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On the road tells the story of Ford Made in America as it unfolds across the country.
If you have something to add, contact Ken Gallo kgallo@meetthecomposer.org |
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Garden State Philharmonic Orchestra
Brick, New Jersey, October 15, 2005
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New Works Highlight GSPO'S 50th
Published in the Asbury Park Press 09/4/05
BY CARLTON WILKINSON
CORRESPONDENT
The Garden State Philharmonic Orchestra is celebrating its 50th anniversary season in part by scheduling three brand new orchestral works by living composers. These include "Made in America" by leading American composer Joan Tower, a work commissioned by a ground-breaking consortium of 65 ensembles across the country.
Tower is the first composer chosen for the ambitious new "Ford Made in America" commissioning program, the brainchild of Garden State Philharmonic artistic director and conductor Anthony LaGruth and two other orchestra directors, Robert Rossoff of the Glen Falls Symphony Orchestra and Ryan Fleur the Memphis Symphony Orchestra.
"We were just having a conversation about composer commissions," LaGruth said. "We were discussing how orchestras of our size could not hire top-notch composers because the cost was just too prohibitive."
One thing lead to another, and suddenly they had formed a steering committee to investigate pooling resources among orchestras to commission a single work from a leading composer. The idea took off, resulting in a collaboration of the American Symphony Orchestra League and the Meet the Composer fund with sponsorship from the Ford Motor Company Fund.
"We came up with the name "Made in America' because of the grass-roots nature of it — one orchestra in every state in the union," LaGruth said.
Tower was the first composer chosen in what the consortium hopes will become an annual event. She chose to name her new composition after the project itself. In this season, Tower's 15-minute "Made in America" will see premieres in every state of the union, making it at least temporarily the most widely performed orchestral work by a living American composer.
"This is a very exciting project for the composer," LaGruth said. "A lot of the time, a major orchestra or two orchestras will get together to commission a composer. The work will then be played by orchestra A and then by orchestra B, and then that's pretty much the end of its performance life."
While Tower has composed well-received works for orchestra, she is even more well-known as a composer for small ensembles, a medium that offers both greater intimacy and greater practicality.
"We lured her into this project with the appeal of a lot of performances," La Gruth said. "It gets her music out in front of a lot of people." N.J. premiere Oct. 15 The composer will be on hand when the ensemble presents the New Jersey premiere at its Golden Opening Night Gala on Oct. 15, a program that also includes American music by Leonard Bernstein, George Gershwin and Aaron Copland.
Describing "Made in America" in a press release, Tower pointed to her experience of returning to this country after spending nine of her formative years in Bolivia.
"When I returned to the United States, I was proud to have free choices — the chance to try to become who I wanted to be," she said.
That pride manifests itself throughout "Made in America" by appearances of the tune "America the Beautiful." The melody is challenged by other more volatile material, but it continually resurfaces, creating a circumspect view of being an American in the 21st century.
In addition to the Tower commission, the Garden State Philharmonic season offers world premieres of two other works: one by the ensemble's principal bassist Rick Ippolito (to be performed Nov. 12 at the Strand Theater in Lakewood) and a second by Plainfield Symphony artistic director Sabin Pautza. (scheduled for March 25 at Ocean County College in Dover Township).
The Garden State Philharmonic's 50th anniversary schedule includes a "mostly Mozart" program commemorating the 250th birthday of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Small orchestras unite for big undertaking
Published in the Star Ledger, October 12, 2005
by Willa J. Conrad
To read this story click here: Star Ledger
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