About

David Dominique is a musician, writer and educator. Currently, he is composing a set of speculative fiction works in a variety of media, collectively known as Steam, for which he also serves as co-librettist and producer. The works synthesize literary adaptation and critique, Dominique’s experience in journalism/activism, and historical research. The first volume premieres in June 2026 in San Francisco via Left Coast Chamber Ensemble.

Other recent work includes the soundtrack to Kevin Jerome Everson’s film, When the Sun is Eaten, which premiered at the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival, if you unfolded us, an opera in collaboration with artist Sable Elyse Smith, completed on commission from the Museum of Modern Art, with a revision and expansion underway for a 2027 production in Los Angeles by The Industry, and a recently-completed new ensemble LP, Something Might Amount, slated for vinyl and digital release in the near future.

Dominique’s awards include a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Harvard Radcliffe Fellowship, the Wise-Hinrichsen Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Creative Capital State of the Art Prize, a New Music USA Grant, the Alonzo Davis Fellowship from the VCCA, the Aaron Copland Fellowship from MacDowell, and residencies and fellowships from the Mellon Foundation, the American Music Center, Bogliasco Foundation, and Yaddo. Dominique holds a BA from New York University, an MM from Cal State Northridge, and an MA and PhD from Brandeis University, where his advisors were David Rakowski and Eric Chasalow. He is currently the Sallie Gertrude Smoot Spears Associate Professor of Music at the College of William & Mary.