Greg Yasinitsky, a Washington State University music professor, was named Washington State Composer of the Year by the Washington State Music Teachers Association.
The award includes a commission for a new work to be premiered at the association’s conference in June 2003. Yasinitsky was also selected by the association as Washington’s candidate for consideration for the Music Teachers National Association’s Shepard Distinguished Composer of the Year.
Yasinitsky recently completed “First Flight,” a two-movement work commissioned by the U. S. Air Force Band of the Golden West in commemoration of the Wright Brothers. In October, the band performed First Flight on tour throughout Northern California and, in early November, recorded the work on compact disc for international release next summer.
His other recent commissions include “Inside Passage,” composed for the jazz band at the University of New Hampshire, “Puerto Nuevo,” composed for the Seattle Youth Jazz Ensemble and two consortium commissions for the American Band College.
He is beginning his third year as composer-in-residence at Clarkston High School. The residency is funded by The Commission Project of New York.
An active saxophonist, he recently received a standing ovation for his performance at the Monterey Jazz Festival. Other appearances include performances at the Gene Harris Jazz Festival in Idaho, the Kinser Jazz Festival in Wyoming and an appearance as a soloist with the Spokane Symphony.
Yasinitsky has more than 100 published musical works, and his music is regularly performed in more than 30 countries. He is the recipient of grants and awards from ASCAP, the National Endowment for the Arts, Meet the Composer West and Artist Trust. His music and saxophone playing can be heard on recordings released by Vienna Modern Masters, Arizona University Recordings, Open Loop Records, Soul Note, Palo Alto Jazz Records, the Musical Heritage Society and his own label, Yazz Recordings.
