On Wednesday May 29, 2019 at 8pm, Carnegie Hall will host both the University of Kentucky’s Symphony Orchestra and Wind Symphony in honor of the 100th anniversary of the School of Music at the University of Kentucky. The performance takes place at the Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage, Carnegie Hall, 881 7th Ave, New York, NY. Tickets are $20, and are available at www.carnegiehall.org or by calling 212-247-7800.

130 players between the ages of 18-30 will appear onstage in this spectacular evening, which begins with the University of Kentucky’s Wind Symphony, performing an exciting array of contemporary and traditional concert band compositions. Among the selections are Sousa’s The Stars and Stripes Forever, all movements of Grainger’s Lincolnshire Posy, and the world premiere of Wildcat Run by composer James M. Stephenson, who will be in attendance. Designed to be ‘nothing but solid fun for 6 minutes’, Wildcat Run is a commission that highlights every section of the Symphony, with hints of Stephen Foster’s “My Old Kentucky Home” – a nod to the University’s 100 year run.

The University of Kentucky’s Symphony Orchestra follows with the Berlioz stand-alone Roman Carnival Overture, and Dvořák’s famous Symphony No.9: From the New World, which premiered at Carnegie Hall in 1893.

PROGRAM:

University of Kentucky Wind Symphony, under the baton of John Cody Birdwell:

Aaron Copland Fanfare for the Common Man (1942) (Dana Biggs, Conductor)
Julie Giroux Symphony No. V: ‘Elements’ (2018) — III. Wind in Eb
Michael Daugherty Reflections on the Mississippi (2015) (with Matt Hightower, Tuba)
**James M. Stephenson Wildcat Run (2019) — World Premiere**
Percy Aldridge Grainger Lincolnshire Posy (1937)
John Philip Sousa The Stars and Stripes Forever (1896)

University of Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of John Nardolillo:

Antonín Dvořák Symphony No. 9 in E minor, ‘From the New World’ (1893)
Hector Berlioz Le carnaval romain (Roman Carnival Overture) (1844)

The School of Music in the UK College of Fine Arts has garnered national recognition for high-caliber education in opera, choral and instrumental music performance, as well as music education, music therapy, composition, theory and music history.

John Cody Birdwell is Director of Bands at the University of Kentucky, where his duties include conducting the University of Kentucky Wind Symphony, directing graduate programs in wind-band conducting, teaching graduate courses in instrumental conducting, history and literature, and supervising the administration of the University of Kentucky band program in the School of Music. Prior to his appointment at the University of Kentucky, Birdwell served as Director of Bands at Texas Tech University, Director of Bands at Utah State University, Assistant Director of Bands at the University of Illinois, and Director of Bands at Northern Michigan University.

John Nardolillo, Music Director and Conductor of the University of Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, has appeared with more than 30 of the country’s leading orchestras, including the Seattle, San Francisco, Detroit, Atlanta, Dallas, National, Milwaukee, Utah, Columbus, Indianapolis, Oregon, Fort Worth, Buffalo, Alabama, Louisville, Missouri, North Carolina, Toledo, Vermont and Honolulu symphonies. He also recently conducted concerts at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, and Carnegie Hall in New York. In the fall of 2010 he was the Music Director and conductor for the Opening Ceremonies of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, a performance that featured 1,500 performers and 200 horses, and was broadcast worldwide for a television audience of 500 million. John Nardolillo is also the Artistic Director for the Prague Summer Nights Music Festival, and has served on the University of Kentucky faculty as Director of Orchestras since 2004.

Leading American orchestras, instrumentalists and wind ensembles around the world have performed the music of Chicago-based composer James M. Stephenson, both to critical acclaim and the delight of audiences. The composer is largely self-taught, making his voice truly individual and his life’s work all the more remarkable. Recent and upcoming premieres include the Chicago Symphony with Riccardo Muti, St. Louis (Robertson), Montreal, and Minnesota Orchestra (Vänskä), and the Cabrillo Festival (Macelaru), as well as the US “President’s Own” Marine Band. Over 150 orchestras and bands play his music annually.

The University of Kentucky Wind Symphony consists of the finest wind and percussion graduate and undergraduate students in the nationally recognized UK School of Music. For over 100 years, they have upheld a rich tradition of performing the finest traditional and contemporary compositions in the concert band and chamber winds repertoire. They have been invited to perform at many of the most prestigious events in the college band profession, including recent appearances at the College Band Directors National Association National Conferences at the University of North Carolina – Greensboro, University of Minnesota, and the University of Georgia. In 2008, the Wind Symphony traveled to the People’s Republic of China and performed for thousands of Chinese citizens in person and via broadcast during a ten-day concert tour of several of China’s most prominent cities and highly recognized concert venues.

Founded in 1918, the University of Kentucky Symphony Orchestra is a 100-member all-student orchestra presenting more than 50 concerts each year, including classical, chamber and education concerts. Comprised of undergraduate and graduate students from across the world, the orchestra has regularly performed with world-renowned concert artists including Itzhak Perlman, Lang Lang, Sarah Chang, Gil Shaham, Lynn Harrell, Marvin Hamlisch, Denyce Graves, Christine Brewer, Pink Martini, Ronan Tynan, Mark O’Connor, Wynonna Judd, Keith Lockhart and Arlo Guthrie. Moreover, they have been featured on television and radio around the world including NBC, ESPN, NPR, PBS, the BBC, the CBC, CCTV (China), ARD (Germany), SVG (Sweden) and RAI (Italy), and have been featured and reviewed in the national press, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, Opera News, American Record Guide, Billboard, and Vanity Fair.