Listen to an excerpt from Weep You No More

Michael Gilbertson, a native of Dubuque, Iowa, studied composition with Samuel Adler, John Corigliano, and Christopher Rouse at The Juilliard School. Gilbertson’s works have been programmed by ensembles including The Juilliard Orchestra, the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, the Grand Rapids Symphony, the Cedar Rapids Symphony, the Dubuque Symphony, the Flint Symphony, the Rockford Symphony, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony, the Galesburg Symphony, the Denver Young Artists Orchestra, Musica Sacra, and Aspen Contemporary Ensemble. His works have been premiered at notable venues including the Klementinum in Prague and at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Gilbertson’s music has earned wide recognition, receiving Morton Gould Awards from ASCAP in 2006, 2007, and 2009, and a major scholarship from the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts in 2006. In May, 2009, Michael was the youngest artist to be honored by the American Academy of Arts and Letters where he was awarded a Charles Ives Scholarship. His recent orchestra work, titled Vigil, was named the recipient of the 2007-08 Palmer-Dixon Prize, awarded by the Juilliard composition faculty for the most outstanding work composed by a student during the year. His music has been heard on WQXR’s Young Artists’ Showcase, and a 2006 performance of his Hodie by the Anderson University Orchestra and Chorus was televised nationally on PBS stations and internationally on EWTN. His music can be heard in the 2006 documentary Rehearsing a Dream, which was nominated for an Academy Award.  In addition to studies at Juilliard, Michael also attended Columbia University, where his areas of academic interest included Philosophy of History and Intellectual History.

About Three Madrigals After Dowland:

Three Madrigals After Dowland is based on anonymous texts from songs by the English composer John Dowland (1563-1626). I composed the first of these pieces, Weep You No More, in 2008 as a dear friend, Deidre Westphal, lay dying of bone cancer at the age of 20. To her these Madrigals are dedicated.

The two works which complete this set, Burst forth, my tears and Come, heavy sleep, were commissioned by Musica Sacra for this occasion.