Witness a new generation of contemporary composers as they work with First Symphony Project composer-in-residence Angélica Negrón. This master class features live performances of six original works by undergraduate and graduate composers from the University of Oregon School of Music and Dance composition program.

Free and open to the public. This master class is part of Angélica Negrón's residency with Eugene Symphony, which culminates with the world premiere of her first symphony, Sinfonía Isleña, on Thursday, February 16.

Program:
Each composer will introduce their work from stage.

Calvin Rice: The Travelers

Garrett Jay Christian: Explorers in the Further Regions…

Brylee Daniels: Suite for Toy Piano

Connor Wier: Daybreak

James P. Daley: 鬼面仏心 (Kimenbusshin)

J. B. C. Gildea: Sinfonia, Mvt. I – “Temperance”

View full program details here

This master class is made possible through a collaboration with the University of Oregon's School of Music and Dance and the generous support of the Boekelheide Endowment Grant.

Angélica Negrón, Composer-in-Residence, Eugene Symphony

Puerto Rican-born composer and multi-instrumentalist Angélica Negrón writes music for accordions, robotic instruments, toys, and electronics as well as for chamber ensembles, orchestras, choir, and film. Her music has been described as “wistfully idiosyncratic and contemplative” (WQXR/Q2) while The New York Times noted her “capacity to surprise.” Negrón has been commissioned by the Bang on a Can All-Stars, Kronos Quartet, loadbang, Prototype Festival, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Sō Percussion, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Opera Philadelphia, the Louisville Orchestra and the New York Botanical Garden, among others. Angélica received an early education in piano and violin at the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico where she later studied composition under the guidance of composer Alfonso Fuentes. She holds a master’s degree in music composition from New York University where she studied with Pedro da Silva and pursued doctoral studies at The Graduate Center (CUNY), where she studied composition with Tania León. Also active as an educator, Angélica is currently a teaching artist for New York Philharmonic’s Very Young Composers program. She has collaborated with artists like Sō Percussion, Lido Pimienta, Mathew Placek, Sasha Velour, Cecilia Aldarondo, Mariela Pabón & Adrienne Westwood, among others and is a founding member of the tropical electronic band Balún. She was recently an Artist-in-Residence at WNYC’s The Greene Space working on El Living Room, a 4-part offbeat variety show and playful multimedia exploration of sound and story, of personal history and belonging. She was the recipient of the 2022 Hermitage Greenfield Prize. Upcoming premieres include works for the Seattle Symphony, LA Philharmonic, Louisville Orchestra and NY Philharmonic Project 19 initiative and multiple performances at Big Ears Festival 2022. Negrón continues to perform and compose for film. For more information about Angélica Negrón, please vistit her website: angelicanegron.com

University of Oregon School of Music and Dance
Composition Department & Oregon Composers Forum

The master class with Composer-in-Residence Angélica Negrón features music by undergraduate and graduate composers who are enrolled in the composition program of the University of Oregon School of Music and Dance (SOMD), which offers bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees. During their studies at SOMD, each composer studies with Robert Kyr, Professor of Composition & Theory and Department Chair, and David Crumb, Professor of Composition & Theory, both of whom are the faculty mentors for the works featured on both master classes.

In addition to a rigorous academic curriculum, including the “Oregon Composers Forum Seminar,” the composition program offers students numerous opportunities to hear their music performed. Moreover, each student performs in their own works and the music of their colleagues through the Oregon Composers Forum and the Music Today Festival, and through concerts given by seven student-run new music ensembles. The composition program also offers the bi-annual Oregon Bach Festival Composers Symposium (Robert Kyr, founder and director), which brings 90-100 composers and performers from around the world to the UO School of Music to hear their music performed by a roster of renowned guest artists and by the participants themselves, as members of the American Creators Ensemble (ACE).

The UO composition program is nationally recognized as one of the top programs in the country, as demonstrated by the fact that its graduates are accepted into the major composition programs in the United States. Currently, its recent graduates are pursuing further study at Harvard University, Brandeis University, Indiana University, Northwestern University, University of Michigan, University of Pennsylvania, and the University of British Columbia, among others. The program’s past graduates hold major faculty positions throughout the country (many of them tenure-track), and have received top awards in the field of composition, including the Guggenheim Fellowship, the Rome Prize, the Charles Ives Living Award given by the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Gaudeamus International Composers Award (Gaudeamus Foundation, Amsterdam), Aaron Copland Award (Bogliasco Foundation; Liguria, Italy), and the Jacob Druckman Prize (Aspen Music Festival), among others.