|
contents | jazz | |||||||||||||
| Charlotte Orchestra Premieres Work By Jalalu-Kalvert Nelson As part of a year-long partnership with the Northwest School of the Arts, the Charlotte Symphony Department of Outreach, Education and Community Partnership has commissioned Jalalu-Kalvert Nelson, an American composer who lives in Switzerland, to create a work specifically for students in the NWSA Recital Seminar Class. The students will perform the piece, Questions Answers and Echoes (sometimes), on April 16 in a school concert. Jalalu-Kalvert Nelson has created a diverse body of work for orchestra, chamber ensembles, jazz ensembles, chorus, solo voice, and piano, as well as multi-media pieces. Mr. Nelson is a composer, a performer and an educator. He was born in Oklahoma City in 1951 and studied composition and trumpet at Indiana University with John Eaton and Iannis Xenakis. In 1974, he studied with Jacob Druckman and Gunther Schuller at Tanglewood's Berkshire Music Center. Mr. Nelson has received commissions from national and international organizations, including the Oklahoma Symphony Orchestra, the Brooklyn Philharmonic, ASKO Orchestra of Amsterdam, the Kronos Quartet, the José Limon Dance Company, the Dale Warland Singers and Zentrum Paul Klee in Bern, Switzerland. In 2006, France's Centre Choréographique National commissioned him to create music for a children's piece, which he has since performed on tour in Europe. In the fall of 2008 he will join the dance company as they take this work to South Korea. A passionate music educator, he has presented workshops for children in California, Arizona, Oklahoma, Georgia, New Jersey, Munich, Amsterdam, Bern, Ghent, Budapest and Berlin and was a teaching artist with the Lincoln Center Institute and the Guggenheim Museum's Learning Through Art program. In 2008–09, Nelson will be a guest professor at Le Fresnoy, Studio national des arts contemporains in Tourcoing, France. Questions Answers and Echoes (sometimes) was composed especially for the eleven students of the Recital Seminar Class, an ensemble of four violins, two violas, cello, flute, trumpet, piano, and percussion. The composer came to Charlotte in February to work with the students, and will return on March 31st for two additional weeks of coaching prior to the performance. "This has been one of the most wonderful experiences of my career, "says Mr. Nelson, "I have been touched by the students' wonderful energy, spirit, and talent." - www.charlottesymphony.org write your comments about the article :: © 2008 Jazz News :: home page |