Daniel Asia: Composer
Daniel Asia (b. 1953) stands among the most versatile composers of his generation, having traversed orchestral, chamber, vocal, and operatic realms with equal mastery. A 2009 recipient of an American Academy of Arts and Letters Award and inducted into the American Academy of Sciences and Letters in 2024, Asia has been hailed as "a genuine creative spirit" and "a welcome addition to the roster of our strongest group of living composers."
His orchestral works have been commissioned and performed by major symphony orchestras including Cincinnati, Seattle, Milwaukee, Phoenix, and the American Composers Orchestra in New York City. Renowned conductors such as Jesús López-Cobos, Eiji Oue, and Zdeněk Mácal have championed his music on stages across America and Europe.
Asia served as Professor of Music at the University of Arizona from 1988-2024 and currently serves as President of Polyhymnia (Center for American Culture and Ideas). His distinguished career includes a Guggenheim Fellowship, four NEA Composers Grants, a Fulbright Arts Award Fellowship, and numerous other honors recognizing his contribution to American music.
The Symphonies
"...sophisticated in language and structure, is deeply satisfying on an emotional and intellectual level."
Fanfare
"Challenging but listener-friendly."
Seattle Times
Symphony V's "music fills many of the spaces that one might normally consider a place for conflict, and wraps the whole in a swirl of ultimate optimism and warmth."
Audiophile Audition
Symphony No. 1
3-3-3-3/4-3-3-1/timp+3/pno(cel)/hp/strings
22 minutes
Commissioned by the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Gerard Schwarz, Music Director, and the American Composers Orchestra, Dennis Russell Davies, Music Director
Symphony No. 2
3-3-3-3/4-3-3-1/timp+3/pno(cel/synth)/hp/strings
26 minutes
Commissioned by the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, Robert Bernhardt, Music Director and Conductor, and the Bess Syde Family
Symphony No. 3
4-4-4-4/6-4-3-1/timp+4/pno(cel)/2hp/strings
37 minutes
Commissioned by The Phoenix Symphony, James Sedares, Music Director and Conductor, and Meet The Composer, Inc.
Symphony No. 4
2-2-2-2/4-2-2-0/timp+3/pno(cel)/hp/strings
25 minutes
Commissioned by the Phoenix Symphony, James Sedares, Music Director, and the National Endowment for the Arts
Symphony No. 5
3-3-3-3/4-3-3-1/timp+3/pno-cel/hp/tenor,bass-bar,chorus/strings
36 minutes
Commissioned by the America-Israel Friendship League, Tucson Symphony Orchestra, George Hanson, Music Director, and the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Leon Botstein, Music Director
Symphony No. 6 (IRIS)
3-3-3-3/4-3-3-1/timp+3/strings
15 minutes
For Orchestral World Premiere Consideration
Previous arrangement for IRIS (Piano Duet for Four Hands): LISTEN DOWNLOAD MP3
Short Orchestral Works
"Daniel Asia's Black Light… purveyed the new hedonism—a sensuous approach to sound and a generous exploitation of instruments—that makes orchestras want to schedule such music and listeners pay to hear it."
New York Times
"A melodic masterpiece...a wild delight."
Amazon.com
"Combining intricate rhythms and boisterous Midwestern braggadocio, it sounds like a mix of Stravinsky and Leonard Bernstein."
Cincinnati Post
Gateways
3-3-4-3/4-4-3-1/Timp+3/pno/strings
5 minutes
Commissioned by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Jesus Lopez-Cobos, Music Director; conductor, Hermann Michael
At The Far Edge
4-4-4-4/6-4-3-1/timp+4/pno(cel)/2hp/strings
14 minutes
Commissioned by the Seattle Youth Symphony, Ruben Gurevich, Music Director
Black Light
3-3-3-3/4-3-3-1/timp+3/pno(cel)/hp/strings
10 minutes
Commissioned by the American Composers Orchestra, Dennis Russell Davies, Music Director; Lawrence Leighton Smith, conductor
What About It
3-3-3-3/4-3-3-1/timp+2/pno,hp/strings
7 minutes
Commissioned by the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, George Hanson, Music Director
Once Again
2-3-3-3/4-3-3-1/timp+4/pno/hp/strings
5 minutes
Commissioned by The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, Kirk Trevor, Music Director
Then Something Happened
3-3-3-3/4-3-3-1/timp+4/pno,hp/strings
5 minutes
Commissioned by the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, George Hanson, Music Director
Why (?) Jacob
3(pic),3(EH),3(B),3(CB)/4,3,3,tuba;timp+3;pno/harp/strings
8 minutes
Commissioned by the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, George Hanson, Music Director
The Concertos
"...aspires to a place in the grand tradition. Exposure by the box-office virtuosi with America's Big Five orchestras is overdue."
