As you might already know, the Musical Fund Society announced its 200th anniversary celebration in collaboration with four spectacular American composers this April 26th. Previously being held at the Settlement Music School in Philadelphia, the celebration will now take place at the Kimmel Center, also in Philadelphia. The Society is celebrating 200 years the best way they know how - with the creation of music!

Esteemed composers Roberto Sierra, Tania León, Augusta Read Thomas, and Stephen Jaffe were chosen out of the fifty applicants to commission a new chamber piece. The Musical Fund Society recently announced the composers’ official works for the night of celebration. 

Roberto Sierra

Well-known across America and Europe, Roberto Sierra is one of the nation’s most established composers with more than three decades of admired work to show for it. For this year’s bicentennial celebration, Sierra has composed a piece titled Graffiti II, inspired by the city of Philadelphia’s notable street art. The piece will be performed along with the Prism Quartet, a unique chamber ensemble “that set the standard for contemporary-classical saxophone quartets” (The New York Times). The ensemble’s special sound and Sierra’s exceptional skills in creating music are sure to come together for a wonderful performance worth experiencing.

Tania León

Tania León is known not only as a composer, but as an educator and advisor for arts organizations. She is a founding member of the Dance Theatre of Harlem, instituted the Brooklyn Philharmonic Community Concert Series, co-founded the Sonidos de las Américas festivals, and served as Latin American Advisor to the American Composers Orchestra and New Music Advisor to the New York Philharmonic. She is also the founder and artistic director of the Composers Now organization and festival, a nonprofit in New York City dedicated to empowering the diversity of composers. León has composed a piece titled Wheat in the Fields, un ciclo de canciones (a song cycle) for the celebration this April. It will be performed by the Curtis 20/21 Ensemble and mezzo-soprano Sarah Fleiss.  

Augusta Read Thomas

Thomas is a Grammy-winning composer who has composed over 40 works for orchestra. She is admired for her majestic and elegant music that takes the breath away from her audiences. The commissioned work of Augusta Read Thomas is Magic Gardens with the Rolston String Quartet. Magic Gardens focuses on Philadelphia’s history of inclusion, innovation, communication, industry, healthcare for the world’s family, fertile fields and the love that binds us all together. The Rolston String Quartet has performed at some of the world’s most prestigious concert halls with two Canadian tours and three European tours. Acclaimed as one of the continent’s finest string quartets, the quartet will surely bring Augusta Read Thomas’s Magic Gardens to life.

Stephen Jaffe

Stephen Jaffe is known for his complex and uniquely rich music. His work has been regularly performed in the U.S., Europe, and Asia by esteemed organizations such as the National Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, Spectrum Concerts Berlin, London’s Lontano, and many others. For this year’s bicentennial celebration, Jaffe has written Three Arcs (Chamber Concerto #5) for Strings, Harp, & Guitar, which will be performed by the Network for New Music Ensemble and Pennsylvania Girlchoir. Three Arcs symbolizes Philadelphia and inspires fluency with the present.

Join these four phenomenal composers and the Musical Fund Society in their celebration and expression of gratitude for the great city of Philadelphia. Get your tickets before they’re gone!

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