Color portrait of William Dougherty, wearing a light blue shirt and tan sportscoat

William Dougherty

Luciano Berio Rome Prize
January 11–August 6, 2021
Profession
Department of Music, Columbia University
Project title
New Works for Konus Quartett, TILT Brass, Ensemble Resilience, and Ensemble Proton Bern
Project description

I plan to compose a new evening-length work for the Swiss-based saxophone quartet, Konus Quartett. Using a new method for amplifying the saxophone via the mouthpiece, I will seek to expose the microlevel sonic structures that form the intricate network of vibrations between the tongue, lips, teeth, and reed—sounds that were previously inseparable from the saxophone timbre. Additionally, I plan to expand my composition soft brown wax for TILT Brass, feedback piano, and fixed media into an album-length work to be released on the Parisian record label Nahal Recordings in 2022. Furthermore, I will write new works for the Amsterdam-based Ensemble Resilience—to be premiered in Utrecht in 2021—and a new work for objets trouvés and electronics, to be premiered by Ensemble Proton Bern in Switzerland in the spring of 2021.