Composers Present is a concert featuring the new music of UA student composers. The event is free to attend and will consist of a variety of different genres and sounds. The night will also include 10 world premieres. So, about two-thirds of the concert consists of music that has never been heard before.
“It’s all University of Alabama composed music,” said Tyler Entelisano, a senior majoring in music composition and co-curator of the show. “Whenever you come to most concerts here at The University, you’re going to hear a bunch of dead guys. You’re going to hear Beethoven, Bach, or Vivaldi or whoever else. Occasionally, you’ll hear some newer stuff, especially depending on what ensemble you come listen to. But, with this concert, every single piece that you hear, the person who wrote it is actually going to be in the audience.”
The concert features an eclectic mix of sounds. Audiences will hear a mixture of different pieces — some sung by a women’s chorus, some pop and rap songs, some film music, some electronic music, some solos, duets and chamber ensembles.
“There is so much variety there,” said Kilian Afzalirad, a senior majoring in music composition whose pop rock song, “Tequila,” is featured in the show. “In our composition studio, we have people doing all kinds of things. I think the biggest assets the concert has are, one, everyone works very hard. So, you know that whatever you’re going to hear is good quality. And two, you’ll hear things that I don’t think you would ever expect to hear in one sitting. If you like music, there is going to be something there that you enjoy.”
This concert has been in the works since November, and most students have been working on their pieces a long time before that. Everyone in the studio had the chance to submit pieces for the concert, so the evening will present works from every level, undergraduate through doctoral.
“We’ve been working pretty hard on this,” said J.R. Speake, a senior majoring in music composition and co-curator of Composers Present. “We’re all pretty excited, and we’re hoping for a great turnout. We’re really excited to give people the opportunity to get their pieces performed. It’s a great opportunity, and we’re going to have fun with it. We’re going to be able to show the school of music and the University what exactly the composition school is doing these days. So, I think it’ll be great.”
Those in the school of music are excited for the concert themselves. It offers the tight-knit community a chance to experience each other’s work.
“I am most excited to see the pieces of my friends,” said Filipe Leitao, a doctoral student whose film score music is featured in the concert. “Because I know almost everybody — we are working, composing, having lessons, etc. with each other, but we don’t really have a chance to listen to each other’s work. Once and a while I will listen to my friend’s pieces, but it’s not with live instruments. So, I am excited to hear my friends’ work with live instruments.”
Composers Present performers encourage students to come and hear the original work of musicians at the University.
“These are all people who are planning on taking on careers in music,” Afzalirad said. “So, chances are, you might hear some of these names down the line. You saw them firsthand at The University of Alabama.”
