The Rosin Octet was selected to participate in the Field Trip to the Arvo Pärt Centre, organized by the O/Modernt Academy. This event occurred on the last week of June 2022, in the coastal village of Laulasmaa, Estonia. The centre is a tranquil meeting place, where musicians, researchers, and music lovers can explore Pärt’s music and his complex spiritual and intellectual universe and also inquire into their own relationship with art, nature, and life itself. The ensemble had the opportunity to work with renowned artists such as Hugo Ticciati, Elizabeth Wilson, Dobrinka Tabakova, and Matthew Barley, among others. A closing concert took place on July 2nd at the Arvo Pärt Centre.
On May 17th, 2022, the Rosin Octet joined Orchestra Filarmonica di Torino to premiere the piece “Credo – Music for Orchestra VII” by the world-famous and successful composer Jay Schwartz. Invited by the composer himself, the ensemble travelled to Turin, Italy, where they performed the piece at the beautiful hall of Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi, alongside the musicians of Orchestra Filarmonica di Torino, and under the baton of Jay Schwartz.
About his piece, Jay Schwartz stated:
“Credo“, (Italian for “I believe”) spoken from the perspective of the listener, “I believe I hear...”, is a reference to the auditory illusion taking place based on the Shepard tone phenomenon, a kind of acoustical equivalent of the Penrose stairs, in which overlapping glissandi separated by octaves create the illusion of a continually ascending pitch, whereas ultimately one cannot be entirely sure if it is indeed getting higher.”
On April 10th, 2022, Rosin Octet was awarded the Audience Prize at the Fontys Willem Twee Chamber Music Competition. The event took place at the Willem Twee Toonzal in Den Bosch, where four finalist ensembles came together to share their music, passion, and talent with the jury and audience. The jury described Rosin Octet’s performance as “thrilling and festive” and stated that everyone in the hall could notice the joy and energy of each of the players.
At this competition, the ensemble presented to the public a premiere of the first movement of “Tales of Asimov” by Enrico Ferri, alongside the third and fourth movements of the breathtaking Glière’s String Octet.
“Tales of Asimov” is a collection of movements written by the young composer Enrico Ferri, inspired by the anthology “Robot Dreams” by Isaac Asimov. This piece is Enrico’s contribution to the Rosin Octet, for which he worked alongside the ensemble for several months to discover the possibilities, different colors, sonorities, and effects of each instrument, as well as the musical identity of each of the players, to come up with the best possible result.
“Their uncommon setting and versatility at different music styles are truly inspiring features for a contemporary composer. By mixing two distinctive genres that I particularly admire, 20th century romantic and ambient drone music, I am having the chance to emphasize the extraordinary sonic quality of each member and their sound atmosphere as a unique, tight-knit ensemble.”
“Tales of Asimov” was premiered and performed several times in 2022 in the Netherlands by the Rosin Octet.