"Stylistically, Bermel’s music is not just eclectic, but bracingly so. The three works here are nothing but exciting, compelling attention from the very first bars. Unlike most attempts to fuse these jazz and classical genres, Bermel succeeds with Bernsteinian élan. His orchestration is vivid, but always organic."

—Gramophone

"What a melting pot of musical styles! Bermel’s endless invention initially ruffles your feathers but leaves you breathless in the end. Captivating and colourful."

—BBC Music Magazine

"A grand celebration of one of America’s great living composer at the top of his game.” [Migrations CD 2019, Naxos]

—Artsfuse

"Passages can be tart, sassy or craggy, but the whole is elegant and appealing.”[Migrations CD 2019, Naxos]

—Albany Times Union

"Important, beautiful, expressive music, all of it! Grab it! Migration Series is masterful and invigorating…cutting edge! Mar de Setembro is exceedingly beautiful music. A Shout, A Whisper, A Trace has vibrant sound color, with an infectiously and rhythmically dancing, folksy, opening...most delightful in its very own way.” [Migrations CD 2019, Naxos].

—Gapplegate

"…joyfully jagged rhythmically, luxuriantly lyrical, defiantly dissonant at times, inventively orchestrated, provides a rousing conclusion. MIGRATIONS is worthy of serious attention. Talk about a geographic and musical journey!"

—Rafael's Music Notes

"Bermel’s diagrammatic Short History suspended time and tested the tension between alternative rhythms. The work scaled the wall of sound. Salerno-Sonnenberg and Bermel rendered the sweet and somewhat sorrowful Silvioudades. A ragtime-influenced chôros, Bermel mastered the Brazilian style while jamming with friends in Rio de Janeiro nightclubs. Derek Bermel, provided talent and tease in his three compositions…proving himself capable of playing anything and everything on his instrument."

—SF Weekly (San Francisco)

"Derek Bermel’s “A Short History of the Universe” — a clarinet quintet receiving its world premiere – proved to be a surprisingly playful work. All that freewheeling postmodernism made for an engaging, extremely enjoyable listen — an intriguing new work from a very 21st-century composer."

—Washington Post

"Bermel’s clarinetistry has its own tenets; it breaks every rule of classical playing and it stretches the accepted conventions of jazz to the outermost limits…it may inspire a school all of its own."

—American Record Guide

"Mar de Setembro weds impressionism, bossa nova, tango, waltz and more to evocative ends, and expertly deploys two singular instruments: the aquaphone, and the jazz singer Luciana Souza’s nuanced, wine-rich voice….unambiguously luscious music."

—The New York Times

"Bermel, who conducted the piece, writes sensitively for strings. The violins pour forth a long-limbed melody of quite stunning beauty. Beauty in motion is perhaps what Murmurations is all about. The audience Friday night gave it a standing ovation, a rare gesture for a new work."

—Star Tribune (Minnesota)

"Bermel’s music covers an amazing amount of ground, from the West African rhythms of “Dust Dances” to the Bulgarian folk strains of Thracian Echoes to the shimmering harmonic splendor of Elixir. And as a sumptuous finale, there’s “Voices,” an elaborate clarinet concerto mixing free jazz, Irish folk melody and funk. In the hands of a composer less assured, all that globe-trotting would seem like affectation; Bermel makes it an artistic imperative."

—San Francisco Chronicle, on the CD Voices

"…the fabulous, Super Audio CD of music by composer/clarinetist Derek Bermel…If Voices, For Solo Clarinet and Orchestra doesn’t have you jamming by its end, it may be time for a one-way ticket to Valhalla.”

—San Francisco Classical Voice

"Clarinetist and composer: “Bermel, a clarinetist as well as composer, is one of the most original voices of American music. He appeared in both roles in this program full of virtuosity; strange harmonic, rhythmic and melodic twists; much sly wit; and interesting detours off the main musical highway."

—DFW.com

As Clarinetist: “The excellent clarinetist Derek Bermel brought warm colorings and moody reflectiveness to the solo part [Bernstein Clarinet Sonata arr. for soloist strings and percussion], while subtly drawing out all the jazzy touches."

—The New York Times

"Derek Bermel is the quintessential 21st-century musician…staggering eclecticism from a true musical renaissance man."

—Gramophone Magazine

"American composer Derek Bermel’s Murmurations is one of the most involving new works the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra has presented in some time, a deeply involving aural journey that’s meditative and exhilarating, sad and soothing. It’s a piece full of emotion and imagination, arresting melodies and relentless energy. The work simply soars."

—Saint Paul Pioneer Press

"Bermel’s music is intricate, witty, clear-spoken, tender and extraordinarily beautiful. It’s hard to know what to be more dazzled by in the music of composer Derek Bermel – the range of stylistic voices he cultivates or the profusion of ingenuity, beauty and wit he brings to everything he touches."

—San Francisco Chronicle

"Bermel is one of the most dizzyingly active musicians on the scene today… if you’ve already seen the light and know something of the rich variety of (good) new and unusual music being written by younger composers, Bermel’s is a fresh voice well worth hearing."

—Artfuse

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