Justin D. Wright
Justin David Wright was raised in Richmond, Virginia with an organ in his house that he generally did not touch. At age 12 he followed in the footsteps of his older brother Evan as he began playing the trumpet with the hope of eventually succeeding him as musical champion of the household.
Focusing mainly on orchestral and chamber playing throughout high school, he began composing at age 15, where he had his compositional world-premier in a 7-11 with a stirring rendition of Hark The Herald Angel Sings for brass. In the following years as principal trumpet with the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra he would have the opportunity to study composition for the first time with composer in residence Michael Abels, eventually leading to his first ever orchestral reading session of Mini with the Richmond Symphony.
At The University of Maryland he studied under Dr. Mark E. Wilson from 2003-2008, receiving The Directors Scholarship for Music. While in between Frisbee tournaments he wrote first Episode for Violin in 2004, a two-movement Brass Quintet in 2005, and Requiescat in 2007.
Justin began work scoring music for films at New York University while being mentored by composer Ira Newborn. Today he lives in Williamsburg, Brooklyn where he spends his time writing music, essays, and still plays the trumpet despite his living in an apartment not suited for such loudness. He is finishing his most recent commission with Da Capo Brass, a North Carolina based brass quintet founded by an original member of his world-premier brass ensemble.
About the Commission:
A five-movement work for brass quintet entitled Curio was originally commissioned by Da Capo Brass and my dear friend Paul Pietrowski in October of 2009. Curio's movements each follow a character's reactions to common human emotions, for better or for worse. The first movement, Affirmation's pace and tempo changes represents the starts and stops of one doubting their decisions. Berserk flies off the handle in completely nonsensical and dangerously violently way. Shifty is a comedic scherzo with starts and stops as if sneaking around guiltily. Thinks meditates with slight influences of tintinnabulation and minimalistic repetitions. The piece ends with They're here!, a fast-paced fanfare as if a child's excitement could be properly loudened.
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