Keith Davis, 10/30/2009
ITHACA, NY — The Ithaca College Choir, conducted by Lawrence Doebler, will perform the world premiere of “Gravity’s Dream” by Steven Stucky at the 31st annual Choral Composition Contest and Festival on Saturday, Nov. 14. Beginning at 7 p.m. in Ford Hall in the James J. Whalen Center for Music, the free event will also feature six high school choirs, each performing pieces chosen as finalists in a national competition of newly composed works.
Sponsored by the Ithaca College School of Music and the Theodore Presser Company, the competition is designed to encourage the creation and performance of new choral music; the winner receives the Robert Campbell ’40, M.S. ’50 Endowed Choral Composition Prize. The festival gives members of high school choirs the opportunity to attend rehearsals and workshops throughout the day. The composers of the final pieces will each coach one of the choirs. The winning composition will be announced at the evening performance.
The evening’s performance will conclude with the Ithaca College Choral Union joining the high school choirs. Participating high school choirs from New York will be from Campbell-Savona, Niagara Wheatfield, Ward Melville and West Genesee; choirs will also come from Westborough, Massachusetts; and Northern Highlands, New Jersey.
Widely recognized as one of the leading composers today, Stucky was awarded the 2005 Pulitzer Prize in Music for his “Second Concerto for Orchestra.” He has written commissioned works for many major American orchestras and ensembles.
Stucky has taught at Cornell University since 1980, where he serves as Given Foundation Professor of Composition. He has also been associated with the Los Angeles Philharmonic for more than 20 years and is currently the consulting composer for new music.
For more information about this or any of the approximately 300 concerts presented each year at the Ithaca College School of Music, visit www.ithaca.edu/concerts or call (607) 274-3717.
Originally published in News Releases: Ithaca College Choral Competition To Feature World Premiere Work By Steven Stucky.
