SELECTED CONCERT WORKS

Dependent Arising
Concerto for violin and orchestra
Duration: approximately 32 minutes
Commissioned by Tito Muñoz for Rachel Barton Pine. Recorded by Pine with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, conducted by Muñoz.

Listen · Score and performance inquiries

The Brightest of All Possible Futures
For orchestra, soprano soloist, and audience participation
Duration: approximately 5–6 minutes
Commissioned by Carnegie Hall for its Link Up educational program.

Watch the Auckland performance · Score and performance inquiries

Outrage
For flute, bass clarinet, violin, cello, piano, and percussion
Duration: approximately 10 minutes
Commissioned for the Stony Brook Contemporary Chamber Players. Premiered in April 2025, conducted by Eduardo Leandro.

Watch the Stony Brook concert · Score and performance inquiries

Indefinite Detention
For solo viola
Duration: approximately 5–6 minutes
Commissioned by Masumi Per Rostad.

Listen · Purchase the score through SozoMart

The Wandering
For solo cello
Commissioned by Leo Eguchi for UNACCOMPANIED, a project exploring immigration and American identity.

Score and performance inquiries

ABOUT

I’m a composer, violinist, violist, and arranger from Queens, New York. I started studying classical violin at four and discovered hardcore punk and metal as a teenager. My own music is the result of spending a lifetime with all three.

I’ve never particularly enjoyed reading bios, but you’re here to find out who I am, so here’s the relevant information. First, a quote:

“Earl is a kick ass player who pushes the creative boundaries.”
- Robert Trujillo, bassist of Metallica

Needless to say, Rob saying that about me almost makes up for the emotional scars from when Esther Choi (not her real name, obvs) stood me up at my junior semi-formal.

As a composer, I wrote Dependent Arising, a violin concerto commissioned by Tito Muñoz for Rachel Barton Pine. Rachel premiered it with the Phoenix Symphony and recorded it with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra for Cedille Records. Our collaboration began with Metal Organic Framework, an unaccompanied violin piece she commissioned and premiered in 2014.

Other concert works include The Brightest of All Possible Futures, commissioned by Carnegie Hall for its Link Up program; Indefinite Detention for violist Masumi Per Rostad; The Wandering for cellist Leo Eguchi’s project exploring immigration and American identity; and Outrage for the Stony Brook Contemporary Chamber Players.

I founded SEVEN)SUNS, a string quartet whose repertoire includes our own compositions, reimaginings of metal and hardcore songs, and music from the classical tradition. We performed and arranged strings on The Dillinger Escape Plan’s Dissociation, played with them live, and recorded a complete string quartet reimagining of One of Us Is the Killer. We also recorded strings for Imperial Triumphant’s “Merkurius Gilded,” which features Kenny G (yes, THAT Kenny G), in an arrangement by Trey Spruance. Other collaborations include recordings with So Hideous and performances in Kilter’s jazz-metal opera La Suspendida.

Some of our original music came from volunteering at Rikers Island with the Rangjung Dharma Prison Project. Those visits informed Rikers: Songs of the Voiceless, supported by the Brooklyn Arts Council and recorded on our debut album, For the Hearts Still Beating. My other projects include Resolution15 and Black Heart Sutra, a duo with drummer Kenny Grohowski.

Alongside composing, I tour, record, and arrange with Vitamin String Quartet. My studio work includes recordings by Cynthia Erivo, Albert Hammond Jr., and thoughtcrimes, as well as the lead violin on Shinsuke Nakamura’s WWE entrance theme, “The Rising Sun.” I’ve performed with Florence + The Machine, played violin and guitar in Burn the Floor on Broadway, and collaborated with visual artist Janet Biggs on experimental performances. During the pandemic, my wife, cellist Jennifer DeVore, and I recorded strings for Netflix’s Waffles + Mochi from our home studio.

I earned a Bachelor of Music from Queens College and a Master of Music from Mannes College of Music, where I studied with Daniel Phillips of the Orion String Quartet.

For commissions, performances, arranging, recording, or lessons, you can reach me at earlmaneein@gmail.com.