The School of Music presents the Contemporary Music Festival 2012, featuring the music of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer-in-residence Joseph Schwantner, in two concerts at 8 pm Thursday, April 26, and Friday, April 27, in Weigel Auditorium, 1866 College Rd. The festival was founded in 2000 and directed for many years by Donald Harris, composer and professor emeritus; following his retirement in 2010, Russel Mikkelson, professor, has taken over as director.

The two concerts will feature a wide range of School of Music faculty soloists, chamber ensembles, student musicians, and the School of Music’s OSU Wind Symphony and OSU Symphonic Band, along with a special guest appearance by soprano Lucy Shelton.

Joseph Schwantner is one of the most widely performed composers of our time, according to Mikkelson. He is known for his dramatic and unique style and as a gifted orchestral colorist. Schwantner has served on the faculties of The Juilliard School, Eastman School of Music, and the Yale School of Music, simultaneously establishing himself as a sought-after composition instructor.

Schwantner's music is "music that creates an inviting and colorful ambiance,” said Mikkelson. “He draws the listener into his world of stunningly attractive sounds and rhythms, refusing to let the listener go, even after the final sounds have evaporated."

The festival is supported by the Johnstone Fund for New Music. Advance ticketsare available through the OSU Theatre Box Office at (614) 292-2295 (major credit cards accepted). Tickets at the door (cash or check only): $12/general public, $6/seniors and students with ID.

Concert #1 - Thursday, April 26

Silver Halo (2007) - Flute Quartet; Rachel Haug, Yoonee Kim, Robert Shane Paul, Erin Helgeson Torres.

From a Dark Millennium (1980) - Symphonic Band; Russel C. Mikkelson, conductor.

Two Poems of Agueda Pizarro (1980) - Lucy Shelton, soprano; Nolan Pearson, piano.

…and the mountains rising nowhere (1977) - Wind Symphony; Russel C. Mikkelson, conductor.

Concert #2 - Friday, April 27

Looking Back (2009) - Katherine Borst Jones, flute; Caroline Hong, piano.

Distant Runes and Incantations(1984) - Kia-Hui Tan, violin; Katelyn Gyuhyun Han, violin; Jeannie Fancher, viola; Mary Davis Fetherston, cello; Katherine Borst Jones, flute; David Thomas, clarinet; Susan Powell, percussion; Steven Glaser, piano; Russel C. Mikkelson, conductor.

Black Anemones (1980) - Robert Sorton, oboe; Maria Staeblein, piano.

Palindrome’s Dance (2005) - Ryan Behan, piano.

Sparrows(1979) - Lucy Shelton, soprano; Kia-Hui Tan, violin; Jeannie Fancher, viola; Mary Davis Fetherston, cello; Katherine Borst Jones, flute; David Thomas, clarinet; Jeanne Norton, harp; Susan Powell, percussion; Maria Staeblein, piano; Russel C. Mikkelson, conductor.