Atlantic Monthly
"Asia's 37-minute Piano Concerto…This is the deepest, most personal music I have heard from Asia."
Fanfare
"The Piano Concerto (1994), an approachable, strongly communicative 37-minute work, whose rhythmically invigorating outer movements frame a mellifluous (but not always untroubled) 20-minute meditation…spacious, transparent and expertly balanced."
Gramophone
Piano Concerto
3-3-3-3/4-3-3-1/timp+3/solo piano,strings
37 minutes
Commissioned by the Phoenix Symphony, Chattanooga Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, and the Milwaukee Symphony, for Andre-Michel Schub, piano, with funding from Meet the Composer
Cello Concerto
2(pic),2,(EH)2,2(CB);4,2,2;timp+2;strings
28 minutes | Not recorded.
Commissioned by the Greensboro Symphony, Akron Symphony, and the Seattle Youth Symphony, for Carter Brey, cello. First performed with the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra, Stuart Molina, conductor.
Voice(s) & Orchestra (continued)
Divine Madness: The Oratorio is a monumental work composed by Daniel Asia with libretto by Paul Pines, exploring the concept of "divine madness" as a force that drives humanity's greatest creators and visionaries. Based on Pines' eponymous poetry book, this oratorio celebrates the revolutionary spirit of America and humankind, particularly timely as the Declaration of Independence turns 250 years old in 2026.
The work features an intense blend of classical, jazz, and avant-garde influences, creating a vibrant synthesis of tonal extension and rhythmic vitality that merges classical precision with contemporary flair. Through Pines' poems, the oratorio explores the minds of history's greatest thinkers, scientists, and artists—including Thomas Paine, Van Gogh, Einstein, Heisenberg, John Winthrop, Leonard Bernstein, Telemachus, and Columbus—who dared to push boundaries and live on the razor's edge.
Performance Requirements
Orchestra: 3(pic)-3(EH)-3(bcl)-3(cb);4-3-4-1;timp,3perc;pno,hrp;strings;SATBsoloists;SATBchorus;strings
Vocal Forces: Soprano, Alto, Tenor, and Bass soloists; Chorus
Duration
55 minutes (also available in abbreviated formats)
Voice(s) & Orchestra
"Pines Songs is appealing, in its Impressionistic way."
New York Times
Symphony V "is a fine expression of the present day Jewish condition."
American Record Guide
Daniel Asia is "Restoring Spirituality To Music."
Forward
Asia's works for voice and orchestra represent some of his most deeply personal creations, drawing on the poetry of Jewish-American writer Paul Pines and Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai to explore themes of identity, spirituality, and the human condition.
Jewish-American Author Paul Pines
Israeli Poet Yehuda Amichai
Ossabaw Island Dream
Mezzo-soprano & Full Orchestra;
For large orchestra 3(pic,alto)-3(EH)-3(B)-2;4-3-4-tba/pno(cel),hrp/timp,perc(4)/MZ/Strings
35 minutes (15 minutes)
World Premiere Consideration
Pines Songs II
Based on poems of Paul Pines;
2-2-2-2;2-2-2;perc(1);hp;T(or S);strings
15 minutes
World Premiere Consideration
Symphony V (Of Songs and Psalms)
3-3-3-3/4-3-3-1/timp+3/pno-cel/hp/tenor,bass-bar,chorus/strings
36 minutes
Commissioned by the America-Israel Friendship League, Tucson Symphony Orchestra, George Hanson, Music Director, and the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Leon Botstein, Music Director
Based on Poems of Paul Pines and Yehuda Amichai
Chamber Orchestra Works
"This album will be of most interest to collectors interested in a portrait of an emerging composer's voices, or in contemporary vocal music, as Sand II is an attractive addition to the literature."
Fanfare
"Not to be missed by anyone interested in the future of serious music-making in this land!!!"
