Daniel Asia Photo by Ingvi Kallen
As part of Palm Beach Symphony’s 2025–2026 Masterworks Concert Series, the orchestra is featuring the works of several American composers to celebrate the nation’s 250th birthday. During last month’s performance at the Kravis Center, a special guest was in the house: Jewish American composer Daniel Asia flew in to hear his thought-provoking piece Gateways performed live.
“It was absolutely wonderful, as it always is when one hears one’s music,” said the Seattle native and retired University of Arizona professor. “The performance was great, so that also makes it even better. Cheers to Palm Beach Symphony and their music director, Gerard Schwarz.”
Maestro Schwarz, who is also Jewish, considers Asia a dear friend.
“He’s a great composer and wrote many great pieces and big symphonies. He’s also a scholar and a very thoughtful blogger about American culture,” Maestro Schwarz said. “Gateways is short and sounds like a combination of Leonard Bernstein and Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. It’s a great piece full of energy and excitement.”
Asia tries to attend as many performances of his music as his schedule allows. He views his compositions as his children and is like a proud parent seeing them grow and prosper.
“It’s like seeing a child who lives in a distant city who I haven’t seen in a while, and I finally get to reengage with them — but in this case, it’s reengaging with the piece I wrote,” he said.
For the concert, Asia was honored to be surrounded by Palm Beach Symphony donors, thanking them for supporting music. He feels the audience benefited from his presence as well.
“I was able to make some comments, which I think everybody appreciated, and to show them that composers not only are alive, but we’re made of flesh and blood,” he said. “We have interesting personalities that even includes humor!”
Asia’s compositions are informed and influenced by his experiences as both a Jewish and American man, particularly the shared optimism his religion and nationality share.
“While Jewish history is filled with tragedy, from the destruction of the Temples to the Holocaust and October 7th, Jews have stood their ground and we again have a Jewish State, Israel,” he said.
Palm Beach Symphony’s January concert was headlined by cellist Alisa Weilerstein, who is also a Jewish American. She joined the orchestra for a performance of Dmitry Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-Flat Major, Op. 107.
