David Fulmer first conducted the Grossman Ensemble in 2023, and he returns this year as both conductor and composer. Learn more about his experience working with the ensemble in this interview, and hear the world premiere of his new work Autumn Light on March 7, 2025.
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You first conducted the Grossman Ensemble in 2023. What was it like to work with the ensemble for the first time? Are there any moments that stood out to you?
I came to Chicago in 2023 to lead the Ensemble for the first time. I had known many of the musicians already, and of course I was well aware of the reputation of this ensemble of virtuosi. We spent many weeks together; for me it was love at first sight. I recall our first rehearsal, where at the end of the day, I had returned to the green room to mark some scores and reflect on our work that day. As I combed through the four new compositions that we were to premiere, I could see the notes leap off the page and the music come to life with such urgency because of the impression the musicians left on me; an extraordinary caliber of music making. The Ensemble treated each note of every score as if it were an extant manuscript of a symphony by Beethoven, a quartet by Haydn, or an opera by Mozart. The intensity of our rehearsal was both penetrating and searing; I fondly recall a discussion that blossomed concerning an articulation in the musical score. The entire Ensemble offered a myriad of sonic solutions, interrupted only by demonstrations with experimental fingerings, up-bows instead of down, stiffer reeds, and a mallet change. A debate gently broke out, and what had emerged was a philosophical underpinning of a single staccato “dot” that hovered over an eight-note duration. The nuance and sophistication of the dialogue was indicative of the stylization and intellectual rigor that each musician brings to each and every single note on the page…not just in their personal part, but in the composer’s score. When we broke for lunch, the musical interpretive analyses did not end there, but instead became even richer and more extended…what an enchanting atmosphere in which to find oneself fully immersed.
What has it been like working with the ensemble for a second time? Is your approach any different?
Four completely different compositions, but the same love! I had come into our first rehearsal of this cycle with such anticipation…I had developed such a deep and sacred friendship with the Ensemble, that I was eager now to do something different! But, I knew that we needed to keep some of the integrity of our previous work together: conduct the line, not the beat; paint the texture, not only the color; sing each strand and musical thread. I wanted to create new gestures for the Ensemble to see and to react with and against.
You are both a conductor and a composer on this cycle. How did your time previously working with the ensemble and getting to know the musicians inform your compositional process?
These musicians are so radioactive! They respond to every miniscule dimension of my stroke and inflection, I have to think that it had enormously affected my musical design from the first note, to the very last. I began the work in late 2023, and having known all of the musicians, I’m sure it will come to no surprise to hear that I felt that I was writing a concerto for 13 virtuosi. In a remarkably subtle and perhaps even subconscious way, I had come to know each player by the different lines created by the four composers of the works from 2023. I recollect so vividly the variety of contours and articulations that specific players gravitated towards, and it was a naturally organic process of me to assemble that data in this new work for them.
Tell us about your new composition. What inspired it?
My new work is a phantasy, interrupted only by large resonant pillars and dense chords that fold into thinly-veiled cadenzas from one instrument to another. My music is about the performers, and each member of the Ensemble. All of my works are sculpted in a way that represents the style and idea of each musician on stage, perhaps as a reflection of themself. Each line has been tailored to the technical brilliance and organic soundscape of the artists; a process I love, which ensures that each musician is singular in the fabric and texture. Autumn Light is dedicated to the extraordinary musicians of the Grossman Ensemble and to Augusta Read Thomas.
What can audiences expect to hear?
My new work, Autumn Light, is a sequence of textured phrases punctuated by strong pulsations of bright metallic gestures inside of a serene sonic atmosphere. I hear four large timbral families within the Ensemble; flute (and its variants), winds (inclusive of flute), percussion-harp-piano, and string quartet. Beyond that, percussion-harp-piano can be divided into “metallic” or “reactive” sonorities, each creating a canopy of resonance for the Ensemble to breathe beneath. Finally, percussive “metal” behaves as the catalyst for each gesture and each instrument. The string quartet sonorities punctuate the dense microtonal areas, often nestled tightly together, hanging across the bar line to extend the reverberating sonorities. Each instrument and musician fold into thread-like cadenzas, revealing the more tender shapes of the work, eventually dissolving into fragile sonic mobiles until the final breath of the composition.
Overview of concert (all four works):
You will hear four premieres this evening from Kari Watson, Ryan Garvey, John Liberatore, and a new work of mine, too. I had asked each composer to choose a single word that describes their work. Watson’s “tactile” Oscillations is a gorgeous phantasy for 13 virtuosi (+1, Watson), and electronics. The sound world here is completely laminar, with the luminous electronics blending into the natural sonorities of the live instruments. Watson will join us on stage as a performer as they manipulate the electronic track in real time as an ensemble member. Garvey’s fluorescent light in a dark room is a “woven” and mesmerizing mesh of dialects in dense moments of sonic temperaments. Lines collide with one another in intriguing ways, as highly chromatic themes emerge. Liberatore’s “playful” Unbelievable. Not True. All Invention. is a three-movement work that is structured upon ecstatic contours, crystalline rhythms, and intense instrumental dialogue. My new work, Autumn Light is a sequence of textured phrases punctuated by strong pulsations of bright metallic gestures inside of a serene sonic atmosphere. Despite some contrasting musical shapes, the phrases were conceived as a single expression. Each of these works is phenomenally different than any of the others in this collection. You will hear different languages and inflections for each musical phrase on this evening’s program.
Describe your piece in three words.
Radiating, Searing, Autumnal.
When you heard the Grossman Ensemble perform your work for the first time, were there any moments that surprised you or uncovered a new layer of the piece?
I was taken especially with both the larger orchestral moments, and the more intimate solo moments. There are several large “splashes” of sound, covered in metallic veils, that sound like a symphony of a thousand, and there are more transparent moments that only feature an instrument or two in dialogue. I had worked with Constance to really create unique identities for each of the flutes (concert, alto, piccolo), and I’m in awe of her ability to change the anatomy of the sound profile for each of the instruments.
When you're not actively conducting or composing, what do you like to do in your free time?
I love to eat, and I make it a point to explore the cuisine local to each city that I visit when I’m conducting and making music. That has allowed me to draw deeper connections with the culture and I always look forward to trying something new. Because of this, I also love to cook. I have just a few favorite chefs, and this city is home to one of the all-time greats – the late Charlie Trotter. I reflect on some of his most remarkable dishes often, and I comb through his recipes all the time.