participant

Combining elements of jazz, classical, and Middle Eastern folk music; "The Death of Dumuzi" creates a unique harmonic language and expansive form, while finding inspiration from the classic Sumerian myth. Winner of the 2022 American Prize for Instrumental Chamber Music Composition (Fragile for Brass Quintet), Craig Peaslee is a composer, arranger, and guitarist whose music explores the hybridization of American Jazz and Western Classical music traditions. A disabled veteran, Craig’s works are representative of the struggles veterans encounter with assimilation and alienation while returning to civilian life and the experience of serving active duty. Other works directly confront the socio-political issues of our time, conveying the issues in musical terms in order for the listener to think more critically regarding their community, culture, and society. With a clear personal musical identity, Craig’s harmonic, rhythmic, and technical explorations sear a sonic imprint into the audience through the fusion of disparate genres into the liminal space between idioms and cultures.