EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State University's gardens and campus, recognized as among the most beautiful landscapes in the United States, will soon be forever celebrated.
On Saturday, Feb. 5, at 8 p.m. in the Great Hall of the Wharton Center for Performing Arts, the MSU Symphony, Chorale and Children's Choir will perform the world premiere of Symphony No. 4, "The Gardens," written by Pulitzer Prize- winning composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich.
The symphony was commissioned through a gift by MSU alumni Jack and Dottie Withrow of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., to honor the natural beauty of the gardens and campus of MSU. This four-movement, 27-minute work will be performed by the MSU Symphony Orchestra, the University Chorale, Choral Union, State Singers and MSU Children's Choir under the direction of Leon Gregorian.
"The premiere is a remarkable opportunity for our students to work with one of the world's great composers on a new symphonic piece," said Jim Forger, director of the School of Music. "In addition to this experience, which will give them a unique involvement in the creative process, they will be able to demonstrate national excellence in the performance arena.
"But this is much more than an important event for MSU," adds Forger. "The day after the performance, the composer, our musicians and professional recording technicians from Koch International Classics will begin the final recording for a CD that will be commercially distributed throughout the world."
The CD also includes two other Zwilich compositions that were recorded by the MSU Symphony with two world-renowned soloists. The Chicago Symphony's principal bass trombone, Charles Vernon, soloed on Concerto for Bass Trombone, Strings, Timpani and Cymbals, and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra's French hornist, David Jolley, soloed on Concerto for Horn and String Orchestra.
MSU's performance of the world premiere, as well as the complex creative process of producing a symphony from composition to recording, also will be shared with the world in another venue. MSU television station WKAR-TV will produce two half-hour documentary segments to be broadcast on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) later this year. Emmy award winner Eric Schultz has been working on the project for nearly a year and plans to complete filming later this spring.
In addition to the Zwilich premiere, the MSU Symphony also will be performing the Alexander Nevsky Cantata by Sergei Prokofiev, assisted by the MSU Choral Union and the MSU Chorale, and Mozart's Motet, Ave Verum Corpus.
Tickets are $6 for adults, $4 for senior citizens and free for students and those under 18. Tickets are available from the School of Music, (517) 353-5340, and the Wharton Center, 432-2000. The on-site box office is open one hour before each performance. Call the 24-hour Music Events Line, 355-3345, for the latest concert information, or visit www.music.msu.edu.