, brings an insider's view to the piece he plans to write for the Oregon Symphony's 120th season, next year. Bunch, whose music is a driving blend of popular and classical styles, spent last season playing viola with the orchestra -- an experience that gave him a firsthand look at the strengths and interests of the players, he says.
Details about his new piece are sketchy at this point, but Bunch, a Juilliard-trained violist and composer, plans to write a 15-20 minute work for the orchestra and its music director, Carlos Kalmar. The piece premieres March 11, 2017.
"My initial plans are for a virtuosic 'concerto for orchestra' type of work," he says, alluding to Bela Bartok's celebrated work of the same name.
Bunch had his eyes opened when he sat in with the orchestra last season, he says.
"Make no mistake, it's a grind -- physically, intellectually, and at times, emotionally challenging work that takes a ton of stamina and discipline. Anyone who thinks this is a cushy job is quite mistaken. When I first came in, I had the somewhat arrogant notion that I could just coast along and would be fine, based on my other playing experiences, but this was dispelled rather quickly. It was as if I was suddenly playing full court 5-on-5 with the Blazers."
Sitting in the middle of the orchestra gave him an experience few composers get, he says.
"We composers usually learn orchestration from books, and then from trial and error, with each new work -- if we're even able to get our stuff in front of an orchestra. I've been at for this over 20 years and have had been lucky to write quite a bit of orchestral music, but after experiencing a year's worth of masterpieces from the inside out, I felt like I was only just now beginning to understand how to really use the orchestra well."
Last summer, Kalmar premiered a different work by Bunch,
That experience showed Bunch he had to raise his game, he says. "Writing this new work will raise the stakes even more for me."
-- David Stabler for The Oregonian/OregonLive