December 11, 2024
Dan Welcher, Composer/Conductor
"One of the cleverest composers writing today, and certainly one of our master colorists"



"A bright voice to listen to amid America's gray compositional landscape. He has something to say, and he says it directly and in a way very much his own."

Dallas Morning News
John Ardoin

"...one of the cleverest composers writing, and certainly one of our master colorists."

Piano & Keyboard

"It was a pleasure to encounter Mr. Welcher's music again, and his new piece, Bright Wings,...

Dallas Morning News
John Ardoin
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"Bassoonists are also lucky to have a new work as beautifully crafted as Welcher's...

Louisville Courier-Journal
William Mootz
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"If there's a better Clarinet Concerto by a living composer, I don't know of it...

On The Air Magazine
Richard Halley
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"On the basis of this work I would say that Welcher is one of the most promising American composers I have ever heard..."


High Fidelity
R.S. Brown
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... what I heard was a first movement that was a riot of exotic color and bristling rhythms, a shimmering and introspective second movement and a dashing, pulsating finale."

Dallas Morning News
John Ardoin
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"Dan Welcher's Piano Concerto was received with thunderous enthusiasm...

San Antonio Express-News
Mike GreenbergSan
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"It would be hard to name a more appealing new concerto for any instrument than this one...

Salt Lake Tribune
Catherine Reese Newton
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"...the craftsmanship is impeccable ...charming work..."

Chicago Tribune
Michael Cameron
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"The music is disarming in its charm and eminently singable."

Dallas Morning News
John Ardoin
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"The orchestral colors are as spectacular as a Hawaiian volcano, the musical structure is exceptionally tight, and the piece as a whole is a delight to surrender to."

On The Air Magazine
Richard Halley
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"Welcher's music has a cinematic sweep, with Hawaiian chant-tunes, Polynesian scales, and a battery of native percussion instruments lending an exotic vibrancy to his rich-textured score."

American Record Guide
Tiedman
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"The two operas Della's Gift and Holy Night offer us intimate examinations of that difficulty (of sustaining real love)...

Austin Chronicle
Robert Faires
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"A Celebratory Overture for Large Orchestra, written for the Philharmonic by Dan Welcher."

Las Vegas Review-Journal
Julia Osborne
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"...he knows how to write vividly and gratifyingly for the orchestra..."

Boston Herald
Ellen Pfeifer
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"...an essay in Apollonian-Dionysian contrasts...Love-intoxicated... brims with an interior poetry and fiery lyricism that you somehow don't expect from violin, clarinet and piano."


Miami Herald
James Roos
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"...an appealingly moody work that weaves a spell with its ever-changing washes of sound and deeply etched effects

Dallas Morning News
John Ardoin
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"Mr. Welcher's 14-mintue setting captures the tenderness of the memories and evokes a child's playfulness in lyric music descended from Debussy and Samuel Barber."

Dallas News
Scott Cantrell
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"Welcher displays an ease with beautiful music in gorgeous brass ensembles, rich and consonant string passages and multitudes of solo colors."


Honolulu Star Bulletin
Richard McKinney
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"Welcher's Fifth is a 21st-century symphony for Austin: urbane, expressive, filled with touches of whimsy and expansively American in its artistic references."

Austin American Statesman
Jeanne Clair van Ryzin
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"A refreshing tonic for winter-weary imaginations."

Rochester Democrat & Chronicle
Sharon McDaniel
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"Welcher's Zephyrus is the real treasure here..."

American Record Guide
Payton MacDonald
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"The concert opened with what would prove to be its highlight, Zion, a contemporary work by Texas composer Dan Welcher."

Amarillo Globe-News
Chip Chandler
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