Jared Destro
*19 August 1998
Works by Jared Destro
Biography
Jared Destro was born in Buffalo, New York, USA on August 19, 1998. Jared began his musical career as a piano and organ improviser, starting his lessons on both at 13. Soon after, he joined the Eastman Community Music School in Rochester, NY for composition lessons with composer Paul Hofmann, and he began regular performances with the Buffalo Chromatic Club as a solo piano improviser.
At the research-focused University at Buffalo, Jared earned his Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Music Theory, Harmony, and Counterpoint from 2016-2019, and whilst there he studied primarily under: performer and clarinetist Jean Kopperud, who was vital in developing his skills as an improviser; composer, professor, and researcher Cort Lippe, who reinforced his early compositional foundation; and writer, performer, and theorist Dr James Currie, who was fundamental in sparking Jared's interest in musicology and theoretical research. For the latter, the works of Carl Nielsen drew a particular interest to the composer.
Before graduating summa cum laude, Jared was able to also attend Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic for a term in 2018. While the emphasis in this program was political science and history, it proved instrumental in connecting the composer to the fine arts, literature, history, and, of course, music. He connected with the art of František Kupka and Alfons Mucha, the photography of Josef Koudelka, and the stories of the Hussite Revolution, the Samizdat (самиздат), and many other facets to Central European culture/history.
Works of his that are deliberately in honor of this theme include (either by being composed during, or by being composed in regard to): Ink, for choir and piano; Concerto, for violin, string orchestra, and continuo; Piano Suite No. 6, Czech; Madonna of the Lilies, for concert band; and more.
Jared then earned his Master of Music (MMus.) in Composition from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (RWCMD) with distinction, from 2019-2021. This was crucial in the composer's growth, as he was able to compose a wide number of works, and he was able to collaborate with a number of musicians and organizations. These include the Ernest Read Symphony Orchestra, BBC NOW, Tŷ Cerdd, the Band of the Welsh Guards, and on several occasions the Symphony Orchestra of the RWCMD.
Additionally, he was commissioned, for the National Eisteddfod of Wales 2021, the World Harp Congress 2022, frequently by the Junior Conservatoire of the RWCMD, and by dozens of his colleagues.
Whilst at the RWCMD, his tutors were primarily the composers Lynne Plowman, Joseph Davies, Owen Lloyd, Mark Boden, and Michael McCartney. All of these composers were wonderful instructors for Jared, and each in their own way, they had a profound impact on his development as a composer.
During this time, important works for composer include: Harvest Festival, for orchestra; Suite, for flute quintet ("Flower"); Chevrefoil ("Honeysuckle"), for brass quintet; Epitaph, for two flutes and harp; and several dozen more.
Many of Jared's works have been awarded or shortlisted for awards. His Madonna of the Lilies, for concert band, was awarded the first-place prize (International) in the Warsaw Wind Ensemble Composition Contest 2020. It was performed by Concert Orchestra of the Representative Artistic Ensemble of the Polish Armed Forces, and it was conducted by Michelle Rakers.
His Piano Trio No. 1, for viola, violoncello, and piano was awarded second overall in the NMGCS II International Composition, which was a celebration of composer Fikret Amirov. It was premiered in Baku, Azerbaijan on 22.09.2022 at the Hajibeyli International Festival, and it was performed on 20.10.2022 at the Bruno Walter Auditorium Lincoln Center, New York City. It is an example of a work within the composer's continuous research into "schemas" (in accordance to the field of psychology) for organizing musical form and material/counterpoint.
Other works within this research include: his Piano Quartet No. 1, for violin, viola, vionloncello, and piano, which was shortlisted for the O/Modernt Composition Award 2023; his Symphony No. 1, for concert band; and his Piano Suite No. 5, Maailmanpuu, which was shortlisted for the Red Jasper Award 2022.
His current focus is on searching for Ph.D. programs where he will be able to further explore and solidify the connections between disciplines, musical or otherwise.
About the music
Jared's music has often been tasked with being accessible to players of intermediate level, while also exploring the vast extents of nonconformity in respect to musical forms and contrapuntal inspiration. Often there are educational or interdisciplinarian overtones to his works, and the fount behind the texture—while always varied to some extent—is often a struggle of balance for fundamental compositional elements, such as: motion vs reservation, space vs density, flexibility vs rigidity, the mathematical proportion of form, the intrinsic design of aesthetics and counterpoint, and the depiction or non-depiction of specificity.
The necessity for multidimensional thinking, while also maintaining a traditional and accessible veneer, is key, and the ultimate goal is to establish—in part, for educational purposes—a lens that connects the field of psychology to the field of musical composition. It is an ongoing endeavor, and it has thus far taken many faces.
Moreover, the crossover of this thinking to other fields of study—such as literature, the culinary arts, and linguistics—has expanded the composer's understanding of his own accomplishments and want for growth. For example, in a search for this growth, the composer spends a lot of time studying the culinary arts. This is to experiment with complimentary thought processes between both fields so as to promote and create an art that lives and breathes an essence that is greater than itself in its own right. Instead, it is born from the cognition of interdisciplinarian respect and intelligibility. In this way, the art is verified as inseparable from whatever it is to be human.