Symphony Band to premiere William Bolcom’s First Symphony for Band

January 2009

Betsy Goolian

On Friday, February 6, 2009, at 8:00 p.m. at Hill Auditorium, The University of Michigan Symphony Band, under the direction of Michael Haithcock, will perform the world premiere of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer William Bolcom’s First Symphony for Band. Bolcom, who studied with Darius Milhaud and Olivier Messiaen, is a composer of cabaret songs, concertos, sonatas, operas, and symphonies—eight of the latter to date. He is the Ross Lee Finney Distinguished University Professor of Composition Emeritus at the School of Music, Theatre and Dance. His massive work Songs of Innocence and of Experience, performed by the University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra and Choirs in 2004, won three Grammy Awards, including Best Classical Album.

Works by Dvorak, Stravinsky, and Holst will pave the way for this world premiere, certain to become a masterpiece in its own right. The symphony was commissioned by the eleven bands of the Big 10 athletic conference schools.