New Philharmonia Caps 30th Season With World Premiere By Luke Blackburn
Performances are on May 3rd and 4th.
By: Stephi Wild Apr. 18, 2025
New Philharmonia Orchestra, under Music Director Jorge Soto will conclude its 30th season on May 3rd and 4th with concerts at Grace Church in Newton Corner. Luke Blackblurn's Symphony No. 1-Thalassa will make its world premiere at this concert. He is a composer and bassoonist who weaves the beauty and complexity of the natural world into his music. Blackburn's compositions are deeply influenced by personal research, observations, and experiences in nature, crafting immersive sonic landscapes that bring the stories and tales of the outdoors into the concert hall.
Maestro Soto will also lead the orchestra in Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade, with soloist Julia Wong. A founding member of New Philharmonia and assistant concertmaster, in her professional life Dr. Wong is a radiation oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Luke Blackburn's recent accolades include the 2024 American Academy of Arts and Letters Charles Ives Scholarship, ASCAP's Morton Gould Young Composer Award, the Lyra Society's Costello Competition for Composition, and Boston Musica Viva's Write it Now commissioning initiative. He serves as an Assistant Professor of Composition at Berklee College of Music in Boston, while pursuing a Ph.D. in Music Composition and Theory at Brandeis University.
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