson in 2014. Since January 2017, he has been studying the violin under Dr. Laura Tagawa. He also plays in the Quest Advanced Orchestra. He has been homeschooled for 3 years. This is Ryoto’s first year attending the Young Composers Project. His first piece that is being performed by TSO musicians is A Fantasyland Far Far Away. He was inspired by the thought of a fantastical land, consisting of an extensive bright green field with tall spores and bizarre vegetation beyond the reach of pollutant human beings. Ryoto also has a cat named Ninni. One day when he returned from watching the musical Cats at Centennial Hall, she followed him home and his family adopted her. She is a tuxedo cat and loves his violin playing. She often meows and comments after a song or two.

Jude McGrath is ten years old and is in fourth grade at Sam Hughes Elementary School. He has been playing cello for 6 years with Mary Beth Tyndall, and has been in the TSO Young Composer’s Project for 2 years. His piece is called A Rainy Afternoon because he loves rain and is inspired by the rainy desert. Jude hopes to go to college and study music there, and also to play with the TSO someday.

Jojo Wang (11) is a 5th grader at Sunrise Drive Elementary School. Jojo plays the violin and this is his first year doing TSO Young Composers Project. The name of his composition is Adagio in D Major. It is a slow song that is happy at the same time. He is trying to learn how to play some violin songs that are slow because he usually likes to play fast, loud, and happy songs. On slow songs, he usually tends to play a little louder and faster. That is why he did a slow song because he wanted to work on playing slowly.

Hello, my name is Robert Visco. I’m (at the time of writing this) 12 years old. I play the violin and piano. I go to the Young Composers Project because I’m inspired, and naturally like music. I have currently been here for a year. My final submission is, Emerging Time Paradox. Why? Well, I chose that name because of the feeling of the song and how it combines all the previous assignments. I think it means to me, my taste and feel for music, and how I enjoyed my first year. I am inspired by creative and innovative subjects and hobbies; and music is one of them.

Ryan Brunswick, a 16-year-old composer and violinist, is a sophomore at Milken Community Schools. Ryan participated in Tucson Symphony Orchestra’s Young Composers Project from 2020–2021, mastering elements of orchestration and advancing his study of music theory and composition. Ryan’s piece, Tides of Resilience, speaks to the ebb and flow of life; its victories, its tragedies, and the strength of human spirit. Fascinated by the interdisciplinary study of music and science, Ryan founded and leads his school’s Neuroscience and Music Club. As an honors science research student, Ryan engaged in a year-long scientific review focused on music and the brain. Ryan was invited to present his research evaluating the impact of music on cognition at the community-wide Milken Science Symposium in Los Angeles. Ryan is a leader in his high school and community, elected Student Council President for two consecutive years and volunteers as a mentor and peer tutor.

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