David Mecionis

David Mecionis is a self-taught composer, arranger, instrumentalist and music copyist whose work has spanned a wide range of genres. He played guitar in Elliott Sharp’s electric guitar quartet—known as ’Dyners Club—and played drums and bass with God Is My Co-Pilot, Baby Tooth, Catbutt, Mors Syphilitica, The Greys and others. He has written, produced and arranged for various artists both here and abroad including Dominique A, Perio and Godwin Peak. He has played the Knitting Factory, CBGB, Tonic, ABC No Rio, 92nd Street Y, Marc A. Scorca Hall and other New York City venues, and has performed and had his music performed in the United States, France, Italy, Russia and Scandinavia.

David's commitment to composition began later in life. His first fully realized classical-style composition, Grand Saxophone Quartet in E-flat minor, was premiered in October 2009 at SUNY Fredonia by the Coleman Prize-winning Mana Quartet, who went on to perform it at a half-dozen other university and high school campuses.  The Quartet was followed by Obstinate Duet, a staunch twelve-tone humoresque for flute and clarinet, premiered in New Paltz, N.Y. by members of the Poné Ensemble for New Music. The world premieres of more recent works include Trio in Two Parts with an Interval Between for oboe, bassoon and viola; Die Sprechmasken von Hofmannsthal for tenor, violin, English horn, bass clarinet and electric guitar (with David performing on guitar); Filidi/Setera for trumpet solo; Elegy for Joey for flute and viola; Ahab for woodwind quintet; and Table Canon for Two Clarinetists, Nos. 1 and 2. Both Table Canons were written for Italian clarinetists Guido Arbonelli and Natalia Benedetti, who have continued to perform the pieces on tour in and around Italy and, in January 2020, presented Table Canon No. 1 as part of their clarinet-composition masterclass at Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst, Stuttgart, Germany alongside works by Kagel, Scelsi and others. In 2021, David's duet for violin and cello, Five Mirror Canons, was specially selected by duo Dan Qiao and Carolyn Regula to be premiered on their forthcoming cd release. His Impression for violin solo was written specially for concertmaster Dan Flanagan and was inspired by a painting in the violinist's art collection, Couple au lit by the Impressionist painter Jean-Louis Forain. Impression will receive its world premiere at Carnegie Hall on October 3rd, 2022 as part of Mr. Flanagan's The Bow and the Brush concert.

In late 2016 David began composing under the guidance of Raoul Pleskow, a highly regarded composer of the Wolpe and Wuorinen circles. David presently serves as Concert Director and Deputy Executive Director of the New York Composers Circle, richly enjoying his role as art-music advocate and producer of a yearly series of concerts of new works by a diverse and growing group of member composers.