Seattle Modern Orchestra (SMO) completes its third annual residency at the UW with a celebration of UW Composition Professor and School of Music Director Joël-François Durand’s 70th birthday. In addition to new works by UW graduate student composers, the concert includes a group of seven instrumentalists presenting the world premiere of several short tribute pieces by Durand’s former students, including longtime SMO contributors Jérémy Jolley, Jeff Bowen, and Yiğit Kolat, alongside Eric Flesher and Ryan Hare, plus new poetry for the occasion by Helena Tibocha.
Artist Biography
Seattle Modern Orchestra
Founded in 2010, Seattle Modern Orchestra (SMO) is the only large ensemble in the Pacific Northwest solely dedicated to the music of the 20th and 21st centuries. Led by co-artistic directors Julia Tai and Bonnie Whiting, SMO commissions and premieres new works from an international lineup of composers, in addition to presenting important pieces from the contemporary repertoire that are rarely if ever heard by Seattle audiences. The ensemble “operates at that exciting cusp between old and new, between tradition and innovation” (Vanguard Seattle) curating new sounds and experiences for concert goers in the region.
SMO provides audiences with performances of the best in contemporary chamber and orchestral music, and develops podcasts, lectures, educational residencies, and other forms of community engagement in an accessible and inviting format all designed to expand the listener’s appreciation and awareness of the music of today.