Nine Premiers of Music
By William Copper
Wilmington, Delaware
February, 2003
The Hartenshield Group, publisher of music by William Copper, announces several premieres in the 2002-2003 season.
World premieres include the two major suites, "Lovelife Dances" and "New Lovelife Dances", four Sea Songs including "Sea Love", "Sea Fever", "Water, Water Everywhere", and "A Wet Sheet and a Flowing Sea", an arrangement, "Milenberg", a setting of an ancient Latin text, "O Magnum Mysterium", and a setting of a poem by D. H. Lawrence, "Piano".
On April 25, the Chamber Choir of Grand Rapids, Michigan, conductor Larry G. Biser, will premiere Lovelife Dances and its sequel, New Lovelife Dances. Lovelife Dances, modeled on the famous "Liebeslieder Waltzes" by Johannes Brahms, is also scheduled for performance at the State University of New York at New Paltz on May 6.
Through May and June a group of four schools who jointly commissioned the Sea Songs will premiere Sea Love, Sea Fever, Water Water Everywhere, and A Wet Sheet and a Flowing Sea. These include the University of Southern Indiana Chamber Choir, Evansville, IN, directed by Daniel R. Craig, the Alpena High School Concert Choir, Alpena, MI, directed by Jeanne Rasmussen, the Auburn High School Choirs, Auburn, NY, directed by Stephen A. Stomps, and the Beloit Memorial High School Choirs, Beloit, WI, directed by Cheryl Licary. Another performance of the Sea Songs by the Lauda! Chamber Singers comes early in June in New Jersey, directed by Charles Walker.
The Quatro Forte chorus in Schwetzingen, Germany, directed by Julia Pruy, recently premiered O Magnum Mysterium, and the New Jersey Choral Society, directed by Brenda Leach, will premiere Milenberg in Midland Park, NJ.
Finally, the Piedmont Choirs of the San Francisco bay area will present Piano as part of their 20th anniversary celebration. Copper and four other composers were commissioned to write works for the Piedmont performing ensembles for a gala spring concert. ECCO, the high school chorus, directed by Bruce C. Lengacher, will premiere Piano in June.
William Copper, of Wilmington, a composer of orchestral, chamber, choral, and vocal music, attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Eastman School of Music, and the Krakow Poland Higher School of Music. His composition teachers were some of the most well-known contemporary composers in the world, including George Crumb, Krzysztof Penderecki, and Joseph Schwantner.
More information about William Copper may be found in his publisher's bio.