Fanfare
Rivalries
1-1-1-sop. Sax.-1/11(C)-1/timp,vib/mrba,+2
/pno/strings
15 minutes
Commissioned by the Oberlin Contemporary Ensemble, Daniel Asia, Music Director
Semi-finalist in the 1986 Kennedy Center Friedheim Awards
Ossabaw Island Dream for Chamber Orchestra
For small orchestra Perc(1player)/pno(celeste,
elec.org)/hrp/MS/strings
35 minutes (15 minutes)
Commissioned by The Cleveland Chamber Orchestra, Edwin London, Music Director
SCORE | Not Recorded
B for J (AKA Symphony II, Movement 1, Ma Tovu)
1-0-Bass Clar-0;0-0-1(solo);strings
6 minutes
Commissioned by Musical Elements, Daniel Asia and Robert Beaser, Music Directors
Performers & Conductors
Daniel Asia's symphonic works have been brought to life by some of the world's most distinguished ensembles and conductors, showcasing the breadth and appeal of his compositional voice across the international classical music community.
Distinguished Ensembles
Dorian Wind Quintet, American Brass Quintet, Meadowmount Trio, Cypress Quartet, Amernet String Quartet
Acclaimed Soloists
Andre-Michel Schub, Alex Klein, Benjamin Verdery, John Shirley-Quirk, Sara Watkins, Christopher Pedro Trakas, Faye Robinson, Robert Dick, Carter Brey, Julian Schwarz, Robert Swensen, Jeremy Huw Williams, Carmen Pelton, Mary Feinsinger, Jonathan Shames
Renowned Conductors
Zdenek Macal, Jesus Lopez-Cobos, Eiji Oue, Lawrence Leighton Smith, Carl St. Clair, James Sedares, Stuart Malina, George Hanson, Kirk Trevor, Koji Kawamoto, Gerard Schwarz, Odaline de la Martinez, Jonathan Shames
Distinguished Recognition
Throughout his career, Daniel Asia has received some of the most prestigious honors available to American composers, reflecting both the quality of his work and his significant contribution to contemporary classical music.
American Academy of Sciences & Letters induction ceremony, 2024
American Academy of Arts and Letters Award
2009
American Academy of Sciences and Letters
Inducted 2024
Guggenheim Fellowship
United Kingdom Fulbright Arts Award Fellowship
National Endowment for the Arts
Four NEA Composers Grants
Major Foundation Support
M.B. Rockefeller Grant | Aaron Copland Fund for Music Grant
Artist Residencies
MacDowell Colony Fellowship | Tanglewood Fellowship | DAAD Fellowship (Germany)
Composition Prizes
ASCAP Composition Prize | BMI Composition Prize
Orchestra Residency
Meet The Composer/Composer in Residence with the Phoenix Symphony 1991-94
Daniel Asia & Jewish Influence
Daniel Asia's music is deeply rooted in his Jewish identity, representing one of contemporary classical music's most profound explorations of spiritual and cultural heritage. His body of work stands as a testament to the continuing vitality of Jewish artistic expression in American concert music.
"combines a somewhat mournful quality with more dance-like material (particularly in the violin solo), and also includes a melody that more than hints at its joyful chassidic roots."
Fanfare, about Psalm 30
Psalm 30
SCORE | LISTEN | DOWNLOAD MP3
A significant portion of Asia's work draws upon the Psalms and the poetry of Jewish-American writer Paul Pines and Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai. His Fifth Symphony, for instance, is based on the poetry of Pines and Amichai, as well as Biblical Psalms, creating a rich tapestry that weaves together ancient and modern Jewish voices.
Another work, "Breath in a Ram's Horn," directly references the shofar, a central symbol of the Jewish High Holy Days. Why (?) Jacob, one of Asia's most well-known pieces, serves as a powerful elegy for a childhood friend, Jacob Rayman, who was killed in the 1973 Arab-Israeli War.
Asia believes that both classical music and Judaism share a common goal: to connect people to a transcendent dimension. He has spoken extensively about how he sees music as an "architecture of time" that creates sacred moments, much like Jewish ritual, prayer, and the Sabbath observance.
This fusion of personal faith with artistic expression results in a body of work that is not only a personal exploration of Jewish heritage, but also an attempt to bridge the spiritual and the secular, seeking universal truth through a distinctly Jewish lens.
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Daniel Asia: Symphonic Works