In Friday’s (2/17) Sioux City Journal (Iowa), Joanne Fox writes, “The music of Jean Sibelius played an important role in the formation of the Finnish national identity. The Sioux City Symphony Orchestra’s first Composer of the Year feels almost no pressure for being paired with the famous Finnish composer for this Saturday’s concert. ‘The second symphony and my piece are so different in character,’ explained Michael-Thomas Foumai. … Born in 1987 in Honolulu, Foumai’s music has been performed across the United States; his piece ‘Rat Race!’ will premiere in Sioux City. ‘I had two inspirations for the piece,’ he said. ‘Cartoons—Tom and Jerry cartoons—and Hollywood film music. With the cartoons, I just adored these as a child, but was always so mad by the end because I really liked the cat, and it made me furious that the mouse always got away,’ Foumai continued. ‘So I composed a piece on this premise.’ ‘Furious, fiery and flaming’ were three adjectives Foumai, currently pursing a master’s degree in music composition at the University of Michigan, used to describe ‘Rat Race!’ ”
Posted February 17, 2012
