Andy Akiho - Beneath Lighted Coffers; Concerto for Steel Pans & Orchestra (David Danzmayr)

Information

Composer: Andy Akiho

1. Beneath Lighted Coffers: I. Portic
2. Beneath Lighted Coffers: II. Twenty-Eight
3. Beneath Lighted Coffers: III. Oculus
4. Beneath Lighted Coffers: IV. Corelli
5. Beneath Lighted Coffers: V. Permanence
6. Concerto for Steel Pans & Orchestra

Oregon Symphony

David Danzmayr, conductor

Date: 2026

Label: Reference Recordings

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Reference Recordings presents its first collaboration with the Oregon Symphony in a spectacular live album featuring acclaimed composer and steel pannist Andy Akiho. The release showcases two of Akiho’s powerful orchestral works: Beneath Lighted Coffers, recorded live in the spring of 2023, and his dynamic Concerto for Steel Pans & Orchestra, captured in October 2024. To ensure the highest sonic fidelity, the album was engineered by Mark Donahue and produced by Blanton Alspaugh. Both are multi-Grammy Award winners from the prestigious Soundmirror team, guaranteeing a world-class listening experience that brilliantly captures the energy of these live performances.

Born in 1979, Andy Akiho is a Portland- and New York-based Pulitzer Prize finalist and seven-time Grammy-nominated composer and steel pannist. Renowned for shifting the boundaries of classical music, Akiho was uniquely nominated for Best Contemporary Classical Composition three consecutive years (2022–2024). His notable recent works include Sculptures and Nisei, alongside serving as the Oregon Symphony's 2024–25 composer-in-residence. A Rome Prize recipient, his commissions span global orchestras from the New York to the Shanghai Symphony. Akiho’s nontraditional path—beginning composition at age 28 after years of playing by ear—infuses his highly physical, steel-pan-inspired works with deep, human-centric collaborative relationships.

Born in Austria in 1980, conductor David Danzmayr studied at the Mozarteum Salzburg and the Sibelius Academy before assisting Claudio Abbado and Pierre Boulez. A recipient of the Bernhard Paumgartner Medal and a prize winner at the Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition, Danzmayr has held notable European posts, including chief conductor of the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra. In the United States, he serves as music director of the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra through 2026. Following highly successful guest appearances, Danzmayr was appointed music director of the Oregon Symphony for the 2021–2022 season, a tenure recently extended through 2029.