Chasing Dragons

Chasing Dragons received its world premiere at the Guitar Foundation of America Festival in San Antonio, Texas on October 21, 2000 by the Childbloom® Select Guitar Choir, conducted by Kevin Taylor. Here is an MP3 recording of this performance.(File size: 3.97MB. Duration: 4:20)* Chasing Dragons is meant to be performed as a quartet or as a guitar orchestra in four parts. However, two ad lib parts (Guitar V and Guitar VI) are included. These parts should be used in larger ensembles by players with less experience. Guitar V parallels Guitar III while Guitar VI parallels Guitar IV. There are two complete sets of parts in this edition, allowing for flexibility in the size of the orchestra. Darin Au (pronounced OW), was born in 1971 and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music from the University of Redlands and a Master of Music in Composition from the University of North Texas. He is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including Phi Beta Kappa and Pi Kappa Lambda. He received instruction in classical guitar and guitar composition from international recording and touring artists, The Falla Trio. In addition to his compositions for solo guitar and guitar ensembles, he has composed many works for a wide variety of instrumental combinations, including several electronic and computer-assisted compositions. His composition instructors have included Barney Childs, Larry Austin, and Phil Winsor. As a guitarist, Darin has performed extensively both as a soloist and in classical, avant-garde and popular ensembles. He has had performances on television, radio, and film. His compositions and recordings have been performed on tour with the professional theatre company, Honolulu Theatre for Youth. In addition, Benjamin Verdery and William Kanengiser have used Darin’s compositions and arrangements with their guitar ensemble classes.