Matthew Tommasini (b. 1978) is a nationally recognized composer of expressive and engaging music. He has been commissioned by the New York Youth Symphony, the Milwaukee Ballet, ASCAP/SCI, and the Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings. Awards for his work include the Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, first prize in the ASCAP/SCI Commission Competition, and grants from the ASCAP Foundation's Leonard Bernstein Fund, the Puffin Foundation, Ltd., the American Composers Forum’s Subito Grant program, and the American Music Center’s Composer Assistance Program (CAP). In 2006 he participated in the American Composers Orchestra's Underwood New Music Reading Sessions and was awarded the 2006 ASCAP/CBDNA Frederick Fennell Prize. He served as composer-in-residence for the of the 2008-9 season of the Chicago-based chamber music series Music in the Loft, which included performances of his work by the Parker Quartet, associate concertmaster of the Dallas Symphony, Gary Levinson, noted pianist Adam Neiman, and the premiere of a commissioned work for Antares. Currently, he is composer-in-residence with the southern California-based Connections Chamber Music Series which he co-founded with members of the Pacific Symphony. Mr. Tommasini received his BA degree in composition from UCLA, studying with Paul Chihara and Ian Krouse. He received his MA and DMA degrees from the University of Michigan, where he studied with William Bolcom, Michael Daugherty, Bright Sheng, Leslie Bassett, and Evan Chambers.