Meet the Composer

Gity Razaz

As part of their continued emphasis on providing a forum for contemporary American composers to reach a wide, appreciative audience, the Albany Symphony has received support for public outreach projects by four composers whose works will be premiered and performed by the Symphony in the fall of the 2009-10 season. They are: October, 2009, Missy Mazzoli, These Worlds in Us and December, 2009, a special project featuring three graduate composition students from the Juilliard School creating new concertos featuring Juilliard students as soloists. The composers are Gity Razaz, Evan Fein and Michael Ippolito.

To help audiences connect with composers, the Symphony offers:

• Vanguard Prevues, events held at the Albany Central Public Library on the Thursday prior to each concert. Open to the public, they offer an in-depth discussion with the featured composer, interviewed by music director David Allan Miller.
• Classical Conversations, held one hour prior to each subscription concert. The composer introduces his or her work in an interview format with conductor Miller, and answers questions from the public. In addition, each composer introduces his or her piece from the stage during each concert.
• Before each concert, composers will make visits to area high school music departments, speaking to music students and advanced music theory classes about composition, contemporary music, and their own careers. Vouchers are then provided free to students to come to the performance.
• Open Rehearsal Discussion with the composer before or after the rehearsal will give listeners opportunities to delve deeper into how composers, conductors and orchestras collaborate on new works. Music and composition students from local schools and colleges as well as older, interested concertgoers will be invited to attend these rehearsals.
• Each visiting composer will be invited to appear on the local public radio station, WAMC, to be interviewed about their work and the upcoming performance(s).