Composer Arlene Sierra.
In Thursday’s (2/15) Daily Southtown (Chicago), Jessi Virtusio writes, “Palos Heights is among five U.S. towns where the new composition ‘Kiskadee’ is being performed. Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra’s ‘Sierra, Gershwin & Tchaikovsky’ concert on Feb. 24 at Trinity Christian College’s Ozinga Chapel features the piece by Arlene Sierra, a 2022 Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation Orchestral Commission recipient. ‘The Virginia Toulmin Foundation has worked with the League of American Orchestras and the American Composers Orchestra to commission women composers to write new works that are premiered and performed around the country,’ said the London-based Sierra. ‘The program addresses two longstanding problems in classical music: 1. That women currently make up about 10 percent of composers whose work is performed and 2. That newly commissioned works rarely have second or further performances after their premieres.’ Detroit Symphony Orchestra and conductor Kevin John Edusei premiered “Kiskadee” in October 2023…. ‘Thanks to the Toulmin program, my work ‘Kiskadee’ is having multiple performances with the Detroit, Louisiana, Illinois, Wheeling and Dallas symphonies over the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons,’ said Sierra.” Conducted by Stilian Kirov, the concrete also includes works by Gershwin and Tchaikovsky. “Kiskadee” was commissioned by the League of American Orchestras with the generous support of the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.
