Shenandoah Conservatory celebrates Pulitzer Prize-winning composer John Corigliano with two concerts in this year’s Pulitzer Prize Composer Festival on Nov. 11 and 12. The first concert begins at 8 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 11, at Bright Box Theater (15 North Loudoun Street, Winchester, Virginia) and features Shenandoah Conservatory’s in-house new music group EDGE Ensemble. The second concert begins at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 12, in Armstrong Concert Hall on the campus of Shenandoah University and features Chamber Orchestra, Wind Ensemble and Shenandoah Chorus.
A world-renowned American composer, John Corigliano has created one of the richest, most unusual, and most widely celebrated bodies of work of any composer over the last forty years, winning him the Pulitzer Prize, Grawemeyer Award, five Grammy Awards, and an Academy Award. During his time at Shenandoah Conservatory, the celebrated composer will conduct masterclasses for composition students, coach instrumental students and ensembles in advance of their performances, and participate in Q&A’s and meet-the-artist receptions.
“I’m simply thrilled that Shenandoah Conservatory students will have this opportunity to dig into John Corigliano’s music and do some work alongside him,” said Shenandoah Conservatory Dean Michael Stepniak, Ed.D. “He is virtually without equal among composers alive today. I’m always struck how he has been able to shape music which was simultaneously graceful and grounded in extraordinary form. John Corigliano’s music speaks with extraordinary power.”
Friday’s concert features three works by Corigliano: “Mr. Tambourine Man,” for amplified soprano and chamber group, “Stomp” for solo violin, and “Soliloquy” for clarinet and string quartet. The recipient of the fourth annual William Averitt Prize for Excellence in Composition is also to be announced Friday evening. Saturday’s concert features four works for large ensembles: “Fern Hill” for chorus and chamber orchestra, “Gazebo Dances” for orchestra, “Chiaroscuro” for two pianos tuned a quarter tone apart, and “Tarantella” from Symphony No. 1 for wind ensemble.
“John Corigliano is no less than a living legend, and the body of work he has created in the last fifty years delineates the limits of what is possible in both live concert music, and music for film,” said Director of Composition and Coordinator of New Music Jonathan Newman, M.M. “Our students, now exposed to his music, and soon to himself as a person, will be rewarded for their hard work with a unique and enriching experience.”
Tickets for each performance are $15 general admission, $13 senior citizens and $5 for military, students, and youth. Tickets and information are available at the Shenandoah Conservatory Box Office, (540) 665-4569, located in the lobby of Ohrstrom-Bryant Theatre and online at conservatoryperforms.org.
For a full calendar of events at Shenandoah Conservatory, visit conservatoryperforms.org or on Facebook under Shenandoah Conservatory.
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