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Berkshire Symphony
Ronald Feldman, conductor.
'Three Premieres and a Classic'
Felipe Lara: Onda
David Kechley: WAKEFUL VISIONS/MOONLESS DREAMS: A Symphony in Four Movements
Kevin Kaska: from the video game Lair
George Gershwin: An American in Paris
Pre-concert discussion at 7:15 p.m. in Brooks-Rogers Recital Hall.
Felipe Lara was born in the state of São Paulo, Brazil in 1979, begun his musical career as guitar player and shortly after started composing. In 1999 Lara received the “European Tour Scholarship” from Berklee College of Music, where in 2002 he obtained his Bachelors Degree with Magna Cum Laude distinction, dual major in Musical Composition and Film Scoring. In addition to the studies at Berklee with John Bavicchi and Vuk Kulenovich Lara studied at the New England Conservatory with Alla Elana Cohen. In 2004 Lara received his Masters in Composition and Theory from Tufts University where he studied with John McDonald. Additional studies include individual lessons and masterclasses with Brian Ferneyhough, Philippe Leroux, Philippe Manoury and David Rakowski. Lara received awards such as the Youth Concerts at Symphony Hall, the Richard Levy Award, 1st prize in the MTNA award for the state of Massachusetts, the Eastern Division and the MTNA National Warner Brothers Award, four “Composer Assistance Award” from the AMC, four ASCAPplus awards, MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music, 2nd place at the 4th International Sun River Composition Competition (China), winner of Dal Niente's international call for scores, finalist at the Robert Helps Competition, and the first price in orchestra composition for the XVI Bienal da Musica Brasileira Contemporanea. Lara has received commissions from the New York New Music Ensemble, International Contemporary Ensemble, Duo Diorama, Philharmonic Society of Arlington, Brave New Works, Berkshire Symphony, the Beaudoin/Wade Duo, Jean Kopperud and Steve Gosling and others. Lara ’s music has been performed in many festivals including Acanthes, Wellesley Composers Conference, June-In-Buffalo, 26th New Music and Arts Festival (Bowling Green), Atlantic Center for the Arts, Domaine Forget, Bienal da Musica Brasileira Contemporanea, Newport Festival, Festival de Musica Nova, and others. Lara’s Music has been performed by the Arditti Quartet, Le Nouvel Ensemble Modern, Kammerensemble Neue Musik Berlin, International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), New York New Music Ensemble, Duo Diorama, Radnofsky Saxophone Quartet, Orquestra Sinfonica Brasileira, Triple Helix, and the Julliard Pierrot Ensemble. Lara is currently a PhD candidate at New York University (GSAS) where he studies composition with Louis Karchin, Mario Davidovsky, and Elizabeth Hoffman, as well as computer music with Elizabeth Hoffman and Cort Lippe. Additional studies include interactive composition with George Lewis, as well composition, computer music, and orchestration with Tristan Murail at Columbia University. Recently the Arditti Quartet has performed his work Corde Vocale in the United States, Brazil and Luxemburg. As a finalist of the "Staubach Prize" Lara was commissioned by the International Musikinstitut Darmstadt to compose a new work for string quartet and live-electronics to be premiered at the 44th International Courses for New Music by the Arditti Quartet and the Experimentalstudio Freiburg. http://felipelara.com/
Kevin Kaska: American composer, arranger, record producer, and conductor, Kevin Kaska is one of America’s leading young musical talents. His orchestral compositions, arrangements, and orchestrations have been played by over 50 symphony orchestras worldwide, including John Williams and Keith Lockhart with the Boston Pops Orchestra, Saint Louis Symphony, London Symphony Orchestra (five CDs), Royal Scottish National Orchestra (recorded on CD), New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (recorded on CD), Maynard Ferguson and his Big Bop Nouveau Band, Skitch Henderson and the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall, the Seattle Philharmonic, Port Angeles Symphony, Springfield Symphony, Berkshire Symphony, Cape Ann Symphony, Phoenix Symphony, New Mexico Symphony, Austin Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, Wichita Symphony, Long Beach Symphony, Modesto Symphony, Buffalo Symphony, Racine Symphony, Glens Falls Symphony, Fargo-Moorhead Symphony, Symphony Pro Musica, Orchestra X in Houston, Youngstown Symphony, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Cascade Symphony, Doctor's Orchestra of Houston, Los Angeles Jewish Symphony, Bavarian Philharmonic, Bach Collegium of Munich, Puertro Rico Philharmonic, and the Boston Metropolitan Orchestra. http://www.kevinkaska.com
