All-university string orchestras give premieres

Students learning advanced music composition, two orchestras of non-music majors, and a food pantry would seem to have little reason to cross paths.

But a stroke of inspiration at the School of Music enabled all three to benefit from a unique venture that started last spring and culminates Saturday night (Dec. 7).

Composers often encounter a challenge when seeking opportunities to have their works played and heard. By the same token, orchestras catering to students majoring in fields as disparate as engineering, biology, languages, and business look for ways to expand their repertoire without breaking the bank.

The creation of new music should not be undertaken without some promise of remuneration, but how about diverting the commissioning fees to a worthy cause in the community? Thus was born the Composer Auction for Charity, an appeal for bids on new works by any of 12 adventurous composers.

The mechanics were simple: Composers signed on to the project and submitted samples of their work for a compilation compact disc. This allowed potential bidder to consider a variety of styles, forms, and instrumentation.

Janet Jensen, associate professor of String Pedagogy and director of the two All-University String Orchestras, liked what she heard. She bid on not one, but two composers and asked David Dies and Elliott Goldkind to write new works for her orchestras. Both composers are doctoral students studying with Stephen Dembski. Jensen’s check, together with other bids, yielded $365 for the first Composer Auction for Charity with proceeds going to the Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin.

The premieres of Dies’s “Sketches for String Orchestra” and Goldkind’s “Serenade for String Orchestra” will take place this Saturday, Dec. 7, at 7 p.m. in Mills Hall. Jensen will conduct. The All-University String Orchestras will also perform standard works by Vaughan Williams, Hindemith, Holst, and Saint-Saens. Admission is free.

Mills Hall is located in the Mosse Humanities Building on the Madison campus, at the corner of Park Street and University Avenue.

Call the Concert Line at (608) 263-9485 for weekly updated announcements of programs or visit the school’s web site. For further information, call the school’s main office at (608) 263-1900.