Ensemble For These Times to Present E4TT/RMF NEW MUSIC PIANO SUMMIT
The nine works chosen for performance are: "Game Overture" (2023) by Michele Allegro (b. 1990); "Tennis for Two" (2020) by Matt Browne (b. 1988); and more.
SF contemporary chamber group Ensemble for These Times will present its upcoming E4TT/RMF New Music Piano Summit in a program consisting of the nine scores chosen in E4TT's 2025 Call for Scores for Piano Four Hands, a with the Ross McKee Foundation intended to foster appreciation of and encourage composers to write for this fascinating and sonorous instrumental combination. The winning works will be performed by E4TT emerita pianist extraordinaire, Dale Tsang joined by Bay Area pianist LaDene Otsuki and recent Ross McKee Foundation laureates Mehana Ellis and Letian Lei. The group's first-ever program for piano four hands, the concert is a collaboration with the Ross McKee Foundation and will be performed at the Berkeley Piano Club on Sunday, March 1, 2026, at 3:00 p.m., as well as for an online audience on E4TT's YouTube channel.
ABOUT THE CALL FOR SCORES
Following her wildly successful solo Call for Scores piano recitals for Ensemble for These Times in 2024 and 2022, E4TT emerita pianist extraordinaire Dale Tsang will return in 2026 to perform nine works chosen from the group's first-ever Call for Scores for piano four hands, joined by Ross McKee Foundation laureates and Bay Area pianist LaDene Otsuki. A new collaboration between the Ross McKee Foundation and Ensemble for These Times, the E4TT/RMF New Music Piano Summit will present the winners from its latest Call for Scores for piano four hands, chosen to hold the call for piano four hands to encourage composers to write for this less-frequently heard but richly rewarding instrumental combination.
For its 2025 Call for Scores the group received 44 works by 36 composers arriving in the official two-week submission window. Scores came from composers hailing from 11 countries (Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Iceland, Italy, Mexico, Russia, South Korea, Spain, the U.K., and the U.S.) and a dozen states in the U.S., with the composers ranging from students to established composers to professionals in non-musical fields. As ever, the quality and variety of the submissions made choosing the winners challenging.
The nine works chosen for performance are: "Game Overture" (2023) by Michele Allegro (b. 1990); "Tennis for Two" (2020) by Matt Browne (b. 1988); Joie de vivre (2023) by R. Michael Daugherty (b. 1949); "The Villains" (2018) by Justin Levitt (b.1977); Cuatro ritmos (2019) by Edna Alejandra Longoria (b. 1988); "Potboiler" (2024) by Stephen McCarthy (b. 2000); "Cable Car Canter" (2025) by Joshua Muetzel (b. 1994); "Prima-Goodman Fantasy" (2023) by Kelly-Marie Murphy (b. 1964); and "Hyperlooping" (2018) by Sam Wu (b. 1995). E4TT's emerita pianist Dale Tsang will perform "Hyperlooping" (2018) and Cuatro ritmos (2019) with RMF laureates Letian Lei and Mehana Ellis, respectively, and both laureates will also receive coaching with Dale as part of the summit. LaDene Otsuki will join Dale in performing the remaining 7 winning scores. The summit will take place on March 1, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. at the Berkeley Piano Club and will also be livestreamed for an online audience on E4TT's YouTube channel.
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