A key feature of the Herb Alpert School of Music’s composition program is to provide opportunities for students to hear their work performed at quarterly concerts by established ensembles. On Nov. 5 in Schoenberg Hall, six students will have just that opportunity when the renowned Russian String Orchestra, conducted by Misha Rachlevsky, presents the U.S. premieres of their original compositions. The RSO first presented the works at a world premiere performance in Moscow, last month.
Rachlevsky, who founded the orchestra and serves as music director, is known for giving opportunities to young, talented musicians and composers.
“I have one very rigid condition for new music to enter the RSO repertoire – it has to talk to me, enabling me to say something to the audience,” said Maestro Rachlevsky. “Each of the UCLA student composers presented in this program has his own voice, and I very much hope that my colleagues and I hear them right. Bringing these new compositions to life for these young composers and an audience to experience is a very exciting and enjoyable challenge.”
The concert program will feature Toccata and Intermezzo by Mason Lewis; The Deepest Hour by Kenneth Glendon; Lost in Lut by Shahab Paranj; Sinfonia by Anthony Constantino; My Idols are Dead by Marcus Norris; and Listen To Me by Dante Luna, the sole undergraduate composition student on the program.
“It is always exciting for a composer to hear their work brought to life, but working with such a renowned ensemble as the Russian String Orchestra will make this performance particularly exhilarating,” said Constantino, a Ph.D. composition student. “I am thankful for the extreme attention to detail and superb musicianship that Maestro Rachlevsky and the RSO have brought to my work.”
Founded in 1991, the RSO is comprised of some of Russia’s finest young string players. Dedicated to interpreting a wide range of repertoire from early Baroque literature to the music of new composers, the orchestra performs regionally in Moscow and regularly tours North and South America, Europe, and Asia. The RSO has also received acclaim for their recordings, including a critic’s choice in the New York Times.
Russian String Orchestra: The U.S. Premiere of Six Student Compositions is Monday, Nov. 5 at 7:00 p.m. in Schoenberg Hall. Like many of the Herb Alpert School of Music’s programs, admission is free. RSVP to the program, here. This performance will also be live streamed.
You can listen to audio tracks of the student work, performed by RSO, Here.