Pianist Nicola Melville caught the bug of working with living composers while she was still a student in New Zealand. [...] Years and a hemisphere later, arriving in Northfield, Minnesota, Melville wanted to share that experience with her students at Carleton College. Thus was born the idea to commission some of today’s hottest composers to write according to her brief: a short piece, in a recognizable style of the Americas, that would be approachable to play for young, advanced-level students. [...] The composers range from Pulitzer Prize-nominated Augusta Read Thomas to young guns Marc Mellits, Carter Pann and Gabby Frank. The dynamic voice of each of the thirteen composers (bakers and pianists both throw in an extra one for free) speaks in a unique and compelling way throughout the CD. Innova Recordings
