World Premiere Composition Series Concert May 4

On Saturday, May 4, Performance Music at The University of Scranton will debut two new works by guest composer-conductor Nate Sparks at its 41^st Annual World Premiere Composition Series Concert. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Houlihan-McLean Center, Mulberry Street and Jefferson Avenue. Admission is free, and open to the public, with seating on a first-come, first-seated basis.

The World Premiere Composition Series provides students with the rare opportunity to perform the premiere of a work by a nationally or internationally known composer under the baton of that composer, getting a first-hand glimpse into the compositional process. Meanwhile, audiences get to experience the piece for the first time, exactly as the composer intended.

At the concert, The University of Scranton Concert Band and Concert Choir will premiere two brand-new commissioned works by Sparks, written specifically for the University’s student ensembles, entitled Miserere Mei/Ave Verum Corpus (for SATB choir) and Prelude and March (for full concert band.)

“Nate’s writing is always musically inspiring and impeccably scored, and the pieces he has written for us this year are no exception” said Performance Music Conductor and Director Cheryl Y. Boga.

A Juilliard-trained composer, arranger, pianist, bandleader, music educator and liturgical musician who leads the 18-piece Nate Sparks Big Band, Sparks has been commissioned to write and conduct two works for the concert – one for The University of Scranton Concert Band and one for The University of Scranton Concert Choir. In April, cellists Mark Kosower and Mingyao Zhao joined The University of Scranton String Orchestra to perform the world premiere of La Gran Conversion, a piece Sparks wrote for virtuosic cello duo with student string orchestra.

A resident of Des Moines, Sparks has written music for a variety of ensembles, including Wynton Marsalis and The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks, the Juilliard Jazz Orchestra, ABS Chamber Orchestra, Bobby Sanabria and the Multiverse Big Band, Lucky Chops, the MSM Afro-Cuban Orchestra, the 2023 PMEA All-State Jazz Band, Kyle Athayde Dance Party and Joseph Boga and the Scranton Ramblers. In 2018, Sparks contributed to the Grammy-nominated album, “West Side Story Reimagined,” by Bobby Sanabria and the Multiverse Big Band, and wrote arrangements for the 2023 Jazz at Lincoln Center gala. He also serves as conductor and director of the Des Moines Youth Jazz Orchestra and director of music ministry at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in West Des Moines.

The University’s Concert Band and Concert Choir are made up of students from majors spanning the curriculum, brought together by their love of music. The primary focus of Performance Music at The University of Scranton is its student choral and instrumental performing ensembles. There is no music major at the University, and all enrolled Scranton students (undergraduate and graduate) from every major are eligible for membership in the ensembles, with neither an audition nor enrollment fee required for membership. Hundreds of students participate in the ensembles each year. Other programs within the department, including guest artist concerts, Nelhybel Collection, and Scranton Brass Orchestra, closely coordinate programming with the student ensembles and offer unique opportunities for student musicians in the ensembles to hear, observe, interact and perform with numerous world-class musicians and artist-teachers.

For more information on the concert, call 570-941-7624, email music@scranton.edu or visit scranton.edu/music.

For further information about the performance, call 570-941-7624, email music@scranton.edu or visit the Performance Music website. For additional info on Sparks, visit natesparksmusic.com.