Will Myers writes music that is concerned with memory, fragility, and playfulness, as well as the agency, labor, consent, and physicality of the performer(s). His work has been performed by Spektral Quartet, Yarn/Wire, Quatuor Bozzini, Vertixe Sonora, [Switch~ Ensemble], cellist Hannah Collins, pianists Daniel Pesca and John McDonald, and conductors Gil Rose, John Page, and Lio Kuokman. His first orchestral piece, Bright Shadows, won New England Conservatory’s inaugural orchestral composition competition in 2013 and was premiered in Jordan Hall.
Will is pursuing a PhD at the University of Chicago and holds degrees from New England Conservatory and Tufts University in composition, music theory, and cognitive science. He has studied composition with Augusta Read Thomas, Sam Pluta, Anthony Cheung, Marta Ptaszyńska, Kati Agócs, John Heiss, and John McDonald.
Will is also a conductor, violist, and violinist. He served as assistant conductor and principal violist of the Tufts University orchestras from 2013 to 2015, and has premiered works by many composers as a conductor and a performer. As a violist and arranger, he is half of the video game music cover duo Frog & Cid, whose debut album Boss Chamber Music was released in 2016.
Will Myers' Hollow, Bright premiered on March 12, 2021 with the Grossman Ensemble.
Program notes:
As the title might suggest, Hollow, Bright is about two timbres. The flute is both hollow and bright (in timbre and visually). The percussion instruments used in the piece are roughly arrayed in a continuum from hollow (the guiro and wood blocks) to bright (the crotales and triangle), with the cowbells serving as a brightand-hollow transitional timbre. The piece unfolds in four short sections, with Tim and John each exploring hollowness and brightness at different times. It begins with a hollow flute melody, punctuated by bright resonance in the percussion. The percussion punctuation becomes hollow, and the flute becomes more rhythmically active in response. The percussion joins in on the rhythmic activity, but by now the flute has abandoned its hollow timbres for a bright upper-register melody. Finally, the two align, and the piece ends after a fleeting, bright hocket between both instruments.