Daron Hagen in Phoenix in front of his well-earned dressing room.
For today's "Throwback Thursday," we honor our Chair of Composition, Daron Hagen, and we celebrate the October 9th premiere of his Symphony No. 5. Under the baton of Michael Christie, the Phoenix Symphony performed Hagen's sweeping new work. Daron flew to Phoenix for the premiere, and he even got his own dressing room! At Wintergreen, we don't have dressing rooms, per say, but we do have a memorable view of the Blue Ridge Mountains!
Find out about the symphony on Daron's website here, and read Daron's article on Huffington Post recounting why he is still committed to the symphony as a genre. Yes - it is still relevant. It appears that Haydn, Beethoven, and Tchaikovsky knew what they were doing! (That's a hint for the 2016 Festival, by the way).
Congratulations to Daron Hagen!
Speaking of world premieres, we at Wintergreen Performing Arts are proud to boast that we programmed more than twenty of them at the 2015 Wintergreen Summer Music Festival and Academy (our 20th anniversary). We are grateful for previous WPA Artistic and Executive Director Larry Alan Smith, whose vision started us on the path of encouraging and highlighting living composers. And we thank the many, many composers who made this impressive list possible - including Daron!
Festival Performances
Artistic Director Erin Freeman and Chair of Composition Daron Hagen discussing Hagen's The Tramp before the world premiere.
- Clay, Danny and invoke - 1865 Suite (world premiere of entire piece) - Middle movement was previously performed - Good Night by Danny Clay - invoke Fellowship String Quartet
- Fuhrman, Bruce - Shadow (world premiere of complete performance) - invoke Fellowship String Quartet
- Hagen, Daron - The Tramp - original score to Charlie Chaplin’s The Tramp - Thomas Josenhans, Clarinet; John Meisner & Jana Ross, Violins; Ann Marie Brink, Viola; Wesley Baldwin, Cello; Bleda Elibel, Bass; Erin Freeman, Conductor - Featuring Peter Marshall on piano, playing the musical role of Charlie Chaplin.
- Montopoli, Nick - Dogs - invoke Fellowship String Quartet
- White, Michael - A Sephardic Life for string trio - Sharan Leventhal, Violin; Steve Larson, Viola; and Sara Sitzer, Cello
- White, Michael - Duo for Violin and Cello - Andrea Schultz, Violin and Michael Finckel, Cello
- White, Michael - Trio for Oboe, Viola, and Piano - Aaron Hill, Oboe; Steve Larson, Viola; and Winston Choi, Piano
- White, Michael - In Memoriam for Flute and Orchestra - Lance Suzuki, Flute; Alfred Savia, Conductor; Wintergreen Festival Orchestra
Additional world premieres, featuring Academy composers
Academy Vocal Intensive Masterclass/Performance – Sunday, July 19
- Baerwald, Josh - Canis Major - Victoria Rodriguez, Mezzo Soprano
- Bandera, Carlos - Stiller Freund - Erika Straus, Soprano
- Weisensel, Maggie - Alone - Maureen Brabec, Soprano
Academy Composers Concert - July 28
- Bandera, Carlos - Florestan - Milene Rossato Moreira, Violin; Johanna Beaver, Viola; David Rezits, Cello
- Tedesco, Frank - The Cracked Sandglass - Crawfords Climb Quartet
- Tang, Joseph - Notion of Motion - Laurel Springs Quartet
- Eber, Tevi - Still Waters Run Deep - Black Rock Quartet
- Heyde, Zach - Totenstille - Rodes Farm Quartet
- Baerwald, Josh - Bob Ross - Trillium Quartet
- Flagello, Gala - Fast, Good, Cheap: Choose Two - Rebecca Racusin, Violin; Matthew Pegis, Viola; Michael Finckel, Cello
- Keogan, Brandon - Small Piece for String Quartet - Ravens Roost Quartet
- Avery, Dax - Steadfast Cactus - Lake Monocan Quartet
- Blalock, Shelby - Elude - Shamokin Springs Quartet
- Minigan, Colin - String Quartet No. 2 in Many Keys - Blue Ridge Quartet
- Weisensel, Maggie - The Dim - invoke Fellowship String Quartet
