World Premiere Concert with Kyle Athayde, May 3 at University of Scranton

Apr 22, 2014

         New York based composer, arranger, conductor and bandleader Kyle Athayde will be featured as the composer for The University of Scranton’s 31st annual World Premiere Composition Series Concert on Saturday, May 3. The concert will be held in the Houlihan McLean Center at 7:30 p.m. and will feature the University of Scranton Concert Choir and Concert Band. The concert is free of charge and open to the public.

         Athayde will conduct the world premiere of two works he composed specifically for the concert band and concert choir at the performance, “ Zortzilo Dlya Iosif” for concert band, and “Cio Che Mangio,” a piece for five-part choir. Athayde, a graduate of The Juilliard School and a native of California, is currently the leader, conductor and principal writer for the New York-based big band, “Kyle Athayde Dance Party” and serves as the pianist for The New York Trumpet Ensemble.

         As an up-and-coming composer and arranger, Athayde has composed for the New York Sinfonietta, Bobby Sanabria and the MSM Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra, written the music for the ending credits of the film “Diller, Scofidio + Renfro: Reimagining Lincoln Center and the High Line,” and is currently working on a commission for the Canadian Brass. Athayde is also an accomplished performer and teacher, serving as a regular visiting faculty member of the Sitka Fine Arts Camp and as the director of curriculum at the Lafayette Summer Music Workshop.

         The World Premiere Composition Series was established in 1984 and makes a point of providing opportunities for young, talented and rising composers such as Athayde. The series has made significant contributions to the wind and choral repertoires and is held on a yearly basis. In addition to young composers like Athayde, the series has also hosted acclaimed composers such as Vaclav Nelhybel, Robert Starer, Wycliffe Gordon, Lawrence Wolfe, Victor Goines, Ted Nash, and even gave the now internationally renowned composer Robert Kapilow his very first commission.

         For more information, contact Cheryl Y. Boga, director of Performance Music at the University of Scranton, at 570-941-7624 or music@scranton.edu, or visit www.scranton.edu/music.

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