LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Violin Concerto No. 2 by American composer George Tsontakis, recipient of the 2005 Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition, will receive its local premiere Sept. 28 at the University of Louisville School of Music.
The Indiana University New Music Ensemble, one of the country’s leading collegiate contemporary music groups, will perform.
Steven Copes, concertmaster of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, will be soloist. Copes commissioned Violin Concerto No. 2 and was the solo violinist for its world premiere in 2003. Tsontakis will be at U of L for two days before the performance to work with music students and will be in the audience.
Also on the program will be “Living Toys” by 2000 Grawemeyer winner Thomas Adès and “Lumens” by U of L faculty composer Marc Satterwhite. Scott Voyles, a U of L graduate and assistant conductor of the IU ensemble, will conduct “Lumens,” a piece that the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble commissioned and premiered.
The 8 p.m. concert is free and open to the public. The IU New Music Ensemble will repeat the performance Sept. 29 at the IU campus in Bloomington.
The Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition is one of five awards the Grawemeyer Foundation at U of L gives annually. Each award carries with it $200,000, making the Grawemeyer awards among the most prestigious in their fields.
For more information, contact Marc Satterwhite at 502-852-1787 or marc.sattterwhite@louisville.edu