FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 13, 2017
Contact:
Lisa Oman, CSIC Executive Director
press@composersandschools.com
Orchestral Premiere Marks 100 Years of Music at Lowell High School
San Francisco, CA – On April 6, 2017, at 7:00 pm, the Lowell High School String Orchestra will mark the hundredth anniversary of music in the school’s curriculum with a composition commissioned and written especially for the students and the occasion. Charles Boone’s The Quickening Pollen will have its premiere, conducted by the composer, in the Carol Channing Theater. The title, The Quickening Pollen, comes from a text written by James Russell Lowell, after whom the school is named. Boone says, “I was delighted to find that Lowell had written ‘Books are the bees that carry the quickening pollen from one to another mind.’ Changing ‘Books are’ to ‘Music is’ gives a clue to the hopes behind this work. There is a pedagogical aspect to the piece; namely, to acquaint young musicians with certain twentieth century, vanguard notation and compositional possibilities with which they might be unfamiliar.”
The piece was commissioned through the nonprofit Composers and Schools in Concert, which matches professional composers with high school music programs. Boone has dedicated the composition “For Michele Winter, the orchestra’s exceptional conductor, and her remarkable Lowell students.” Says Winter, “Through this new piece, we are excited and honored to have such a special and meaningful way to celebrate one hundred years of music in our school’s curriculum. We are particularly grateful to members of the Lowell Alumni Association and the other contributors who have provided funding for the project.” Other contributors include Bay Area philanthropists Margaret Dorfman, Gordon P. and Ann G. Getty, Alden Jenks, and Mikako Endo.
Compositions by long-time San Francisco resident Charles Boone have been performed by the San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, and Berlin, Avignon, and Ojai Festivals, among other organizations. In preparation for the upcoming concert, the composer has worked at length with the students as they ready themselves for this notable event.
Composers and Schools in Concert (CSIC) is a nationwide nonprofit organization governed by a Bay Area-based Board of Directors. It is the only organization in the United States dedicated to providing high school students with an educational experience in the professional field of music composition through composer commissions, workshops, and a contemporary score library for young performers. The Lowell High School-Boone collaboration marks the first San Francisco commission facilitated by the organization. Learn more about CSIC at https://www.composersandschools.com/about-us/.
WHO: Lowell High School Orchestra with Composer Charles Boone and CSIC
WHEN: Thursday, April 6 at 7:00pm
WHERE: Carol Channing Theater, Lowell High School, 1101 Eucalyptus Drive, at Forest View Drive, San Francisco
ADMISSION: Free
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Charles Boone, a composer living in San Francisco, was born in Cleveland in 1939 and educated in Vienna, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. His works have been performed by the San Francisco Symphony, the Chicago Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Berlin and Avignon Festivals,
Composers and Schools in Concert (CSIC) is a nationwide nonprofit organization based out of Santa Cruz, California. Led by Executive Director Lisa Oman, it is the only organization in the United States dedicated to providing high school students with an educational experience in the professional field of music composition through composer commissions, workshops, and a contemporary score library for young performers.