The Ithaca College Choir, conducted by Lawrence Doebler, will perform the world premiere of Ron Nelson's "Let Us Find a Meadow" at the 26th annual Choral Composition Contest and Festival on Saturday, November 12, at 7:00 p.m. in Ford Hall of the James J. Whalen Center for Music. The free event will also feature six high school choirs each performing pieces chosen as finalists in a national competition of newly composed works. The evening's performance will conclude with the Ithaca College Choral Union joining the high school choirs in singing Moses Hogan's setting of "The Battle of Jericho."
Designed to encourage the creation and performance of new choral music, the festival will give members of the high school choirs the opportunity to attend rehearsals and workshops throughout the day. Each choir will be coached by the composer of the piece it will perform. The winning composition will be announced at the evening performance. Participating choirs represent Horseheads, Ithaca, Pittsford-Mendon, Ward Melville, Westborough, and West Genesee High Schools. The competition is sponsored by the Ithaca College School of Music and the Theodore Presser Company.
Ron Nelson has gained wide recognition as a composer of choral, band, and orchestral works. He has accepted commissions from a variety of organizations and ensembles, including the National Symphony Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, and United States Air Force Band.
In 1991 Nelson was appointed as the Roy Acuff Chair of Excellence in the Creative Arts at Austin Peay State University. The one-year recipient shares insights with students, faculty, and the local community; other chairs have included writer David Madden, photographer Ted Orland, and playwright Arthur Kopit. Nelson was the first musician to receive this honor. In 1993 he retired from the faculty of Brown University, where he taught for 37 years.
For more information about this or any of the approximately 300 concerts presented each year at the Ithaca College School of Music, visit www.ithaca.edu/concerts or call (607) 274-3717.
