As we have written so often during the past few years, recent OSU Contemporary Music Festivals began to develop their special format when they honored John Corigliano (2000), Lukas Foss (2001), Krzysztof Penderecki (2002), Lou Harrison (2003) and Gunther Schuller (2007) by programming a significant number of their compositions, customarily ten or more over two or three concerts. In 2005, the Festival honored the ever growing and ever more distinguished body of music written by African-American composers, in particular the work of Olly Wilson, one of its most original voices. Last year we returned to the retrospective format and turned our attention to a younger composer, Osvaldo Golijov, forty-seven years of age but already one of the brightest lights on the world’s musical scene. And this year we turn our attention to another of America’s most successful young composers, Jennifer Higdon, who at the same age has been described as “the most performed living American composer working today.” She is the recipient of numerous awards, including a Pew Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and two awards from the American Academy of Arts & Letters. The Telarc release of Higdon: Concerto for Orchestra / City Scape won a GrammyTM award in 2005. Her work blue cathedral is one of the most-performed orchestral works by a living composer (150 orchestras have performed the work since its 2000 premiere). Some of her recent commissions include works for The Philadelphia Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Chicago Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, eighth blackbird, Tokyo String Quartet, and Ying Quartet. Recent projects include a new violin concerto for Hilary Hahn, which was premiered in early February in Indianapolis. A solo disc of her chamber music was recently released by Naxos. She is on the composition faculty at The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where she holds the Milton L. Rock Chair in Compositional Studies.

Our retrospective will feature twenty-one of her compositions, the most by one composer that we have ever performed—more than double. Through the participation of the largest ensembles in the OSU School of Music (Symphony Orchestra, Wind Symphony, Symphonic Band, Collegiate Winds, Chorale and Women’s Glee Club), virtually the entire student body will participate in way or another. There will also be a concert of Higdon’s chamber music for a variety of instrumental combinations, ranging from a quartet of saxophones or three marimbas with six players to more traditional formats such as violin and piano. This concert will feature a liberal dose of OSU faculty and guest artists. Adding into the mix, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, once again our cosponsor, will perform Higdon’s award winning Concerto for Orchestra on its two subscription concerts of April 18th and 19th. As a result, the listener will note that there is hardly a musical genre that will be left untouched during this annual five-day event. But Jennifer Higdon, besides being one of the most prolific and talented composers of our day, is also a performer in her own right. She earned her undergraduate degree from Bowling Green University as a flutist and has recorded a popular CD of her music in which she performs as soloist. How appropriate then to add another co-sponsor, the Central Ohio Flute Association (COFA), which will present a Saturday afternoon concert of Higdon’s music written exclusively for that instrument.

Each year we invite guest artists, often local, who are anxious to spread the gospel of new music with us. This year we have invited two String Quartets, the Carpe Diem who performed on the last two Festivals, and the High Street Four who will be appearing for the first time. Also appearing for the first time on these concerts will be OSU School of Music alumna, soprano Christine Shumway Mortine, founder of the Columbus Bach Ensemble who will sing in Higdon’s Bentley Roses. The Central Ohio Flute Association (COFA) has invited nationally acclaimed flutist, Jill Felber, who will participate in its special concert of Higdon’s music for flute. And pianists Mariko Kaneda and Dianne Fraser, frequent guests in the past, rejoin the festival roster for the first time in two years.

Last year for the first time since the year 2000 the Festival reunited on the same program all four OSU faculty composers. From time to time it seemed appropriate to honor those who labor in the trenches on a daily basis to foster and nurture the cause of new music at our University. This year, we decided to reverse the process and feature recent compositions by OSU student composers, two of whom, Robert Lunn and Benjamin Williams, are laureates of the composition area’s most prestigious awards, the Ruth Friscoe Prize and the Johnstone Woodwind Master Series Competition. Just about every style or aesthetic can be found among our students, the diversity of which merits, in our opinion, to be showcased from time to time. Usually alumni composers are also featured on one Festival concert, and we expect to revert to that format again next year.

As we have said so often in the past, it is no secret that Festivals such as this that involve so many participants and guest artists are expensive to produce. Ours would not be possible without the support of individual donors. Thus once again we wish to acknowledge the generosity of Zoe and Jack Johnstone for their continuous financial support of this undertaking. Zoe and Jack support many other events and programs in the School of Music, most recently their highly innovative and original concept for the Johnstone Woodwind Master Series. We are indebted to Zoe and Jack for their foresight and vision not only because of initiatives like these but equally for their wide-ranging interests on behalf of the arts throughout the Columbus community. We also continue to benefit from ongoing support from the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation and the Greater Columbus Arts Council and we remain indebted to both of these organizations.

—Donald Harris
Coordinator, OSU Contemporary Music Festivals