Maximiliano Amici’s research focuses on the exploration of new artistic and theoretical paths for contemporary composition. He strives to contribute to bridging the current gap between new music and most audiences. Recently, he wrote a dramatic cantata for baritone, large chamber ensemble, male choir and electronics based on The Pit and the Pendulum, by Edgar Allan Poe, for which he also authored the libretto.At Duke Kunshan, he teaches a variety of music-related courses, focusing principally on music theory, electronic music, and composition.
His music is published by DoNeMus and has been played and recorded by several prominent chamber groups (Parco della Musica Contemporanea Ensemble, Ensemble Phoenix Basel, Deviant Septet, JACK Quartet, amongst others) in Italy, Switzerland, the U.S. and China. The Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale RAI recorded his orchestral piece Flowing under the baton of Yoichi Sugiyama. He is also active as an electronic musician; the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University and the Zeiträume Festival Basel have showcased his installations.
He holds a B.A. in Composition (2008), and a M.A. in Composition (2009) from the Santa Cecilia Conservatory, Rome. He also has a M.A. equivalent Diplomas in Conducting (2009)¬, and Electronic Music (2012), also from the Santa Cecilia Conservatory. He earned a M.A. in Piano Performance from the San Pietro a Majella Conservatory, Naples (2011), and a Ph.D. in Music Composition at Duke University (2021). He joined DKU as a Global Fellow in 2021 and has taught here since then.
Susan Fancher is an internationally recognized saxophonist known for her luminous tone, poetic musical sensibility, and commitment to contemporary repertoire. She has performed widely across North and South America, Europe, and Asia, appearing in major venues including Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, Vienna’s Konzerthaus and Musikverein, Sala São Paulo, Merkin Concert Hall, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, and Duke Arts. Her career spans solo, chamber, orchestral, electroacoustic, and sacred music contexts, with hundreds of works premiered by both emerging and established composers.She earned her doctorate at Northwestern University, studying with Frederick L. Hemke, and holds the Médaille d’Or from Jean-Marie Londeix in Bordeaux. Formerly based in major musical centers including Stockholm and Vienna, she is currently a Lecturing Fellow at Duke University, where she teaches saxophone, chamber music, and music entrepreneurship. She is also an artist-clinician for Selmer and Vandoren and co-hosts the Saxophone Academy podcast.
For further information, please visit susan.fancher.com.
