"Powerhouse soprano Adrienne Danrich channeled a drag queen's farewell in the premiere of Drew Hemenger's potent Her Final Show..."

— Broadwayworld.com
Read more»

"Drew Hemenger's setting of Langston Hughes' Genius Child seemed the most interesting of the set."

— Voce di Meche blog
Read more»

"These beautiful songs refer to period music the way Hughes himself referred to blues, spirituals and black preaching: He made the language his own."

— Tom Strini, Third Coast Digest (Milwaukee, WI)
Read more»

"Drew Hemenger's Four Places in New York, inspired by walks around West Side neighborhoods, included a dramatic picture of George Washington Bridge traffic - a real physical test for the pianists."

— Angela Sutton, Feast of Music
Read more»

"She has a special affiliation with living composer Drew Hemenger. 'He gets it,' says Danrich. 'He's a classically trained musician who gets all the flavors of America: Black, white, et cetera.'"

— Alicia Hall Moran, New York Amsterdam News
Read more»

"Which Way Home? is a moving and impressive achievement. Despite the potentially lugubrious subject matter, the songs, set to Anne Sexton's plaintive poetry, offers a variety of expression."

— Lawrence A. Johnson, Chicago Classical Review
Read more»

"Deceptively simple in its conception, [Three Inner Moments (String Quartet No. 2)] needed an ensemble of the Vogler's musical caliber to bring it to life... But the work of an artist is to take the personal and find the universal, which is what Hemenger – who was in attendance Sunday – has done, finding in each place not only personal significance, but also metaphoric places where both loss and hope intertwine in poignant harmony – a human experience with significance for all."

— Carol Simmons, Dayton Daily News
Read more»

"In the classical music world, Drew Hemenger, 36, a New Yorker, is making his mark, premiering Four Movements for String Quartet, performed by the Serafin String Quartet, on April 23 at a Weill Recital Hall debut.

An Ohio native, Hemenger received a doctorate in music from the Manhattan School of Music and has completed numerous commissions. In 2002, Hemenger co-founded Chamber Music Now! with composers David Laganella and Richard Belcastro from Philadelphia and the company has performed several concerts in both New York and Philadelphia.

Hemenger recently sat down with Gay City News to discuss his work as a classical musical composer."

— Gay City News
Read more»

"Drew Hemenger's string quartet was deceptively simple, with moments that really shone darkened by just a few intonation ouches."

— Gail Wein, NewMusicBox
Read more»

"In his first piece composed for guitar, New York composer Drew Hemenger's Petite Duo exhibits both the softest and loudest possibilities of the acoustic guitar. Beginning with a single note that augments with each repetition, a phrase is built; inversions and rhythmic variations expand the theme."

— Deborah Kravetz, Sequenza 21
Read more»

"There is a perfectly "crazy" sense to the blend of music and text [of Which Way Home?], which are in different styles but do well by the colloquial lyrics. . ."

— Deborah Kravetz, Sequenza 21
Read more»

"Offering the world premiere of Drew Hemenger's Songs from America, the pair rocked "Were You There," "Evil Hearted Man," "Three Sailor Songs," and "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" from the same, extraterrestrial perspective they brought to the Spanish inflected works. Hemenger, who is 24, had something to do with the way these old songs hang up brand new."

— Kitty Montgomery, Daily Freeman (Hudson Valley, NY)
Read more»