SMU Graduate to Premiere Work for Veteran’s Day
Christian Jesse, a music composition master’s student at SMU, will premiere their composition “A Soldier’s Memory” at the Irving Symphony Orchestra’s Veteran’s Day tribute concert on Nov. 3.
Jesse was selected as the student composer-in-residence with the Irving Symphony Orchestra for its 2018-19 season, an accolade that involves the selected student producing a commissioned work for the orchestra.
“I come from a family of veterans, and with this opportunity, I wanted to express my love and support for the military and contribute in my own way to my family’s military legacy,” said Jesse. “The work deals with different emotions and thoughts that returning soldiers have as they come home from deployment – from thoughts of heroism to the special moments of being reunited with their loved ones, and even moments of PTSD flashbacks. While there are aspects of celebration within the piece, overall I want to tell a more realistic story of a soldier’s journey.”
Jesse is the sixth SMU student selected by the orchestra for the residence program. Previous students include Vince Gover, whose “Let Us Begin Anew…” premiered for the 50th anniversary of Kennedy’s inauguration, and last year’s winner, Olga Amelkina-Vera, who developed the award-winning guitar quartet “Cattywampus Rompus” into an orchestral work.
Jesse will also spend his time working with ISO Music Director Hector Guzman and participating in outreach programs and orchestral related activities.
“Being selected for this residency was an incredible honor, especially knowing the amount of talent and creativity in our composition department,” said Jesse. “I am very excited to be working with Maestro Guzman to learn more about the internal workings of an orchestra and to see how I can best contribute to a professional performing arts organization.”
For tickets and more information about the ISO’s 2018-19 season, visit here.
