“The Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra’s theme for its 2014-15 season will be ‘Legends: The Spirit of Boulder,’ ” writes Kelly Dean Hansen in Saturday’s (3/22) Boulder Daily Camera (Colorado). The first of the orchestra’s five classical subscription concerts, led by music director Michael Butterman, will take place on September 14 and feature the world premiere of Gates of the Arctic by Stephen Lias, “a student at Louisiana State University when Butterman was on the music faculty there…. [The project is] being funded by the National Park Foundation, Butterman said … [and commemorates] the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act.… Lias has composed other works inspired by national parks.” Also planned during 2014-15 are a program featuring “three works all [describing] legendary or rare birds: ‘The White Peacock’ by Charles Griffes, ‘The Swan of Tuonela’ by Jean Sibelius and the ‘Firebird’ Suite by Igor Stravinsky.” Also in the season are “ ‘Apparition’ for timpani and orchestra by Michael Udow, a retired percussion professor and orchestral timpanist who lives in Longmont … [with] Brian Jones, principal timpanist of the Dallas Symphony, [as] the soloist.… [Conrad] Tao’s own composition, ‘Pangu,’ will be played by the orchestra” on a program that also includes Tao as soloist in Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5.”
Posted March 26, 2014
