Courtney Lewis and Aaron Jay Kernis extend contracts with
Minnesota Orchestra
Lewis begins three-year term as associate conductor
September 2010; Composer Kernis continues role as director of
Orchestra’s Composer Institute
(April 30, 2010) -- The Minnesota Orchestral Association
(MOA) announced today that Assistant Conductor Courtney Lewis
and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Aaron Jay Kernis have signed
new contracts with the Orchestra, giving Lewis the title of
associate conductor for three seasons while extending Kernis’
tenure for another two years as director of the annual Minnesota
Orchestra Composer Institute.
Lewis became the Orchestra’s assistant conductor at the start
of the 2009-10 season; his new appointment is effective
September 2010. As associate conductor he will continue to lead
a variety of Orchestra concerts including Young People’s, family
and summer concerts, and he will serve as cover conductor for
many regular season classical concerts.
“In his first season with the Orchestra, Courtney has led a
very wide range of concerts and has proven himself to be a fine
communicator and above all, a first-rate conductor,” says Robert
Neu, the Orchestra’s vice president and general manager. “He
has a very bright future, and we’re pleased to work with him at
the start of his professional career.”
Kernis, who co-founded the Composer Institute in 2001, has
enjoyed a close association with the Orchestra since 1992, and
served for ten seasons as new music advisor. The Institute is
an acclaimed professional launch pad for emerging symphonic
composers that includes six days of seminars, rehearsals,
tutoring sessions and other career-development activities.
“Aaron brings a wealth of knowledge and tremendous commitment
to our Composer Institute,” says Music Director Osmo Vänskä, who
conducts Future Classics, the annual concert of works selected
for the Institute. “His mentorship of emerging composers is
very important for the Orchestra, for new music and for our
audiences. As an orchestra, we have a responsibility to take
care of today’s music, and Aaron plays an invaluable role in
this process.”
Profile: Courtney Lewis, conductor
Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Courtney Lewis has worked
with orchestras and chamber ensembles from London to Venezuela,
earning recognition as one of today’s top emerging conductors.
He is founder and music director of Boston’s acclaimed Discovery
Ensemble, a chamber orchestra that introduces inner-city school
children to classical music while bringing new and unusual
repertoire to established concert audiences.
In November 2008 Lewis made his major American orchestra
debut with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, leading a series
of five concerts. In recent seasons he has also worked with the
BBC Philharmonic, Tulsa Symphony and Liverpool Mozart
Orchestras, as well as smaller groups including the Nash
Ensemble and Alban Berg Ensemble. This summer he will make
debuts with the Ulster Orchestra and at the New Hampshire Music
Festival.
Lewis attended the University of Cambridge, originally
studying composition and clarinet, and graduated at the top of
his class with starred first class honors. After completing a
master’s degree with a focus on the late music of György Ligeti,
he attended the Royal Northern College of Music.
Profile: Aaron Jay Kernis, Composer Institute
director
Philadelphia native Aaron Jay Kernis is one of the youngest
composers ever to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize (1998) and the
Grawemeyer Award (2002). America’s foremost musical
institutions have commissioned his work, including the New York
Philharmonic, which marked its 150th anniversary with his New
Era Dance; the Philadelphia Orchestra, which commissioned
Color Wheel for the inauguration of its new home at the
Kimmel Center; and the San Francisco Symphony, for which he
wrote Colored Field, an English horn concerto.
Additional commissioned works include Air for violinist
Joshua Bell (which earned the composer a Grammy nomination);
Lament and Prayer, a work for violin and string
orchestra, written for Pamela Frank and the Minnesota Orchestra;
and the Double Concerto for Violin, Guitar and Orchestra,
commissioned by the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Aspen Music
Festival and Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra for Nadja
Salerno-Sonnenberg and Sharon Isbin.
The Minnesota Orchestra frequently performs works by Kernis
and has recorded two CDs of his music. In June 2011, Vänskä
will conduct the Orchestra in Kernis’ Concerto with Echoes.
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The Assistant Conductor position is funded in part through
the National Endowment for the Arts American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009.
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PRESS CONTACTS:
Gwen Pappas, Director of Public Relations
(612) 371-5628 • gpappas@mnorch.org
Sandi Brown, Public Relations Coordinator
(612) 371-5641 • sbrown@mnorch.org
