SAI National Arts Associate Dominick Argento was commissioned by the Eastman School of Music in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Sibley Music Library. The commissioned work, Four Seascapes for chorus and orchestra, had its premiere at the school's Alumni Reunion on October 16, 2004. Texts for the Four Seascapes were taken from the writings of American authors Herman Melville, Thornton Wilder, Henry James, and Mark Twain.

Composer and librettist Argento is one of America's leading composers, and is among the most frequently performed opera composers of the twentieth century. Best known for his one-act opera Postcard From Morocco, his other works include The Passion of Edgar Allan Poe, A Water Bird Talk, The Aspern Papers, and Casanova. His song cycle From the Diary of Virginia Woolf was awarded the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for Music, while Casa Guidi won a 2004 Grammy as Best Contemporary Composition. Argento's symphonic works have been performed by many of America's leading orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, the St. Louis Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony, the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Minnesota Orchestra, and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.

Argento studied at the Peabody Conservatory and the Eastman School of Music under several distinguished teachers. A Fulbright Fellowship enabled him to study with Luigi Dallapiccola in Italy, where he later returned on two Guggenheim Fellowships. Among his many honors are the OPERA America Award for Achievement, Chorus America's Founder's Award, the Peabody Medal and several honorary doctorates.