Monday (5/7) on NewMusicBox.org, Andrew Sigler reviews the works of “nine students who were chosen from across Texas to have their works performed at the Austin Symphony Orchestra’s second annual Texas Young Composers Concert. … [Jack] Roberts’s Into the West was the opening work of the evening and was introduced by the composer via a short video projected above the orchestra. Similar videos preceded each piece and provided not only information about the background of the composer and the generation of the work, but also insight into the maturity and character of each artist. … Bleak Dawn by Behnam Arzaghi was the most contemplative work of the evening. A broad harmonic language and long lingering lines set the stage for a more focused mix of Persian folk tunes and lyrical melodies which played hide and seek in the texture. … Brandon Maahs’s Song of Love and Joy, the first movement from his Symphony No. 1, had a number of compelling features, including thoughtful string orchestration, use of 7/8, and arguably the most thunderous ‘Kaboom Ending!’ of the evening.” Also on the program, led by Music Director Peter Bay, were Jocelyn Chambers’s My Heart, Garrett Tatum’s Paradise—Paradise Lost, Wells Leng’s Contrasts, Trevor Villwock’s When I Woke Up in the Forest, Brennan Anderson’s Downfall Rising, and Jared Beu’s Affirmation.
Posted May 8, 2012
