TRAVERSE CITY, Mich., Oct. 22, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Interlochen Arts Academy Orchestra will perform at the New York Philharmonic's 2016 NY Phil Biennial on June 5, 2016. As part of the Philharmonic's exploration of today's music, the company will perform a variety of New York and world premiere compositions at the famed David Geffen Hall in New York City. The concert, titled "Young Americans," is a program of works by the next generation of American composers, performed by some of today's finest young American musicians.
Led by acclaimed Los Angeles conductor Christopher Rountree, the Interlochen Arts Academy Orchestra will perform works that include world premieres by notable composers Gabriel Kahane and Hannah Lash, plus two New York premieres by Jennifer Higdon and Nico Muhly; a world-premiere work by Interlochen Arts Academy alumna Ashley Fure also will be featured.
"For Interlochen to participate in such a global and significant event speaks to our leadership and is an unapologetic celebration of the contemporary music world," states Interlochen's current orchestra conductor Ara Sarkissian. "We are honored to be part of the celebration and will dedicate much of the remaining academic year to prepare for this milestone."
The Philharmonic's President Matthew VanBesien says that Interlochen is a natural partner for the NY Phil Biennial. "Our partnership with Interlochen and its accomplished young musicians for the second NY Phil Biennial reflects the Philharmonic's growing collaborations with leading music education organizations across the globe. This partnership is a wonderful opportunity to collaborate with the next generations of music lovers to champion new music."
This collaboration solidifies a continuing and mutually beneficial partnership between the one of the nation's leading fine arts boarding schools, Interlochen Arts Academy, and the New York Philharmonic, one of the world's great orchestras.
The 2015-16 Interlochen Arts Academy Orchestra will play several works by some of today's top composers:
Gabriel Kahane's music spans classical, rock, and musical theatre. His music will also be performed on the NY Phil Biennial program Shared Madness with violinist Jennifer Koh.
Jennifer Higdon's Machine (2002), originally commissioned by the National Symphony Orchestra, is "an encore tribute to composers like Mozart and Tchaikovsky, who wrote so many notes and so much music that it seems like they were machines!" says the composer. Higdon is a recipient of the 2010 Pulitzer Prize in Music for her Violin Concerto.
Nico Muhly writes of his So Far So Good (2012): "It was simultaneously thrilling and unnerving to write something without a dramatic structure helping me along. As such, the piece is sort of free-form." Muhly's music will feature New York-based orchestra The Knights alongside the Brooklyn Youth Chorus and San Francisco Girls Chorus. Muhly's premiere piece will be illustrated with a performance by the Interlochen Arts Academy Dance Company, showcasing original choreography by Christopher Williams.
Hannah Lash writes that her work will be "a new piece for string orchestra that explores color, rhythm, and the relationship between harmonic direction and hierarchy." Lash, a composition professor at the Yale School of Music, will also be part of the NY Phil Biennial program featuring works by Yale School of Music composers past and present.
Ashley Fure (IAA 98-00) studied composition at Interlochen and has received commissions from groups including eighth blackbird, Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble, Marquette Symphony Orchestra, and San Francisco Contemporary Music Players. Her honors include Darmstadt Stipendienpreis and SCI/ASCAP Young Composer's Prize.
"We are thrilled to be invited to collaborate with the New York Philharmonic for their biennial," says Interlochen President Jeffrey S. Kimpton. "To partner with the Philharmonic in this prestigious festival offers our students, faculty and the entire Interlochen community a remarkable experience."
This concert is a co-presentation of the New York Philharmonic and Interlochen Center for the Arts.
The Interlochen Arts Academy Orchestra performs a diverse range of repertoire each year, comprising major symphonic works, concertos, and new music; reads and rehearses numerous other works in regular reading sessions; and workshops operas with the vocal department. In addition, the IAA Orchestra presents approximately eight major concerts each year and frequently collaborates with renowned guest artists and conductors. The orchestra performs a diversity of literature comprising major works of the symphonic repertoire, concerti and new music. The Academy Orchestra also performs with choir, dance theatre and other ensembles, and is the resident orchestra for the annual ballet production.
About Interlochen Center for the Arts
The nonprofit Interlochen Center for the Arts is a recipient of the National Medal of Arts and the only organization in the world that brings together: a 2,500-student summer camp program; a 500-student fine arts boarding high school; opportunities for hundreds of adults to engage in fulfilling artistic and creative programs; two 24-hour listener-supported public radio stations (classical music and news); more than 600 arts presentations annually by students, faculty and world-renowned guest artists; a global alumni base spanning eight decades, including leaders in the arts and all other endeavors. For information, visit Interlochen online at www.interlochen.org.
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