THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED.

Witness a new generation of contemporary composers as they work with First Symphony Project composer-in-residence Gabriella Smith. This master class features live performances of 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 Gabriella Smith's residency with Eugene Symphony, which culminates with the Pacific Northwest premiere of her first symphony, ONE, on Thursday, March 16.

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.

Gabriella Smith, Composer-in-Residence, Eugene Symphony
Composer Gabriella Smith grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area playing and writing music, hiking, backpacking, and volunteering on a songbird research project. Described as “the coolest, most exciting, most inventive new voice I’ve heard in ages” (Musical America) and an “outright sensation” (LA Times), Gabriella’s music comes from a love of play, exploring new sounds on instruments, building compelling musical arcs, and connecting listeners with the natural world in an invitation to find joy in climate action. Recent highlights include the premiere of her organ concerto, Breathing Forests, written for James McVinnie and LA Phil, conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen; and the release of her first full-length album, Lost Coast, recorded in Iceland with cellist Gabriel Cabezas, named one of NPR Music’s “26 Favorite Albums Of 2021 (So Far)” and a “Classical Album to Hear Right Now” by The New York Times. She recently debuted a (cello-violin-voice-electronics) duo version of Lost Coast with Gabriel Cabezas at the Philharmonie de Paris, and she is currently working on a version of Lost Coast for cello and orchestra, to be premiered by Gabriel Cabezas and LA Phil in May 2023, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel. Visit Website

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

The master class with Composer-in-Residence Gabriella Smith 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.