Original Composition to Premiere in Scranton
Scranton will be the site of the world premiere of two compositions by composer and arranger Joshua Freilich. The University of Scranton Concert Band and Choir will perform the new works, commissioned by the University, at the 27th Annual World Premiere Composition Series Concert on Saturday, April 24, at 8 p.m. in the Houlihan-McLean Center. Trumpeter, composer and educator Mark Gould will serve as guest conductor for the performance, which is open to the public and free of charge.
The winner of the 2008 Downbeat Award for Best Jazz Arrangement - Collegiate and the recipient of the 2008 American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Foundation Fran Morgenstern Davis Scholarship, Freilich has provided arrangements of works by many nationally and internationally renowned songwriters for a variety of artists and ensembles.
As musical director at French Woods Festival for the Performing Arts, he was involved in numerous productions there, including Pippin, Little Shop of Horrors, A Chorus Line, The Producers, High School Musical, Sweeney Todd and Beauty and the Beast.
Freilich is a graduate of The Manhattan School of Music, where he pursued his bachelor of music degree in jazz piano under the tutelage of Garry Dial. He is currently pursuing graduate studies at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.
One of the best-known trumpeters of his generation, Gould was principal trumpet of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra from 1974 to 2003. He has served on the faculty of The Juilliard School since 1982, and joined the faculty of The Manhattan School of Music in 2004, where he now chairs the brass department and founded and directs the MSM Brass Orchestra.
Gould has conducted and performed as soloist with the Seattle Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Colorado Philharmonic, Buffalo Symphony, The Juilliard Wind Ensemble and many others. He was the conductor of the Juilliard Wind Ensemble in the recording “Shadowcatcher,” on New World Records, which features the work of Juilliard composers Eric Ewazen and William Schuman.
Gould has also directed, appeared with and recorded with numerous high profile chamber music groups and ensembles, including Speculum Musicae, The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, The MET Chamber Ensemble, Canadian Brass, Empire Brass, The Graham Ashton Brass Ensemble and Extension Ensemble.
Gould has also performed as a soloist on many recordings. His most recent is “Café 1930,” an album of trumpet and guitar music on Angel/EMI.
The World Premiere Composition Series provides University of Scranton students with opportunities to work and interact with nationally and internationally renowned composers and conductors, provides opportunities for rising young composers, and has made significant contributions to the wind and choral repertoires.
For additional information, contact Cheryl Boga, director of Performance Music at The University of Scranton, at 941-7624, or at www.scranton.edu/music.